It would be blasphemous to exclude The Blind Side from Sandra Bullock’s impressive filmography. The movie saw a theatrical release on Nov. 20, 2009, and was screened in nearly 3000 theaters in its opening weekend.
Today — even though it is remembered as one of the most commercially successful movies of the decade with a hefty collection of $300 million at the box office — it is Sandra Bullock’s breakthrough performance that added to the film’s popularity.
Nevertheless, there are various details about the film with which people are unfamiliar and one of them includes Bullock’s age at the time as well as her experiences of playing the role.
How old was Sandra Bullock when she filmed The Blind Side?
Bullock who was born on July 26, 1964, and is 59 years old today, meaning that she was 45 at the time of filming the movie. Fans and viewers over the years have associated Bullock with playing rugged, brave roles and The Blind Side isn’t an exception in this regard.
In the film, Bullock plays Leigh Anne Tuohy, a headstrong, tough, no-nonsense woman with a heart of gold who takes in abandoned black teen Michael Oher and protects him from getting bullied by her white friends. The movie — which deftly portrays the challenging experiences of a black teen in a white-dominated space — earned Bullock her first Academy Award.
The actress however harbored hesitation about being cast as Leigh Anne Touhy as she claimed to have felt less confident about playing what appears to be a selfless and righteous character like Tuohy on screen. Speaking in detail to Tribute Movies about it, she said
“It was really scary. That’s why I just kept saying, ‘No,”. Leigh Anne will beat anyone in their energy, any day, in her sleep. When I first met her, I was thoroughly exhausted by the time I left her and she was still gonna go for another five hours.
“I left going, ‘I have no idea what I did. I don’t know if it’s right. I don’t know if I gave what I needed to give.’ But I was spent by the time I left. It was a good life experience, not just for the work. I felt like I came out of it just bigger. You felt fuller when you left this place.”
Perhaps her hesitation was warranted
Notwithstanding the deluge of applauds that are being bestowed on the film to date, the retired NFL star — the real-life Michael Oher — recently came forward and pointed out that the portrayal of the benevolent Tuohy family is a far cry from the bitter truth.
That is, Michael was never really adopted by the family. Rather they “tricked him into signing a document making them his conservators,” as per ESPN. The family then struck a deal with Warner Bros. and later profited from the film, earning millions of dollars in royalties.
With these severe allegations against the Tuohys, there might be a shift in the popular perception of Bullock’s iconic role, but her outstanding delivery is undeniable.
