Whoopi Goldberg says she tried to star in a Sharknado movie

Whoopi Goldberg definitely wasn’t kidding that one time she said she wanted to fight a shark. The esteemed Hollywood actress revealed on Monday that she had once attempted to add a very particular project to her Oscar-winning filmography — which already includes prestigious roles in films like The Color Purple, Sister Act, and Ghost — when she surprised her View cohosts by admitting that she tried to join the cast of a Sharknado movie. “I think perhaps when he gets out of jail he might get an invitation to go do Sharknado,” the 68-year-old said at the end of a Hot Topics chat about Donald Trump. Goldberg then turned to the audience to ask about their familiarity with the made-for-TV movie franchise, which spawned six brutally campy action flicks between 2013 and 2018 — which star Ian Ziering and Tara Reid as a couple that repeatedly encounter tornadoes filled with bloodthirsty sharks. “You don’t know Sharknado? Oh, okay. I love [it]. Listen, I tried to do it. I tried to do it,” Goldberg said, to which panelist Ana Navarro asked, “Why didn’t they get you to do Sharknado? You’d be great!” Goldberg didn’t give a firm answer, though Sara Haines stepped in to fill in the blanks: “Because she’s Whoopi Goldberg!” Entertainment Weekly has reached out to representatives for Goldberg and Syfy for comment. Sign up for Entertainment Weekly’s free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more. In October, Goldberg teased her shark-fighting skills on another episode of the beloved talk show, during a discussion about her fondness for The Shark Is Broken, a Broadway play about the making of the movie Jaws. “I know what to do because that wonderful man who came to our show said [to] punch it in the face,” Goldberg said at the time, before lifting her arms as if a shark were fast approaching after cohost Sunny Hostin inquired about Goldberg’s comfort level with getting in the ocean with sharks. “And so, you know, don’t be scared. Think of somebody you really don’t like and beat the poo out of that shark. Pow!” The revelation came months after, in June 2023, Goldberg said she “fell over” during a “spooky” experience with a virtual reality headset that transported her to the depths of the sea. The View airs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET on ABC.