Spanning a career of more than 30 years, actress and producerSandra Bullockhas proven to audiences her versatility to portray characters flawlessly inall movie genres, excelling in both drama and comedy. After attending college to study drama, Bullock moved to New York City to pursue her dream of becoming an actress. Thus, she started working in several places while she tried her luck in auditions and took acting classes. In 1989, she got her first big break with the TV movieBionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman, directed by Alan J. Levi, and from then on, Bullock continued to receive offers in indie films, until her appearance in the 1993 filmDemolition Manstarted to solidify her reputation as the great actress we know today.
Over the years, Bullock has managed to win over audiences and critics with her roles, which have also earned her great acclaim and accolades. In 2010, shewon an Oscarfor Best Actress for her role in the sports dramaThe Blind Side, followed by another nomination in 2014 for her performance inGravity. Just last year, Bullock starred inThe Lost CityandBullet Train, and made headlines for her decision totake a breakfrom acting to focus on her family. Until we get to see her on the silver screen again, let’s revisit the films that prove why she’s the major star she is today.
10The Blind Side
Kicking off the list is this 2009 sports film that earned Bullock her first Oscar as well as a Golden Globe and a SAG Award. Directed by John Lee Hancock, and based on Michael Lewis' book of the same name,The Blind Sidefollows thelife of Michael Oher, a teenager with a tough family history living in foster care until a woman named Leigh Anne Tuohy asks him to spend a cold night in her home. Gradually, Michael becomes part of the Tuohy family, which not only improves his quality of life and performance in school, but also allows him to work hard to fulfill his dream of playing professional football. Joining Bullock in the cast of this film are Quinton Aaron, Tim McGraw, Kathy Bates, Ray McKinnon, and Lily Collins, among other actors.
Related:Best Sandra Bullock Movies, Ranked
9Miss Congeniality
Miss Congenialityis a 2000 production directed by Donald Petrie and starring Bullock alongside Benjamin Bratt, Michael Caine, Candice Bergen, William Shatner, and Ernie Hudson. It features Gracie, an FBI agent who is not taken very seriously, yet she must go undercover at the Miss United States beauty pageant following a threat from a dangerous criminal. But there’s a problem: Gracie doesn’t exactly fit the profile of a pageant girl, so she has to adapt quickly if she wishes to go unnoticed. Five years after this film’s release, Bullock also starred in its sequel,Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous, which sadly underperformed at the box office and with critics.
8The Lost City
InThe Lost City, Bullock is Loretta Sage, a romance/adventure novelist who focuses her books on the characters of Dr. Angela Lovemore and Dash McMahon. Despite the exotic adventures she chronicles in her books, Sage herself would rather be secluded in her home than out in the world. However, in order to promote her latest novel, she is encouraged by her agent to go on tour with Alan, the book’s cover model for Dash. While on tour, Loretta is abducted by a multimillionaire who wants her to guide him to the fictional treasure she talks about in one of her novels, but she won’t be all alone in this situation: Alan, determined to prove that he can be a model but also a hero, travels to help her. This 2022 production was directed by Adam and Aaron Nee and featured Channing Tatum, Daniel Radcliffe, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, and Brad Pitt.
7While You Were Sleeping
While You Were Sleepingis a 1995 rom-com directed by Jon Turteltaub and starring Bullock, Bill Pullman, and Peter Gallagher. It follows Lucy, a fare token collector for the Chicago Transit Authority living a very lonely life and having poor luck in love. She has a crush on Peter, whom she sees at the station every day, but he doesn’t notice her. One day, the man has an accident on the tracks, and even though Lucy saves him from being run over by the train, Peter falls into a coma. Mistakenly, his family believes Lucy to be his fiancée, and she doesn’t dare to contradict them. But everything turns upside down when she meets Peter’s brother Jack, with whom she falls deeply in love. For her role in this production, Bullock was nominated for a Golden Globe Award, and also received critical and popular acclaim.
6Ocean’s 8
Featuring an ensemble cast consisting of Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, Awkwafina, Rihanna, and Helena Bonham Carter,Ocean’s 8was bound to be among the audience’s favorite productions of 2018, and indeed it was. This heist comedy directed by Gary Ross is an all-women spin-off of Soderbergh’sOcean’s trilogyand follows Debbie Ocean, Danny’s sister, who, after spending some time in jail, sets out to execute her most ambitious plan yet: pulling off a heist at the Met Gala in New York City. to do so, she assembles a team of con artists skilled in different fields that are ready to dodge any obstacle in order to get their hands on the loot.
Infamousis a 2006 film written and directed by Douglas McGrath based on the bookTruman Capote: In Which Various Friends, Enemies, Acquaintances, and Detractors Recall His Turbulent Career, by George Plimpton. This production follows Truman Capote on his journey to write his novelIn Cold Blood, including all the challenges he faced in the process. It stars Toby Jones alongside Bullock, Daniel Craig, Lee Pace, Jeff Daniels, Sigourney Weaver, and Gwyneth Paltrow. In the film, Bullock plays Harper Lee, the novelist best known for her 1961 Pulitzer Prize-winningTo Kill a Mockingbird.
Related:Best Sandra Bullock Comedy Movies, Ranked
Bullock and Melissa McCarthy star inThe Heatas FBI Special Agent Sarah Ashburn and Boston Detective Shannon Mullins. These women couldn’t be any more different from each other: Sarah is arrogant, uptight, and well-mannered, while Shannon is more hot-headed and eccentric. Despite the fact that they do not seem to team up well with one another, they are forced to work together in order to take down a very dangerous criminal, so they must find a way to settle their differences as fast as possible. During this mission, they will also learn to appreciate each other’s strengths.The Heatis a 2013 film directed by Paul Feig that, in spite of getting mixed reviews for its predictable script, performed quite well at the box office.
The 2004 filmCrashfollows several groups of characters living in Los Angeles who are strangers to each other, but whose fates intertwine following a series of unfortunate events that uncover society’s inherent biases. It was directed by Paul Haggis and was inspired by a personal situation with his own car that happened years ago. This production, which won an Oscar for Best Picture, features an ensemble cast with stars such as Bullock, Brendan Fraser, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Jennifer Esposito, William Fichtner, Terrence Howard, Ludacris, Thandiwe Newton, Michael Peña, and Ryan Phillippe.
Keanu Reeves stars inSpeedas Jack Traven, a distinguished Los Angeles cop facing one of the biggest challenges of his career: hunting down a dangerous terrorist named Howard Payne. This man planted a bomb on a crowded local bus that is set to detonate if the bus slows down. to save the citizens, Traven sneaks onto this bus at full speed and attempts to defuse the bomb aided by Annie, a passenger who was left in charge of driving the vehicle. This 1994 production was Jan de Bont’s directorial debut and featured, alongside Reeves and Bullock, Dennis Hopper, Joe Morton, Jeff Daniels, and Alan Ruck, among other actors.
Wrapping up the list is one of Bullock’s most highly acclaimed films, and the one that got her a second Oscar nomination:Gravity. This 2013 film follows Dr. Ryan Stone and Lieutenant Matt Kowalski, a medical engineer and a veteran astronaut who embark on a mission aboard a space rocket that would be Stone’s first and Kowalski’s final one before retiring. However, what seems like a pretty standard mission turns into an absolute disaster, leaving both astronauts stranded in space, out of touch with the Earth and unable to find their way back.Gravitystarred Sandra Bullock and George Clooney and it wasdirected by Alfonso Cuaron, who was also involved as writer and producer. This movie became one of the most acclaimed science fiction productions in history.
