The Blind Side

Written by Judy Sloane Monday, 16 November 2009 22:17

Interview

 Sandra Bullock has made her name as the charming, likable heroine of many a romantic comedy but her latest film, The Blind Side, sees her take on the role of real life wife and mother Leigh Anne Touhy. Leigh Anne, together with husband Sean (Tim McGraw), took in homeless African-American teen Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron) and helped him realise his potential as an American footballer. Director John Lee Hancock and his cast tell us why this was a story they just had to tell...

When you're playing real people, do you try to capture their spirit or imitate them?

TIM MCGRAW I think more of the spirit, I wasn’t really trying to imitate anybody, I wouldn’t want to imitate Sean for anything. I think that I can relate to him in a lot of ways, we both grew up in Louisiana, I was an athlete, he was an athlete, although I wasn’t quite the athlete that he was. Also, as a kid I remember, I’m going to give him a few years and say high school, but I remember watching him play for Ole Miss, as a kid growing up in northern Louisiana we got to see a lot of Ole Miss games, and I have a wife they runs everything at home, so I think I can relate to Sean in a lot of ways, and the script was so well written I just wanted to capture the essence of it and not really try to imitate anybody.

QUINTON AARON Me and Michael have a lot of similarities as far as our personalities, we’re both gentle giants, we keep to ourselves, we're both the biggest kids in our school. I hadn’t met him, so I didn’t want to try to overact or anything, John Lee, my coach, he made me feel comfortable with being myself in the role, so I just tried to put myself in the positions that he was in, based off the script, and do the best I could.

SANDRA BULLOCK That’s a tough one because I do think that I tried to get as close – I mean, you don’t meet an energy like Leigh Anne’s ever, she might now be famous here, but she’s known in other places and I felt a great sense of fear in trying to tackle that person she is, but also a great sense of obligation to be true to this wonderful dynamic. I wanted to do it as closely as I could, so I did my best.

What was it about the character of Leigh Anne that appealed to you as an actress, Sandra?

BULLOCK Initially, when I was approached with the film, it was a beautifully written story, you could see it play out, I did not know how to play Leigh Anne, I didn’t know how to approach it or what I could bring to it, so I just kept saying, ‘No, this is not going to work for me.’ Then John said, ‘One of our meetings, 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. But I still didn’t know how to play her, had no idea. I didn’t know how to bring that to life and be truthful and do a good job with it. I don’t know at what point I said yes, I don’t recall.

JOHN LEE HANCOCK You made me beg, I remember that, several times. But after the trip to Memphis I think you told me pretty much that day or the next that playing this role terrified you and that made you think you had to do it. You never agreed to do the movie.

And what was it about this story that really resonated with you the most?

BULLOCK First of all, it was a beautifully executed book, especially for someone who’s been around football players her whole life and still knew nothing or cared anything about the game. By the end of 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 and push and inspire, and I had a real sense of jealousy that they got to experience that and I never did as an athlete or as someone who is able to brought to that point.

But even though I didn’t think I could make this movie, the inspiring part of this movie is, here’s this family that does this, didn’t do it because someone was writing an article or a book or making a movie, did it because that’s where the instincts said this is what we’re going to do, and we’re going to give love and reach out a hand and everyone came and questioned them. But they didn’t care, and they kept going and it makes you feel like you need to step up your game. So whatever wonderful actress was going to play Leigh Anne Tuohy, it was going to be an inspirational story, a true life story that we’re capable of so much more than we think we are, because we don’t really live in a world that supports the good that we could do. They all want us to do something bad, so it sells some papers or some news report.

AARON I would say, what attracted me to the role after reading the script, that was the first I had heard of about the story, I didn’t know the story, and it’s such an inspirational story that needs to be heard, so I wanted to portray it one, because it’s a story about someone who’s here now, as opposed to someone who is dead and gone. So he’s going to be able to witness what’s been said about him, and I think people after knowing someone’s background, where they came from, and seeing the positive things they’ve done with their life, gain so much more respect for that person. I wanted to be a part of bringing his story to light.

What was it like for you to walk on the set with the caliber of actors and director, and what are you taking away from this experience – what did you learn from it?

AARON It’s been a dream working on this set, at the same time my heart rate has reached levels I didn’t know was possible for a person to stay alive. The first time I met Sandra was on Easter Sunday and going to the room, I’m standing outside the room for a couple of seconds, like, ‘Slow down, stop sweating, oh my God. I can’t breathe, the walls are moving,’ and I got together in some kind of way and built myself up to go in the room, and as soon as she [saw] me she came to me and gave me the hug that said, ‘Hey, I haven’t seen you in years, how have you been?’ At that point my heart rate went back to a regular, normal pace and I felt comfortable. She’s just such a sweetheart, I’ve loved her for years.

HANCOCK One thing, they are all really talented, but I have to say that Sandy is the most professional actor I’ve ever been around and that sets a pretty good example. You go, ‘Whoa, she brings her A game every day.’ There’s nobody else that could play this role.

What impact did Leigh Anne have on you?

BULLOCK I would say on set, ‘What would Leigh Anne do?' The nice thing is we get to play these people and get to experience lives that we normally would never become in contact with. One of my biggest questions was how people use their faith in their religion 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, I said ‘One of my largest concerns stepping into this was that whole banner-hold. 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’ve finally met someone who practices but doesn’t preach.’

We’re so quick to tell people how to live their lives and I’m so lucky that I’ve been able to stay on my path, even though I’ve deviated sometimes, but then you meet someone who blazes trails and they do it as a family and you feel validated for taking your trip rather than someone else’s. She has no idea the path she’s begun in terms of adoption and fostering, it’s not been on the forefront of people’s minds. It is on the forefront of my mind every day now when I get up, when I look around I go, ‘Is he, is she, what is their situation?’ So I’m happy that being me is great for me, and you see this family, they were themselves for no other benefit other than because they wanted to reach out, lend a hand, and had no idea that they would get a son in return.

The Blind Side opens in the USA on November 20