After starring in two romantic comedies earlier this year — The Proposal and All About Steve — Hollywood acting vet Sandra Bullock has shifted artistic gears for her latest film The Blind Side, with her portrayal of the real-life, well-to-do, white, Memphis housewife who took in a homeless, black teenager, made him a part of her four-member family, encouraged him to attend college and helped him to secure a spot on the roster of one of the hottest NFL teams on the gridiron.
You are playing a real-life person in The Blind Side, but Leigh Anne Tuohy is not someone we are used to seeing all the time. How did you go about bringing her to life onscreen? Were you just trying to capture the spirit of her as a person, imitate her or just bring the character forward?
“That’s a tough one, because I think I do try to get as close – I mean, you don’t need an energy like Leigh Anne’s [Tuohy] ever. She might not be famous here, but she’s known in other places. I felt a great sense of fear in trying to tackle that, the person she is, but also a great sense of obligation to be true to this wonderful dynamic, because [director] John Lee [Hancock] could not explain Leigh Anne to me to save his life. But when I met Leigh Anne, I said, ‘Now I know why,’ because she is original. There is such a dynamic that exists between those people [Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy] and their children, that you wanted to pay homage to them. I wanted to, a close as I could. So, I did my best.”
On the page, what was it about the character of Leigh Anne — before you actually got to meet and work to her — that appealed to you as an actress?
“Initially, when I was approached with the film, it’s a beautifully written story, you can see it play out, but I didn’t know how to play Leigh Anne. I didn’t know how approach it or what I could bring to it, so I just kept saying, ‘No, this is not going to work for me.’ And John said, ‘Well, why don’t you just come meet Leigh Anne.’ So, I met Leigh Anne for the whole day, and I left there completely exhausted because of the energy she has, but in love with this human being and who she is at this time on the planet, but I still didn’t know how to play her. I had no idea. I didn’t know how to bring that to life and be truthful and do a could job with it. I don’t know at what point I said ‘Yes.’”
So, how did you know when you ready to play her?
“I don’t know when was that, I don’t recall. I don’t think I ever said, ‘Yes.’”
What was it about this story that really resonated with you?
“First of all, it’s a beautifully executed book, especially for someone who has been around football players her whole life and still knew nothing or cared anything about the game. I was in such awe of what it takes to be an athlete and what the coaches contribute to these children’s lives and how they support, push and inspire. I had a real sense of jealousy that they got to experience that and I never did -– as an athlete or someone who is able to be part of that. Even though I didn’t think that I could make this movie, the inspiring part of this movie is, here is this family that does this and didn’t do it because someone was writing a book or an article or making a movie, they did it because that’s where their instincts said, ‘This is what we are going to do we are going do and we are going to reach out a hand,’ and everyone came and questioned them, of course, because we don’t trust anyone who does anything nice, that’s just the sad world we live in. But [the Tuohys] they didn’t care. They kept going, and it makes you feel like you need to step up your game. So, [I figured] whatever wonderful actress is going to play Leigh Anne Tuohy, it’s going to be an inspirational story, a true-life story, that we are capable of so much more than we think we are because we don’t live in a world that supports the good that we can do. They all want it to be something bad so that it can sell some papers or a news report.”
What was it like working with Quinton Aaron, who plays Michael Oher, and the younger actors who play your kids?
“The caliber of the three children in the film, and that includes Quinton. [Laughs] The caliber of working the three of them was extraordinary. They might not have as many years as we do under our belt, but you would never know that walking on the set. I mean, the love, the joy and the comfort and professionalism that the three of them gave on a daily basis — the hardest part is listening and reacting to what an actor gives you — and they would just floor me. Once we told Quinton, ‘Yes, you do have to show up for my close-up when you are not on camera,’ when he doesn’t – it was just astounding, and it doesn’t require a lot of years in the business, because we work with people who have been in this business for many years and tell them to show up for their off camera, but it was amazing the professionalism that we got from all three of them. I’m so excited to see what they do with their lives and their craft, because if is where they are now, I cannot imagine what they are going to accomplish.”
What kind of impact did Leigh Anne, as a person, have on you or has had on you since doing the movie and playing her? Do you now think, “What would Leigh Anne do in this situation?”
“You mean, WWLATD? That’s what I would say on set, ‘What would Leigh Anne do?”
Do you ever hear her in your head?
“The nice thing is that we get to play these people and get to experience lives that we would normally never come into contact with. The beauty of Leigh Anne was, one of my biggest questions was how people use their faith and beliefs as a banner, and then they don’t do the right thing. But they go, ‘I’m a good Christian and I go to church and this is the way you should live your life.’ And I told Leigh Anne in one of our live interviews, I said, ‘One of my largest concerns was at the end of this was that whole banner-holding.’ I said, ‘It scared me, because I’ve had experiences that haven’t been great. I don’t buy a lot of people who use that as their shield.’ And, she was so open and honest and forthright, and I said, ‘Wow, I finally met someone who practices but doesn’t preach.’
