Oprah Reveals She Was Rejected For DOUBT Role

Oprah Winfrey may have earned the title of the "most influential woman in the world" but that honor didn't impress John Patrick Shanley enough for him to give her the role of "Mrs. Miller" in the film version of DOUBT.

On the Tuesday episode of her television talk show, Winfrey told the film's star Meryl Streep (who appeared via Skype hook up) that she asked to audition to play the role "because she felt a connection to it and wanted to work with Streep".

But Shanley turned Winfrey down, she explained, and gave the role to Viola Davis who was later nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe and is getting strong acclaim for the role.

Streep seemed surprised by the news that Winfrey seeked out the role.

Set at a Catholic school in the Bronx, Doubt centers on a nun who grows suspicious when a priest begins taking too much interest in a young black student. Is she being overly protective or not protective enough? And can she work within the system to discover the truth?

A charismatic priest, Father Flynn, is trying to upend the schools' strict customs, which have long been fiercely guarded by Sister Aloysius Beauvier, the iron-gloved Principal who believes in the power of fear and discipline. The winds of political change are sweeping through the community, and indeed, the school has just accepted its first black student, Donald Miller. But when Sister James, a hopeful innocent, shares with Sister Aloysius her guilt-inducing suspicion that Father Flynn is paying too much personal attention to Donald, Sister Aloysius sets off on a personal crusade to unearth the truth and to expunge Flynn from the school. Now, without a shard of proof besides her moral certainty, Sister Aloysius locks into a battle of wills with Father Flynn which threatens to tear apart the community with irrevocable consequence.

The film stars Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams and Viola Davis.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.