The Blind Side Interview

24 March 2010

The Blind Side

The Blind Side hit the big screen later this week and we finally get the chance to catch a look at Sandra Bullock's Oscar winning turn.

Bullock, Leigh Anne & Sean Tuohy, on whom the movie is based, director John Lee Hancock and the rest of the cast come together to talk about their movie.

- What is it like to play characters that are based on real people who are not necessarily famous? Do you try to capture their spirit? And what do you look for?

Tim McGraw: I think for me it was more the spirit. I wasn’t really trying to imitate Sean. I think that I could relate to him in a lot of ways.

I mean, we both grew up in Louisiana. I was an athlete and he was an athlete, although I wasn’t quite the athlete that he was.

And, also, when I was in high school, 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 that runs everything at home. [Laughs]

Leigh Anne Tuohy: Watch it down there. [Laughs]

Tim McGraw: So, I think I could relate to Sean in a lot of ways. And the script was so well written that I just wanted to capture the essence of him, not really try to imitate anybody.

Quinton Aaron: For me, Michael and I have a lot of similarities as far as our personalities. We’re both gentle giants, and keep to ourselves. We were both the biggest kids in our school.

I hadn’t met him so I didn’t want to try and overact or anything. But John Lee my coach, Coach Lee 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 as possible. I mean, you don’t meet an energy like Leigh Anne’s ever. She might not be famous here but she’s known in other places.

And I think I felt a great sense of fear in trying to tackle the person she is, but also a great sense of obligation to be true to this wonderful dynamic.

And John could not explain Leigh Anne to save his life. When I met Leigh Anne, I said, 'Now I know why you can’t, because she’s original.' [Laughs]

But there’s such a dynamic that exists between those people and their children that you want to pay homage to them. I wanted to as closely as I could. So, I did my best. Leigh Anne?

Leigh Anne Tuohy: She did. She did a great job.

- Sandra, how do you go about choosing roles?

Sandra Bullock: My way of choosing roles is vastly different now than it was a long time ago. But I can only be that way now because of what I learned from the past.

So, I’m choosing now not to choose just any work because when you’ve had such a nice, unexpected and fulfilling ride, you really don’t want to take a step backwards.

So, it has really made me satisfied in a way that I wasn’t look for but was blessed with it. And now I feel really full, in a good way, where I don’t need to rush out and go find something. I don’t want to.

- When did you make that choice?

Sandra Bullock: Well, the fact was that I realized that I’m staring at a stack of scripts and I can’t bear to open them. I don’t want to step into that world right now. I want to enjoy where I am.

So, I think it was over time, just having good life experiences, that I was actually cognizant of the work that I was very satisfied with. I just want to enjoy the ride instead of blasting forward and trying to fill a void that doesn’t exist in the work place.

- Tim, do you think you will be doing more movies and give up music?

Tim McGraw: I’m not going to give up music because it pays my bills. [Laughs] I thought I was serious about this particular acting job; I tried to be anyway. I have to find things that fit in the time schedule that I have.

I only have a few months out of the year that I’m available to do something. So, I’m so lucky that something this great, with this quality of people to work with, came along at a time when I was available to work. But I’m not going to give up music. No.

- For Sean and Leigh Anne, how excited were you when you heard that Tim McGraw and Sandra Bullock were going to be playing you in a movie?

Leigh Anne Tuohy: I was a bit thrilled. This was a roller coaster ride. I mean, I would hear a name and I’d go, 'Uh.' And I’d hear a name and I’d go, 'Oh, yeah.' I’d hear another, 'Oh, no.' So, I kept hearing all these names.

And finally John called one night and said, 'I think Sandra Bullock is going to do this.' And I said, 'Really? That’d be awesome.'

And I’ll tell you this, the lady is dedicated to her work. You ask about her ability to pick and choose. I mean, I watched how she handled this. She wanted to do it with integrity and character and class. And she did a great job with it.

I mean, she is a talented actor. And, so, I think that what she picks next will be just as fulfilling as this was. And I think she’s on the right path. My family named her 'The Shadow.'

Sean Tuohy: I don’t have to say integrity and class, do I? [Laughs]

Tim McGraw: No, you don’t. [Laughs] I don’t think that applies in this case.

Sean Tuohy: I’m sitting way too close to Tim. Here’s a true story, and whether it’s good or bad or indifferent, John Lee called me in the office. And his number comes up, but Tim’s on the phone.

And he says, 'Hey, Sean. It’s Tim.' Like I know who Tim McGraw is on the phone. And I go, 'Tim who?' And he says, 'Tim McGraw, man. I’m playing you. What do you think about that?'

And I said, 'Well, here’s exactly how I think of it. If you’ll do me one favor, if sometime in the movie you’ll take your shirt off and walk around for about twenty seconds, you and I are good. [Laughs] Other than that, my expectations were awfully low. [Laughs]

Tim McGraw: And I’m glad of that too.

Sean Tuohy: I thought, how do you play me? I was basically the ATM machine. [Laughs] So, I was really concerned.

And I really, seriously, thought he did what I thought was impossible. The book [The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis] had so much to cover, so it kind of broadened out what probably was the exact feeling of it.

And if there’s a percentage of how this whole process worked somewhere in the ten percent was myself, my son and my daughter, and ninety percent was my wife. The movie is accurate to how the whole process really worked.

Surprisingly enough, and I don’t know how he did it, whether John Lee coached him well or he’s just that good in reading scripts, but Tim did such a great job of it.

It was really accurate. But he didn’t take his shirt off. [Laughs] I mean, if one person important will think I look like that, man! [Laughs]

- Sandra, what was it about the character of Leigh Anne on the page that appealed to you, before you actually got to meet her?

Sandra Bullock: Initially, when I was approached with this beautifully written story, you could see it play out. I didn’t 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, '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 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 [Laughs]. 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 made you think you had to do it.

- Sandra, what are your thoughts on producing as you move forward in your career?

Sandra Bullock: To me, the producing falls into the same category as acting. It requires so much time out of your life and I take it very personally, I realized.

So, if I do something it just has to be something I love and I don’t want anyone else to do. When I open projects, maybe something will appeal to me. I just think I’m not opening them because I don’t want anything to appeal to me right now.

I’m so happy where I am right now. I don’t want to be tempted to move from this place that I am. I’d like to just be happy where I am. And I think that’s producing and acting right now.

- Leigh Anne, was there really an NCAA investigator questioning your motives?

Leigh Anne Tuohy: Yes. They came to my house often.

- So, they were worried that maybe other people would take in homeless kids and help them get college scholarships? Like, if that happened that would be great. [Laughs]

Leigh Anne Tuohy: Why don’t you write them and tell them that? Yes, yes.

- So how did you deal with that in real life?

Leigh Anne Tuohy: That would be the ATM machine that dealt with that. [Laughs]

Sean Tuohy: I was about to say: I can’t wait to hear that. Being a college athlete myself, you’ve got to be stupid to not think that something like that would happen. I mean, it was inevitable that at some point in time they would show up at your door. So, that didn’t upset us at all.

I mean, they’ve got to do their job. And if Michael had been what he was supposed to have been, which was a second-rate basketball player, nobody would have cared. And we understand that.

So, all of a sudden this craziness occurs. And it probably would have been better if it had occurred over years. But Michael basically went from a half-decent football player to the number one recruit in America in about five weeks.

And it didn’t happen his sophomore year. It happened almost to his senior year. Now, if you know college sports, they start recruiting you as a freshman. Well, he didn’t get recruited until his junior year.

The fact that it happened so fast, all of a sudden there was no history, boom. So, you know they’re going to show up. Long story short. So, the fact that they showed up was fine. And she left. And I thought everything went okay.

Michael actually didn’t like it at all. Michael Lewis [the author of the book] sat in. So, if you read the book, and question the accuracy, you’re wrong, because he was actually there.

And, so, she left. And while she was walking out the door, she said, 'I’ll be back in two weeks.' And I heard behind me, 'The hell you say.' It was my wife.

So, I had to walk the lady out, and I said, 'Look, you can’t come back.' She says, 'Well, I have to come back.' I said, 'Well, either one of us isn’t coming back. [Laughs] We have to make this decision right now.' And she came back.

- I wanted to know if you did speak to the real Michael Oher? Also, how did you train for this, because I understand you trained really hard?

Quinton Aaron: No, I haven’t had a chance to speak to Michael yet. He’s been a little busy in the NFL. [Laughs] Hard to get away. But I’ve been working my behind off to try to look the part, doing two-a-day workouts seven days a week and following a strict diet plan.

The motto of the plan was, 'If it tastes good, it’s not good for you.' [Laughs] That was cruel and unusual punishment. [Laughs]

- For the actors, what was it was about this story that really resonated with you the most?

Sandra 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.

I had a real sense of jealousy that they got to experience that and I never did as an athlete or as someone who was able to be brought to that point.

But, even though I didn’t think I could make this movie, the inspiring part of this movie is, here is 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 instinct 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, of course. We don’t trust anyone who does anything nice. That’s just the sad world we live in.

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 true-life story that proves we’re capable of so much more than we think we are.

We don’t really live in a world that supports the good that we could do. They all want us to do something bad. It sells some papers or some, you know, news report.

Quinton Aaron: I would say what attracted me to the role, after reading the script, was that it was the first I’ve heard about the story. I didn’t know the story.

And it is such an inspirational story that needs to be heard. So, I wanted to portray it because it’s a story about someone who’s here now, as opposed to someone who’s dead and gone.

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.

And I wanted to be a part of bringing his story to light because it’s a story that will inspire a lot of our youth today, I feel.

It tells you that, basically, no matter how hard of a background you come from, you don’t have to turn to guns and violence and end up in jail or in the morgue just because of how bad you had it.

Everyone goes through things, but they’ve got to know it’s not going to last forever. There’s a way out. So, that’s what I got from this.

- John, could you talk about your decision to shoot the film in Atlanta, Georgia, and working with some of the local talent?

John Lee Hancock: On the decision to go to Atlanta, it was strictly a financial one. It was the tax rebates and credits.

Also, we were looking for a place that could double for Memphis and our specific needs of the neighborhood, the house, the private school and the projects, and Atlanta worked out very well for us.

Sandra Bullock: We just assume all the great actors are in New York first and then L.A. second. And it’s so not true. It’s a testament to John and his casting finding the best people for the role.

There’s such amazing talent everywhere. And it’s exciting that now there’s these sort of new Hollywoods or new film-making communities that really benefit from these great faces and character actors and leading actors that just are fresh and exciting and bring an authenticity to the piece. But that’s smart casting too. And that’s John.

- Leigh Anne, this story is going to hit people in the heart. What do you hope it moves them to do after they’ve seen how it changed your life?

Leigh Anne Tuohy: I think what we’d like people to take away from this is that Michael was basically homeless on the streets of Memphis.

And society had deemed him valueless. And you take a child in, or an individual, and you love them, clothe them, feed them, and give them a home to live in, and they feel secure and happy—it has a life-changing effect on them.

I think that you look at Michael now, he’s not the person he was when we first met him. He’s confident and he walks into a room and he commands an audience. And he’s successful.

And obviously I’m the proud mom, but he’s just an amazing thing. And how many more Michael Oher’s are walking on the street?

You don’t know that any kid or individual that you walk by, they could be the next teacher of the year or know the cure for cancer. And society has deemed them valueless.

So, we need to do something about the foster care and the homeless kids in the United States of America. There’s a huge need for it.

And I hope people will leave this movie, and not think, “Well, I can’t do something like that. I can’t do something.” Then do something little and just do it well.

You don’t have to go out and bring a child into your home. That’s not what’s required. But you can do something. Everybody is capable of doing something. So, whatever your something is, do it well. Make a difference.

- This question is for Lilly, Jae and Quinton. What was it like for you as beginners to work with this caliber of actors and directors? What do you take away from this experience?

Lilly Collins: Well, it was actually kind of scary how much and how quickly we all bonded as a family. I mean, the second I met Jae, we were like brother and sister, nagging each other.

The second we met Sandy, it was like there was the mom on set and, yet, so unpredictable. [Laughs] Maybe that was the Leigh Anne coming out. I don’t know.

Sandra Bullock: Thank you. Yes. I was in character. [Laughs]

Lilly Collins: The second I met Quinton, I was walking to the hotel, and he turns around and he goes, 'You playing Collins?' And I go, 'You must be playing Michael.' And he gives me this huge hug.

He’s like, 'That’s it. I’m your bodyguard.' He protected me, and I protected him. [Laughs] There are ways I can protect him. Sisters they have their thing. Same with Tim. It was like he was on-set giving me guy advice and love interest advice and then he’d be making fun of me.

So, yes, obviously, walking onto a set with caliber like that is intimidating coming for your first film. But when they’re people, where all of a sudden they’re making fun of you before you even started working, you’re like, 'Okay. This is going to be fun.'

Jae Head: For me, when I first met John Lee, it was when I was auditioning for this role and it was so amazing because when I first started auditioning for it, I was like, 'If I get this, this is going to be the most fun thing I do because it’s a great director and great main character.'

I met Quinton as I was meeting John Lee. Coming on set, meeting everybody else, like Sandra and Leigh Anne and Tim and everyone, I just was so glad that this was something that I felt comfortable doing.

And by the end of the first day I was like, 'This is my family. This is like my second family.' So, I was really glad for that.

Quinton Aaron: It’s been a dream working on this set. At the same time, my heart rate has reached levels I didn’t know were possible for a person to stay alive. The first time I met Sandra was on Easter Sunday.

I’m standing outside the room for a couple of seconds like, 'Slow down. Stop sweating. Oh, god. I can’t breathe. The walls are moving.' [Laughs] And I got it together some kind of way. I built myself up to go in the room.

And as soon as we saw each other, she came to me and gave me the hug that said, 'Hey, I haven’t seen you in years. How have you been?' And at that point my heart rate went back to a regular normal pace. I felt comfortable. And she’s just such a sweetheart. I’ve loved her for years. I’ve been a fan of hers ever since...

Sandra Bullock: Don’t say you were a baby. [Laughs]

Quinton Aaron: Love potion number nine. And I just never imagined being able to work along side of her in a feature film one day, starring along side of her in a feature film one day. It has just been an honour.

Then, when I met Tim, this guy, he’s real cool. I call him 'Pops' on set because he plays the father. But he was more like an older brother to me. [Laughs]

He really had a lot of wisdom and knowledge and information that he was very helpful with, that I took from him.

And he’s a real cool dude to hang out with and get to know. I enjoyed singing sometimes on set with him and hearing him sing. And because of him, I’m a fan of country music. [Laughs]

Sandra Bullock: If I can just interject, the caliber of working with these three [young actors] was extraordinary. They might not have had as many years as we do under our belt, but you’d never know that walking onto set.

I mean, the love and the joy and the comfort and the professionalism that these three gave on a daily basis would just floor me.

You’d see either one of them behind the camera once we told Quinton that, yes, you do have to show up for my close up when you’re not on camera. [Laughs] That was astounding.

And it doesn’t require a lot of years in the business, because we work with people who have been in the business many years and don’t even show up for your off-camera.

But it’s amazing the professionalism that you get from these guys. And I’m so excited to see what they do with their lives and their craft because if this is where they are now I can not imagine what they’re going to accomplish.

John Lee Hancock: They’re all really talented. I also have to say that Sandy is the most professional actor I’ve ever been around. She sets a pretty good example. You go, 'Whoa, she brings her A game every day.' So, there’s nobody else that could have played this role.

- Has Michael seen the movie?

Sean Tuohy: Michael? No, he has seen it. I’m telling you, you just don’t understand. It really just doesn’t matter to him. He’ll see it when it comes on or he’ll go to it. But it’s not that important to him.

He is so single-focused right now on what he’s doing that we’ll tell him something and then, like, Leigh Anne will make him go, 'Oh, wow that’s really neat.'

We got an email the other day about some lady whose kids were not interested in reading, and she started reading them the book, and all of a sudden the kids are reading. I mean, it just makes you cry.

Leigh Anne Tuohy: Yeah, this was a family that worked with foster care kids that couldn’t read. And so she decided to read The Blind Side.

They didn’t want to learn to read. They were young men. And she started reading it page-by-page to them out loud. And all of a sudden they’re all into reading it.

Sean Tuohy: And, normally we don’t even send that kind of stuff to Michael because that happened yesterday. But something told Leigh Anne to send it to him. And I went, 'That’s a waste of email.' [Laughs]

And, five seconds later, he said, 'This thing really is making a difference.' He doesn’t know that it’s making a difference. He just knows he’s got to block Jared Allen next week. And it’s kind of our job not to clutter him.

He’ll see it when he wants to see it. But he doesn’t really care. Because to him it’s no big deal.

Leigh Anne Tuohy: He lived it. Like three weeks ago he called one night, late, and he goes, “I just don’t understand this mom. I don’t understand this because all these people are seeing this trailer and they’re crying.

And this has a good ending. I keep telling them: this has a good ending. [Laughs] I’m like, 'I know, honey. But you don’t understand.' So, that’s where he is with this.

- For Sandy and Leigh Anne, what kind of effect has playing Leigh Anne had on your life?

Sandra Bullock: W-W-L-A-T do? [Laughs] That’s what I would say on set. What would Leigh Anne do?

Leigh Anne Tuohy: No. No. But let me tell you something. She does circles around us taking Michael Oher in, you just don’t know about it, which is a wonderful attribute to any human being.

You don’t do things for recognition. And the things that she has done to help kids and organizations, and Tim as well. Sandy is doing a whole thing in New Orleans. We have a thing between us.

Sandra Bullock: We are the same person.

Leigh Anne Tuohy: She’s doing a wonderful thing in New Orleans for a school down there that was affected by Katrina, and just going above and beyond the call of duty when the easy thing would be to just let somebody else handle it.

Sandra Bullock: The nice thing is we get to play these people and get to experience lives that we would normally never become in contact with. And the beauty of Leigh Anne was one of my biggest questions was, 'How people use their faith and 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 that one of my largest concerns in stepping into this was that whole banner hold. 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. 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 it didn’t really matter.

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.

But she has no idea the path she has begun in terms of adoption and fostering. It has 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 she? Is he? What is their situation?'

And it’s because of this family. I think what they’re going to do for our country in terms of being aware of that is, I don’t think they realize the profound effect that they’re going to have.

So, I’m happy that being me’s 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.

- What was it like working with John Lee as he developed this movie?

Leigh Anne Tuohy: John spent and amazing amount of time with our family. I mean, people thought he was like Sean’s brother or something.

Sean Tuohy: John’s a good dude. He really is a good dude. That wouldn’t have made a difference to any of us, but it probably makes a difference to somebody.

Leigh Anne Tuohy: They spent the last couple of Thanksgivings with us, his whole family. And we’ve just grown to think of them as family. I think, because of the amount of time he invested in this, the product that he ended up with shows it.

The Blind Side is released 26th March.