Oprah Winfrey is one of the most iconic personalities in the entertainment industry as is quite apparent from her insane $2.5 billion net worth. However, to reach the top of the list, she had to start somewhere. That’s where Steven Spielberg’s The Color Purple comes in.
Even though The Color Purple was Oprah Winfrey’s big screen debut, she had plenty of experience with the camera thanks to hosting WLS-TV’s morning show, which was soon renamed The Oprah Winfrey Show. Still, the actress felt the jitters when it came to acting for a director of Steven Spielberg’s caliber. Oprah Winfrey so badly wanted to be a part of the film that she even offered to do mundane tasks on the set like carrying the water and holding the script for Steven Spielberg.
Oprah Winfrey Was Ready to Do Anything for the Role
Appearing for one of Variety’s ‘Actors on Actors’ interviews, Oprah Winfrey opened up about how much she wanted to be a part of Steven Spielberg’s The Color Purple. This determination came from her love for the source material, a 1982 novel of the same name by Alice Walker.
“You know, I always wanted to be an actress. I never wanted anything more in my life than I wanted to be in The Color Purple, and have never allowed myself to want anything as much again. Yes, because that was a deep, deep, deep, deep thing. The first time I read that book, I went and got eight more copies for everybody else I knew to read that book. This is before I even had the idea for a book club.”
She would do whatever it took to get the part even if it meant carrying Spielberg’s water around.
“I told everyone in the world, ‘I want to be in that movie. I’ll carry water for Steven Spielberg. I’ll hold a script. I’ll do anything,’…I didn’t feel that I was [worth it].”
In the end, Winfrey landed the role of Sofia in the critically acclaimed film. Not only did she impress the world with her skills, but she also received nominations for Best Supporting Actress at the Academy Awards and Golden Globe Awards. The fact that it was Winfrey’s big-screen debut just goes on to speak volumes about her talent.
Oprah Was Terrified of Working with Steven Spielberg
It’s not every day someone gets to work with a filmmaker like Spielberg for their debut film. Therefore, we totally understand why Winfrey was feeling a bit frightened. The talk show host told The Hollywood Reporter,
“I didn’t know anything about acting. I’d never even been to Universal Studios. So I walked in, first scene, first day…I looked directly in the camera because that’s what you do on television. I walked in and went, ‘How you doing, Miss Celie’ and [Spielberg] went, ‘Cut! Cut! Cut! What is wrong with you?’ And I’m standing there, trembling. [I was] terrified.”
She even recalled a scene where Spielberg asked her to cry but she just couldn’t deliver. In fact, Winfrey worried that she might get fired at any time. However, all that self-doubt was in vain as Spielberg relieved her of her worries on The Oprah Winfrey Show. He stated, “I loved you every day of that movie. I never stopped loving you.” Seems like the perfect end to the story!
You can stream The Color Purple on Prime Video.
Source: Variety
