Michael J. Fox and “The View” co-host Whoopi Goldberg have been friends for a long time. So long in fact that he once accompanied her to the Academy Awards.
But as it turns out, there was at one point a chance they could have attended the Oscars together as co-stars instead of friends — specifically the 1991 Academy Awards, where she won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the hit 1990 movie “Ghost.” Alas, Fox turned down an offer to appear in that movie years earlier.
That was news to Goldberg however, who was stunned when Fox revealed it to her on Thursday’s episode of “The View.”
The 67-year-old “Back to the Future” star was on “The View” to discuss his new documentary “Still,” which chronicles his career and his struggle with Parkinson’s disease. Of course being old friends, he and Goldberg reminisced about their careers and friendship, including the time he went to the Oscars with her. (Note: They didn’t specify which Oscars, but the photograph displayed onscreen was clearly taken before 1991. Likely it was in 1986, when Goldberg was nominated for Best Actress for “The Color Purple).
And at one point she asked him, “are there any roles you regret turning down?”
“There was a chance to work with you that I missed,” Fox replied.
“When”” Goldberg asked.
“They talked to me about ‘Ghost’ early on. I said, ‘It’ll never work.’ I said, ‘Whoopi’s great, but it’ll never work.’ And then it was great, and huge, and I’m a f—ing idiot,” Fox said ruefully.
“Well, you know what? There’s still time. So, yeah, we’ll find something to do now,” Goldberg told Fox.
You can watch the exchange above at the top of the page.
Now Fox had previously disclosed this bit of Hollywood what-could-have-been trivia last week. But Whoopi missed it, apparently, leading to that delightful exchange. We aren’t complaining.
