Out in Cinemas

Sandra Bullock (Leigh Anne Tuohy), Leigh Anne Tuohy, Tim McGraw (Sean Tuohy), Sean Tuohy, Quinton Aaron (Michael Oher), John Lee Hancock (Director), Jae Head (SJ Tuohy) & Lily Collins (Collins Tuohy) Q&A

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.

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 Ohers 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.

Find out more about the film on the following page:

Official Film Website:

wwws.warnerbros.co.uk/theblindside

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 honor. 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.