The Sandra Bullock role Julia Roberts wished she hadn’t turned down: “Most regrettable”
When a movie star like Julia Roberts, who was once at the very top of the industry, expresses disappointment about missed opportunities, you know that’s how they became the best. This constant pursuit of success determines the trajectories of their careers, but that doesn’t always translate to sound judgements in the moment.
With massive successes like Erin Brockovich and Pretty Woman under her belt, Roberts has crafted a filmography that is admired by both fans and critics all over the world. However, there have also been times when she couldn’t recognise a potential hit when it came in the form of a pitch or a script across her desk, and one such project was nabbed up by Sandra Bullock instead.
While You Were Sleeping is a 1995 romantic comedy featuring Bullock as Lucy Moderatz, a solitary Chicago Transit Authority token collector. Lucy harbours a secret admiration for a commuter named Peter Callaghan, played by Peter Gallagher. Peter almost dies and falls into a coma, and she pretends to be his fiance. A bit of comedy and more than a bit of drama ensues. As she becomes entwined in their lives, she finds herself developing feelings for Peter’s brother, Jack, played by Bill Pullman.
Bullock herself is renowned for her versatility in both comedic and dramatic roles. And although her professional is canvassed by romantic comedies, including While You Were Sleeping, that’s not actually how she got her start. Her mother, Helga Mathilde Meyer, was a German opera singer, and her father, John W Bullock, was an American voice teacher. Bullock spent a significant portion of her childhood in Nürnberg, West Germany, where she performed in her mother’s opera productions and sang in the children’s choir at the Staatstheater Nürnberg. This early exposure to the performing arts cultivated her passion for acting.
The film was both a critical and commercial success, grossing over $182million worldwide. Sandra Bullock’s performance was particularly lauded, earning her a Golden Globe nomination for ‘Best Actress in a Motion Picture—Comedy or Musical’. It was one of the first films to propel Sandra Bullock to the success she enjoys today.
Set during the holiday season, While You Were Sleeping has become a Christmas comfort film for many. It is often revisited under mistletoe, next to an ornament-festooned tree. Sandra Bullock wasn’t their first choice for the role, though. Her casting has been a topic of controversy before, but the part was meant to go to Demi Moore and then to Julia Roberts.
Fred Lebow, one of the film’s screenwriters, revealed: “The person who was initially meant to do the movie was Demi Moore. They couldn’t agree on a contract, so that fell apart. We were very excited when he heard Demi wanted to make it – she was Hollywood’s biggest star then – and she had never done a comedy, so it was a big deal. But it might not have been the same movie then.”
Lebow has more to say about the casting process, claiming, “Lots of big actresses passed on it. I think to this day, Julia Roberts says that was one of her most regrettable decisions.” This makes sense. At the time, people knew who Sandra Bullock was, but everyone knew who Julia Roberts was. It makes sense that Moore and Roberts would be the first choices.
The movie is neither the first nor the last rom com that Bullock would star in, while she’s worked in every genre at one point or another, this is the one that she’s known for. For Miss Congeniality, for Practical Magic, for Two Weeks Notice. She just has a knack for those things.
