Sister Act star says she played character as gay and attracted to Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg and Wandy Makkena in Sister Act (Everett)
Sister Act star Wendy Makkena has revealed that her character in the 1992 film and its 1993 sequel, Sister Mary Robert, was attracted to Whoopi Goldberg’s character.
Speaking on the You Might Know Her From podcast, Makkena explained that she made the decision to incorporate queerness into her character without telling Goldberg or the rest of the team working on the film.
Explaining her thought process, she said: “I thought to myself, ‘How am I gonna then justify how obsessed I sort of am with Deloris?’ And then I thought, ‘Well, maybe there’s an attraction.’”
RELATED: Enemy lesbian nuns quit convent and marry each other
In Sister Act, Sister Mary Robert is a shy novice nun. When Goldberg’s character, Deloris, is placed in the convent under witness protection as Sister Mary Clarence, Mary Robert is instantly drawn to her. At the start of the film, she is seen being nervous around Deloris while also trying to help her settle in. Ultimately, Deloris helps her to find her voice and become more outspoken.
“It occurred to me that possibly, Sister Mary Robert was drawn to Deloris unconsciously, subconsciously… that there was some kind of attraction that not even Sister Mary Robert would have been, given how very innocent she was, aware of. And nobody certainly noticed it on set. It was just an internal little secret that I used as an actor,” Makkena told the podcast.
Makkena went on to highlight that the attraction to Deloris was picked up by Out Magazine, but wasn’t something that mainstream media reported on or that the public commented about.
“It wasn’t until the movie came out and the reviews were so lovely, and somebody called me, and they said, ‘Oh my gosh, Out Magazine says that how come nobody has noticed the sexual tension between Deloris and Sister Mary Robert?’” she said. “I remember thinking, ‘Oh my God, they picked up on it.'”
Now that Makkena has highlighted her process, it’s pretty difficult to miss the vibes between Mary Robert and Deloris.
Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.
