Total film interview
I REALISED HOW MUCH I RELIED ON MY EYES, WHICH MADE ME ANGRY AND FEARFUL THAT I WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO PULL OFF A SCENE
Sandra Bullock on her new Netlflix movie, Gravity and Clooney pranks.
She’s among Hollywood’s most recognisable and bankable stars, having charted a course from romcom sweetheart to Oscarwinning heavyweight over three decades in film. Now Sandra Bullock is taking a stab in the dark with Bird Box, a Netflix original about a dystopian world where a blindfold is an essential survival tool. Total Film meets a star with her eyes wide open.
Red, I feel, takes the attention away from the ageing face,” jokes Sandra Bullock, attired in a striking crimson Alice + Olivia suit when Total Film meets her at the Four Seasons hotel, in Beverly Hills, on a grey November Monday. “See,” she adds. “I’m thinking smart.” Nobody could ever accuse her of the opposite. At 54 years old, she may be ageing, but Bullock – “Sandy” to her friends – remains one of Hollywood’s most incisive, warm and uncannily relatable talents. A woman who speaks out when necessary, never takes herself too seriously and always recovers from the odd celluloid stumble.
It’s these qualities that have helped the Virginia-born actor become one of the most powerful women in the movie business today. Her $20 million payout for Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity made her the world’s highest-earning actress in 2013, a far cry from the bit-parts that had typified her early career in the late ’80s, before she secured her ’90s and noughties coronation as a romcom queen. “I have a really good barometer and I have a really good gut instinct,” she says of how she’s survived in a notoriously brutal (especially if you’re a woman) industry.
It has helped that she’s so good at going for what she wants, actively pursuing the lead role, opposite Bill Pullman, in 1995 rom-dram While You Were Sleeping, bolstered by positive notices for her turns in Demolition Man and Speed. That film paved the way for her comedy reign, with Miss Congeniality, The Proposal and The Heat typifying the best of her funny flicks. More than just a likeable girl nextdoor, though, Bullock’s also been consistently unafraid of taking risks, whether by breaking type to play a stonecold bitch in Crash or turning up to collect her own Golden Raspberry Award (for All About Steve) in 2010, the day before she won her Oscar for drama The Blind Side.
That take-a-chance ethos is key to Bullock’s continued success, even when honourable-but-expensive flops such as political comedy Our Brand Is Crisis (which she produced in 2015) occasionally limp along. Bird Box is the latest film to see her testing new ground, and the one that Total Film is in Los Angeles to chat to her about today. A Netflix original, it’s based on the debut novel from Josh Malerman and stars Bullock as Malorie, a mother who’s attempting to survive a dystopian near-future where being blindfolded 24/7 is her family’s only protection against an unseen threat.
“I would work with her a thousand times, over and over again,” Bullock enthuses of her director, Susanne Bier. “I had seen a lot of her work, and then she did The Night Manager. I couldn’t believe the same person that did The Night Manager did the Danish films she had done.” Clearly, Bullock’s love for movies hasn’t waned even slightly in the 30-plus years that she’s been in Hollywood. For all her successes, though, she admits that her biggest weakness is her perfectionist streak. “I have lists,” she reveals. “I have crazy lists. I have a hard time letting people help me because I want to do everything perfectly.” The lists are obviously working; Bullock is still red hot…
How was it working with director Susanne Bier on Bird Box?
It’s the first time that I had to work with someone who allowed me to 100 per cent give everything that I had to offer, whether it worked or not. And she does it with everybody. She casts and then she lets you give and she manipulates and designs and she is incredible. She is a filmmaker and an auteur and she is a builder and you can see what she is building.
She’s known as a filmmaker with some unusual methods…
I loved how she and I collaborated. Everyone was concerned that we were fighting, but we loved the collaborative time together. We met and we were thinking about another project and we just couldn’t quite get it going. And then both of us got this script at the same time – we had both read the script years ago and didn’t click with it, but then read it [again] at the same time. She was on a plane and by the time she landed, she was in. So we were meant to work together. Not on the one that we wanted, but then we got this one and it was amazing – it feels like there was no stone left unturned. I think that when you get the opportunity to work with who you want to work with, that makes you work hard… and she’s an amazing creator to work with.
There are some scenes that must have been very challenging to film in Bird Box, in particular the river sequences. How hard was the shoot?
You know, honestly, that wasn’t the scariest part of the movie for me. Just from a logistical point of view, you want to keep your actors safe. But we were really protected and there were crew members around us at all times should anything happen, so that wasn’t the hardest part. I think the hardest part for me was just being brutal to two little faces [Vivien Lyra Blair and Julian Edwards, who play
Bullock’s character’s children] that looked like that when I had to be incredibly tough and strong on them. So making sure they were OK was kind of hard and sad. But at the river we felt very safe.
What was the process for filming in the water, particularly the rapids? Were you always wearing the blindfolds?
I love nature. I am deathly afraid of crazy water. And when we were doing this, I thought maybe we should train and do all these things. Then I said, “Wait a minute. There’s not one second that this character would have had the ability to train in water if she has been locked in a house for five years.” So what was funny was the first scene that you see with me pushing the boat. They had the camera across the river and the camera on the bank and I said, “Let me navigate it, as clumsy as it is, let me find it and push it into the water and let me get the kids in.” And, of course, the scene was 12 hours long and she cut it down. So I am not good at it and I wanted it to stay that way. We filmed all the river stuff in sequence and by week two I had gotten better at it and by week three I had really learned how to navigate, which sort of would have been the trajectory on the river.
How challenging was it spending so much of the Bird Box shoot without being able to use your eyes?
I had the option of raising the blindfold any time I wanted to, so I don’t think that I ever fully experienced the extent of what it feels like to not have your sight permanently. And it was interesting, because you read it and you go, “This is going to be great visually if it can be pulled off,” and then, once you are in it, you realise that one of your tools for acting is completely taken away. I realised how much I relied on my eyes to tell a story in film. In the theatre, you have your voice and you have your body. In film, you have your eyes first, I feel, and I didn’t have that, which made me angry and frustrated and fearful that I wouldn’t be able to pull off a scene and I wouldn’t be able to give her what she needed. But every time I got whipped up into a frenzy, I just took that and piled it on top of the day and let it sort of affect the work, too, because that’s what you would feel in the moment. So my concern was, as an actor, am I going to be able to pull off emotionally what I wanted to pull off? But Susanne knew to pull me out of one thing and place me somewhere else and get me out of my comfort zone and make me do it.
You also had to work with several birds. Did they complicate matters?
The three birds that we had on set were amazing. I almost took them home because they were unusual birds and I got so used to them because literally carrying that thing around all day, I was the one with the birds. John Malkovich, however, is the bird whisperer. He would come up and start whistling and talking to them and he would be at the other end of the house, and you would hear him whistling at the birds and it would be like, “John, stop it!” [laughs]
How was the experience of playing mum to the two children?
I think it takes a very specific child and a very specific parental or guardian support
I’VE MELLOWED A LOT, I’M NOT AS INSECURE AS I WAS. I’VE CHANGED
group. You see those kids where it’s more of a parent’s desire to have them do what they do [in the film industry]. And then you see the kids that literally came out and I am sure that, from the minute they could speak, they expressed a desire [to act]. And Julian and Vivien are two of those kids. You see that these kids are scared when there is a loud noise, just like when we get scared. And the minute they were done shooting, they were off playing games and they had treats and crafts and school and they were amazingly able to disassociate with what we were doing.
Moonlight’s Trevante Rhodes plays your love interest, Tom, in Bird Box. How did his casting come about?
When Susanne and I met with Tre, I remember us sitting down, because we saw him in Moonlight and what he exudes is pretty powerful. And we sat down with him and I remember leaving the table going, “If that is not [the actor cast as] Tom, I am going to kill myself. I am going to throw a fit, and I am going to be as dramatic as I can be,” because I wanted a man represented on screen that represented something I don’t think we see enough of. And that is, Susanne says it a lot, our roles are almost reversed in this film. The way that I think Malorie can survive is by being brutal, my emotions cut off. He [Tom], however, feels that you need to be hopeful and kind and demonstrative and loving and find the joy, even in horrible situations. And to me it was important to have a man on screen that loved like that.
When was the last time you had to close your eyes in real life because of something scary like a movie or a TV show?
Any time I am on a plane. I hate flying. So I do a lot of closing my eyes and try to meditate anytime there are bumps or something doesn’t sound right. So that is consistently the time that I think I am going to die. [laughs] So that to me is the scariest thing.
FOR OCEAN’S 8, I HAD TO LEARN TO BE COOLER THAN I ACTUALLY AM
This summer’s Ocean’s 8 seemed to be as much about family and friendships as the heist…
I mean, to me, the most important thing in [Ocean’s 8] wasn’t the heist. I knew that would be executed and that would be fun, but to me it was really important to show how these women just supported each other and liked each other and wanted the best for each other. They actually live their authentic lives with each other. I think, as you get older, your circle of friends gets really small because you realise you are who you are and you are not going to change, and those people love you for exactly who you are and allow you to feel safe being that way.
Did you talk to George Clooney at all before you took on the role of playing his sister in Ocean’s 8?
You know George and I are the same person right? [laughs] You never see us in the same place at the same time. [laughs] No, George and I talked at a friend’s party and he was like, “Are you going to do it?” And I was like, “Yeah, I think so,” and he was like, “OK.” This is when [producer] Jerry Weintraub was still around, and Jerry was a great mastermind and he could sell you your own car back to you. [laughs] George shared so many stories about how Jerry would talk you into things and Jerry passed away, which is sad. But the beauty about George is that he is sort of still carrying the torch of that Rat Pack group and that essence and that fun. We didn’t have a bar on our set and we weren’t shooting in Las Vegas either, but we wanted the spirit of teamwork and family. I wanted everyone to see these women as a family supporting each other, because you don’t see it represented like that enough.
What does Debbie Ocean have that Danny doesn’t?
Well, breasts. [laughs] But they are both thieves. And they can’t help themselves. They are a family of thieves and they are very similar. They are always on the take, they are always on the make and they are always thinking about what game they can run. So that was fun. George has his own beauty and his own elegance and his own vibe; I had to learn how to be calmer, cooler, sit back more, not make so many jokes, shut my mouth when I wanted to open it. I had to learn to be cooler than I actually am.
How was it working with an old friend like George on Gravity?
Don’t call George old. He would not be happy. [laughs] You know, it couldn’t have been more perfectly paired given that we
spent so little time together in the film. It was mostly each other’s voices that we had and I think, because of our familiarity, there was a comfort in that, it made it a lot easier. But he’s also, as you guys know, having George around is like having a life force in the room that just reminds you to not take everything so heavily, you know, which worked perfectly. You needed that levity and you needed that spirit.
George famously has a history of pranking his celebrity friends…
Yeah, he has too much time on his hands. [laughs] Way too much time on his hands.
Has he ever pranked you?
No, he knows better. Never. He did one [a long time ago] and he’s now waiting for the retaliation – he’s not allowed to do anything until the retaliation comes, and it’s going to come. I just don’t know what year. [laughs] But, I mean, everyone loves to talk about George’s pranking, but George is one of the hardest working people that I know. He loves this business. He loves every aspect of this business. There’s never a time when he is not working and creating so, if he was really pranking as much as he said he was pranking, he wouldn’t get anything done. But he’s vicious. He’s vicious with his pranks. Do not cross him!
Have you changed much over the years since you’ve known each other?
Oh, I’m sure, tremendously, but I don’t feel we’ve matured much. [laughs] Especially not George. You know what, I mean, you know, you get – you get calmer about some things. But I don’t, I mean, I feel like George is exactly the same person I knew before, except now he gets to do what he loves to do. He has his – he’s like a puppeteer. He can do anything he wants and he’s saving the world basically. Me, I just feel like I’ve mellowed a lot. I’m not as insecure as I was. You know, I feel like I’ve profoundly changed. But I feel like we’re the same people. I feel like we’re the same people, just older, with wrinkles.
Was it a strange experience having to act from beneath the visor in Gravity?
I mean, every day, you know. So much of the time I was in… we’d call it the box, which was basically this 9ft by 14ft box on a platform where I was locked into a metal harness from the waist down with a camera rushing at your face and really nothing else. There was nothing around. Just the blackness and silence and hanging from wires for eight, nine hours at a time. Every day was a torture system but in a
weird way it helped the process of being isolated and in pain and frustrated and claustrophobic. It’s almost like going back to when you’re a three or four-year-old child, when your imagination was profound and it was rich and it was alive. You had to figure out how to create this world in your own head and imagine what you’re seeing.
Do you have a preference for working in comedy or drama? And does one come easier to you?
Comedy’s harder. Comedy’s always harder, but, I mean, then, whatever I’ve done last I usually have the desire to do something completely opposite next. That’s why I did The Heat after Gravity. So I always had the desire to do the exact opposite of what I just finished.
Is the mood noticeably different between a comedy and drama set?
It all depends. I think when you’re in a serious film sometimes you have to keep a level of respect to the tone that the film is in, otherwise it breaks everyone else’s concentration, but you sort of feel it out. If people are jokey-jokey, you sort of follow suit. The comedy things are crazy and ridiculous. In a drama they’re a little more subdued but, you know, in Gravity when we had comic relief it was so appreciated. You needed it or you would have just gone crazy.
You’ve played some competitive people in your time. Do you relate to that character trait at all?
As Sandra… I’m not competitive with other people. I’m competitive with myself, so as long as I’ve done to the best of my ability something that I’m trying to execute. Have I done everything to the best of my ability as close to 100 per cent as I can? Am I satisfied? I get kind of close to being satisfied. But I’m not competitive with other people. And you know, in this business, you’re rejected all the time.
How was it working opposite Melissa McCarthy in The Heat?
Well, Melissa and I found that she was playing more me in real life and I was playing more her. [laughs] Nothing I’m very proud of. I’m very A-type in that I like things to be on time and scheduled. There’s the other side of me that will go completely ballistic if someone is doing something that’s wrong or not right or harming another human being. It’s about what’s right and wrong, and I lose it a little bit and I do have the mouth of a truck driver.
Some of your roles require a lot of physicality. Do you prepare for those in a particular way?
Stupidity has me doing those roles. But also I’ve been an athlete since I was a kid, so I rely on my body sometimes a lot more than it’s able to execute. But I love it. I’m always training or doing something – some form of exercise four or five times a week. I have to. I just feel antsy when I don’t. And when you have a three-yearold child who runs a lot, is hanging off of things, you better get up and do your training so that you can keep up. That’s basically the lifestyle now. I love food but I eat well. I just have fun. I love being active all the time. I feel better when I’m that way. And that allows me to do fun, crazy things on film if I choose to do it.
Was there a time when you felt like you had hit the jackpot in your personal and professional life?
You know, it’s like I look at many jackpots. The first thing that got me noticed I would think was maybe Speed. And my personal life was great then. And then you had another milestone with another movie While You Were Sleeping and I was having a lot of fun then, too. I think my career milestones have been allowed to develop the same way that my personal life has been allowed to develop and mostly developed when there weren’t camera phones yet. But you have to not think of something being a milestone and the endgame. Every time I think I am done and this is the last time I am going to make a movie, I am going to shift gears, something always happens that is really special and takes me to a whole other direction that I didn’t see coming, because I like to plan. I like to plan my whole life and, as you know, you make plans, God laughs. So everything in my life, all my milestones have come about without me planning them and they are the ones that are unexpected. And so far I am lucky and life is sweet and everyone is healthy and it’s all I ask.
Does being a producer help when it comes to finding the right parts to play?
When I was producing, I was looking for things where I loved the women in them. You know, from all those things that I produced, those weren’t being made at that time either. So I was lucky in that what I wanted to produce was something that got to break the glass ceiling a tiny bit.
You just made a sizeable donation to California’s firefighters. Is it important for you to put your money where you think it’s needed?
Yeah, not as an actor, but as a human being. I mean, I remember as a kid that my mother was very adamant about giving back and being kind and a lot of little lessons. And that didn’t happen when I was just an actor. What’s fortunate is that my job allows me to do it on a scale that I feel can be helpful. But I think $10 is helpful and I think giving your time and being there as a human being is helpful. I am lucky that I get to do it, and it’s unfortunate that every year there seems to be another [wildfire]… and another and another and another, but that’s what is happening. But you also get to see the good in people. I am watching a community come together and fight and take care of each other and open their homes and open their cars and open their restaurants and open whatever they have. So I am writing a cheque, but you are watching human beings do amazing things and it’s a little bigger than me writing a cheque. But I am lucky that I get to do it.
WHEN I LOSE IT, I DO HAVE THE MOUTH OF A TRUCK DRIVER
BIRD BOX IS ON NETFLIX AND SELECT CINEMAS FROM 21 DECEMBER.