10 Actors Who Made Ridiculous Movie Demands So They Wouldn't Be Hired... But Were

5. Whoopi Goldberg Demanded $7 Million & Financial Support For Her Passion Project - Sister Act 2

Fast and Furious Tokyo Drift/Chronicles Of Riddick Vin Diesel
Touchstone Pictures

When a studio desperately wants an actor to return for a sequel project, this can be a golden opportunity for actors to use their own popularity as leverage to get their passion projects up and running.

That's exactly what Whoopi Goldberg did for Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, which producers wanted to rush into production after the 1992 original unexpectedly grossed $231.6 million on a mere $31 million budget.

But Goldberg had little interest in a thrown-together sequel, and so with some nudging from her agents decided to ask for a staggering $7 million, which would make her the highest-paid actress in the world at the time.

And that's not all - she also asked Buena Vista for additional money to help fund her adaptation of the stage musical Sarafina!. The studio, desperate to get Sister Act 2 before cameras as soon as possible, complied with both demands.

Impressively, Sister Act 2 was released barely 18 months after the original, yet unsurprisingly struggled from its rushed production, being mostly panned by critics and grossing just $57.3 million worldwide. Oof.

As for Sarafina!? It ended up being shot before Sister Act 2, and though hardly lighting up the box office, received broadly positive reviews.

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Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.