The Oscar winner stars in “Practical Magic 2,” now in theaters.

Sandra Bullock recalls ‘pervert’ asking her to drop her pants while auditioning: ‘Not the role for me’

The Oscar winner stars in “Practical Magic 2,” now in theaters.

By Marina Watts

Marina Watts

Marina Watts is a news writer for with seven years experience covering entertainment, pop culture and celebrity news. Her previous work appears in PEOPLE, Bustle and Newsweek.

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September 14, 2026 11:58 a.m. ET

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Sandra Bullock at the photocall for ‘Practical Magic 2’ in London in August 2026. Credit:

Kate Green/Getty

- Sandra Bullock recalled auditions in the early days of her career, when she says she was asked to “drop” her pants by “every pervert that existed.”

- The Oscar winner, who had appeared in romantic comedies throughout the ’90s, then appeared in the 2004 crime thriller, *Crash*, which won Best Picture and Bullock called “genius.”

- The actress’ latest movie, *Practical Magic 2*, is now in theaters.

Sandra Bullock is looking back an the appalling request she received early in her career.

During an *Interview Magazine** *conversation with Jennifer Aniston, Bullock discussed auditions gone wrong and her return to acting, following the break she took after 2022’s *The Lost City*. The Oscar winner is now back, starring alongside Nicole Kidman in *Practical Magic 2*.

At one point, Aniston asked Bullock: “Was there a moment when you made a deliberate choice about the kind of career you wanted, or did it just evolve?”

“You’ll get this,” Bullock began. “I was in New York, I was a waitress, I was auditioning for every pervert that existed, asking me to drop my pants. I was like, ‘Nope, not the role for me.’”

Sandra Bullock at the U.S. premiere of ‘Practical Magic 2,’ in Los Angeles in August 2026.

Chloe Kern/FilmMagic

“I was working my way up. Every working actor thinks you will never work again so you just take what you can get and make the most of it.”

Added Bullock, “The only time I was intentional about my career was when I said, ‘I need to stop right now with the rom-coms,’ because I was getting so much s--- for them. And I took a role in this film called *Crash*.”

Sandra Bullock and Jennifer Aniston joke about both dating Tate Donovan

Sandra Bullock reveals the shocking question she kept getting asked about ‘Practical Magic’

The crime thriller *Crash*, which Bullock called “a genius film,”* *came out in 2004 and won three Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. Up until then, Bullock’s credits included romantic comedies such as *Forces of Nature*, *Practical Magic*,* **Two If By Sea*, *While You Were Sleeping*, and *Two Weeks Notice*.

Five years after *Crash*, Bullock won an Academy Award for her performance in the drama, *The Blind Side*.

Aniston related to Bullock’s desire to shift genres. “It’s a very risky feeling to say, ‘I’m going to drop what feels like my comfort zone, which is comedies, and let’s see if they’ll take me seriously in the dramatic world,’” said the *Friends* star, who has starred in many a comedy film, including *He’s Just Not That Into You*, *The Break-Up*, *Bruce Almighty*, and *Along Came Polly*.

“The industry tends to pooh-pooh comedies, but they’re not as easy as they look,” Aniston said.

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“Now more than ever, I miss that. I want to do nothing but that now,” Bullock added.

She returns to the genre with *Practical Magic 2*, a follow-up to the 1998 movie that was initially panned but gained a cult following over time thanks to fans on social media. “When we made the first film, we were absolutely eviscerated. If you look at the reviews, they were scathing,” Bullock recalled elsewhere in the interview.

“‘How many women do you need in a film? How many emotions need to be in a film?’ I had a decent amount of shame because I thought I’d done something wrong. You just go, ‘Okay, okay, okay. I won’t do that again.’ And then it just took off.”

Sandra Bullock at the ‘Practical Magic 2’ European premiere, in London in August 2026.

Karwai Tang/WireImage

*Practical Magic 2 *is now in theaters.

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