Priya Sharma
Sandra Bullock is an absolute sweetheart who has captivated audiences’ hearts with her acting prowess. From making her acting debut with a minor role in 1987’s Hangmen, she dazzled audiences with her works in the 1990s. Her insane versatility led her to explore a variety of genres from romantic comedies to dramatic roles, thus making her one of the most respected actresses in the industry.
However, recently, she has been surrounded by strings of controversies due to a project that she was associated with back in 2009. The movie in question is the sports drama film, The Blind Side which follows the story of NFL star, Michael Oher, who overcame several hurdles to play the NFL with the help of Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy.
In the movie, the former played the role of Anne, thus getting a fair share of criticism this year. However, this criticism could have become Julia Roberts’ problem had she portrayed the crucial role in the movie.
Julia Roberts Was Offered to Play Sandra Bullock’s Role in The Blind Side
Before Sandra Bullock got associated with The Blind Side, film director, John Lee Hancock approached Julia Roberts to play the leading female role. In addition to that, Leigh Anne’s character was specifically written with the latter in mind but she eventually chose to pass down the opportunity.
The lady whom Bullock portrayed in the movie explained the reason why the Pretty Woman actress passed down the role. She told the Deseret News,
“My part was completely written for Julia Roberts by 20th Century Fox. She was locked, she was loaded, everything was great. We were on G waiting for O. At some point, she realized that there was a time constraint in this because John Lee (Hancock, writer/director) was very specific of how he wanted to film ‘The Blind Side.’ She’d already had two commitments, and she could not fit that time frame and they worked, they tried to juggle and it just didn’t happen.”
While her decision to turn down the role didn’t appear to be a great decision since Bullock won an Oscar for the same, she somehow dodged a bullet. Even Bullock had her doubts about taking on the character, Talking with the New York Times, she shared,
“I thought I was going to be responsible for destroying this man’s two-year journey to tell this story.”
Her concerns eventually went away as the Speed star gained universal acclaim for her portrayal. However, it somehow engulfed her into an uproar after the footballer made some major revelations.
Sandra Bullock’s The Blind Side Controversy
Based on Michael Lewis’s 2006 book of the same name, the movie has been under public scrutiny after real-life inspiration, Michael Oher made some major revelations. Oher claimed that he was never legally adopted by the Tuohys family which contrasted the movie plot.
He mentioned that the family deceived him into signing a conservatorship form when he was 18. He further alleged that the family racked major profits from the movie thus filing a lawsuit to end his conservatorship to the Shelby County, Tennessee court.
Meanwhile, the Internet demands Bullock to return her only Oscar, which she won for her portrayal of Oher’s adoptive mother in the movie.
Source: Deseret News, New York Times
