'Sister Act' Star Reveals She Played Her Character As Secretly Attracted To Whoopi's Character—And It Makes So Much Sense

From the moment Whoopi Goldberg first appeared in her habit, it became clear that 1992's Sister Act was destined to become a classic.

And, indeed, the semi-musical comedy would go on to be one of the highest-grossing and most popular comedies of the 1990s.

The film tells the story of struggling lounge singer Deloris Van Cartier. After witnessing her married lover murder a fellow mobster, Deloris is put under the protective care of a struggling San Francisco convent.

Despite locking horns with the convent's stern Mother Superior, unforgettably played by Maggie Smith, Deloris ends up finding an unexpected calling, reshaping their off-key choir and turning around the fortunes of the convent as a result.

One of the most endearing subplots of the film is the journey of shy postulant Sister Mary Robert, played by Wendy Makkena, whom Deloris literally helps find her voice and become one of the standout singers of the choir of nuns.

Following the film's hugely successful release, Out Magazine questioned if the relationship between Sister Mary Robert and Deloris was purely sororal.

It turns out they were on to something, as Makkena recently shared the process behind her iconic character during an appearance on the You Might Know Her From podcast:

Makkena explained that she needed to find a way to justify her otherwise shy and reclusive character's fascination with the outspoken Deloris, with the solution more or less falling into her lap.

“'I thought to myself, ‘How am I gonna then justify how obsessed I sort of am with Deloris?’ "

“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."

Anne Rodeman, one of the co-hosts from the You Might Know Her From podcast, was particularly elated by this revelation, pointing out how this dynamic between Deloris and Sister Mary Robert was particularly poignant in a memorable scene in the film when Sister Mary Robert gives Deloris a plastic flower in hopes of cheering her up.

Makkena did not share this brilliant strategy with any of her fellow castmates, none of whom appeared to notice:

"And nobody certainly noticed it on set."

"It was just an internal little secret that I used as an actor."

While this subtext was largely missed by the mainstream press, Makkena was thrilled that Out Magazine picked up on it:

“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?’”

“I remember thinking, ‘Oh my God, they picked up on it'."

While Makkena made it clear that Sister Mary Robert's sexual orientation was in no way what the film was about, she felt that it fine-tuned what would go on to be a truly iconic performance:

"This wasn't what it was about, but I just thought, just a skosh of that, it adds stakes to the scene, and every actor needs to have a secret."

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Makkena would reprise the role of Sister Mary Robert in the 1993 sequel Sister Act 2: Back In The Habit, which was less critically beloved than its predecessor, but proved a box office success nonetheless, seeing its popularity continue to grow on home video release and television showings.

A third Sister Act film has been in development for some time, with a script reportedly completed for a possible release on Disney+.