Throughout her long-standing career, Sandra Bullock has given numerous hits, including the 2018 horror film Bird Box. The Netflix original, based on the 2014 novel of the same name, is set in a post-apocalyptic world where witnessing an ominous unseen creature compels people to kill themselves.
Bullock, who portrayed Malorie Hayes, had to wear a blindfold while filming the movie, which also became a major issue for her, as she later opened up about her struggles with working in a blindfold.
Sandra Bullock Opened Up About the Challenges of Filming Bird Box Blindfolded
The 2018 horror film Bird Box follows Malorie Hayes’ journey as she tries to take her children to a safe community in the post-apocalyptic world, where looking at unseen creatures drives people insane, leading them to kill themselves.
Due to the sinister nature of the entity, the survivors wear blindfolds to avoid seeing it. Malorie, portrayed by Sandra Bullock, and her children also wear a blindfold during her journey to a safe community to protect herself from the creature.
And the actress herself felt the struggles of her character, as she later revealed how challenging it was for her to work without her vision and how it forced her to rethink her approach to storytelling. Talking about working on the horror film, the Oscar-winner told TV Week,
I read the script and thought, ‘This is going to be great visually’, but once you are in it, you realize one of your tools for acting is completely taken away — I realized how much I relied on my eyes to tell a story in film.
Bullock further shared, “It made me angry and frustrated and fearful.” However, instead of letting these emotions affect her work, Bullock channeled them creatively into her role. “So I took all that and let it affect the work too,” she said, reflecting on working on the Netflix horror hit.
Sandra Bullock Was Able to Relate to Her Bird Box Character as a Mother
During her interview, Bullock also discussed how she as a mother herself, was able to relate to her character. Bullock, who is a mother to two kids, Louis and Laila, shared that the monsters in her life are paparazzi.
“The kids are very afraid of them,” the actress told TV Week, suggesting that her kids often get scared when they notice being followed by paparazzi. She said,
I always remind them that nothing is going to happen to them when they see them following us and to keep their heads down and keep walking.
The actress has occasionally opened up about her children and has also taken a break from acting to focus on her family and kids. “I want to be at home,” she told CBS Sunday Morning while promoting her 2022 film The Lost City.
Bullock also shared that she would be taking a break for “a while,” noting that it does not have a definite time period and she would not be willing to be back until she doesn’t feel like it.
Bird Box is available to watch on Netflix.
