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Bullock says Razzie puts Oscar into perspective
The Blind Side star scores unique double with best and worst actress awards
Sandra Bullock has added to her reputation as something of a Hollywood oddball by announcing that she will display her best actress Oscar alongside the worst actress Razzie award that she picked up the previous day.
Bullock made history when she became the first star to pick up both awards on the same weekend - albeit for different films. The Razzie was for her role in the comedy All About Steve - in which she plays a crossword compiler who becomes a stalker - and the Oscar for her portrayal in The Blind Side of a mother-of-two who takes in a homeless black teenager. Under her encouragement, he goes on to become an American football star.
Bullock had to be persuaded to take on the role - based on a true story - after saying she was uncomfortable with the idea of playing a devout Christian. As Christopher Goodwin reported for The First Post last week, the film, yet to open in Britain, has won huge audiences among America’s religious right, prompting some to suggest Bullock's character is Sarah Palin-esque.
Whether this accounts in part for her reticence, it is unclear. But Bullock was quick to say she would not be carried away by the Hollywood hoop-la and described her worst actress award as a "great equaliser". She said: "Nothing ever lets me get too full of myself. It quickly chops me off at the knees, and I like it that way because it just keeps things stable. They'll sit side by side in a nice little shelf somewhere, the Razzie maybe on a different shelf... lower!"
Bullock, 45, does not conform to many Tinseltown stereotypes. She lives outside Austin, Texas with her husband, motorcycle builder and host of TV show Monster Garage, Jesse James. She runs businesses in Austin, including a restaurant called Bess Bistro, and a bakery and flower shop with the name Walton's Fancy and Staple.
She has no children of her own, but she and James won custody of his five-year-old daughter last year after a battle with his second wife, former porn star Janine Lindemulder.
Until her Oscar success, Bullock's career has been a curious affair. Her turn in The Blind Side is arguably one of the few serious roles she has taken on. Since she found fame alongside Keanu Reeves in Speed back in 1994, she has tended to be cast in other action thrillers (The Net and /Crash) or lightweight comedies (Miss Congeniality, Two Weeks Notice and The Proposal).
It remains to be seen which direction her career takes next. She has her own production company, Fortis Films – but that was responsible for the dire All About Steve, not The Blind Side.
