Sandra Bullock is taking a break from acting: ‘I’m so burnt out. I’m so tired’


Sandra Bullock’s latest movie was The Lost City, which I really liked and apparently so did others because it pulled in $187.7 million worldwide. Sandra, Channing Tatum, Daniel Radcliffe, and Da’Vine Joy Randolph were all great in their roles. Sandra was approached by Paramount to produce and star in the movie and The Hollywood Reporter wrote a feature on what went into making the movie and its getting past the $100 million mark domestically. A lot of the article is a bit inside baseball, but it also dives into Sandra’s recent comments that she’s going to take a break from acting.

During interviews around the time of SXSW, Bullock revealed she was going to take a break from acting and producing to focus on her two children (she was working back-to-back on The Lost City and The Unforgivable). All told, the Oscar-winning actress has starred in 50 films.

“I don’t want to be beholden to anyone’s schedule other than my own,” Bullock says. “I’m so burnt out. I’m so tired, and I’m so not capable of making healthy, smart decisions and I know it.” She won’t say how long this break might last. “I really don’t know.”

Adds Bullock: “Work has always been steady for me, and I’ve been so lucky. I realized it possibly was becoming my crutch. It was like opening up a fridge all the time and looking for something that was never in the fridge. I said to myself, ‘Stop looking for it here because it doesn’t exist here. You already have it; establish it, find it and be OK not having work to validate you.’”

Bullock says producing The Lost City with Chasin was a fabulous experience, as was working with Paramount, which allowed her the kind of creative freedom and respect she hasn’t always experienced. “I love working with artists, and that’s why Liza and I were very well-matched,” Bullock says. “If I’m going out with a bang, I want to go out with the right person.”

Adds Chasin of their future, “Sandy and I are going to do something together. It might just be baking cookies. We don’t know what it is yet — it might be a movie — but it is going to be great.”

So where does that leave the possibility of a Lost City sequel? Paramount sources say they’d love to find more treasure with Bullock and Chasin.

[From The Hollywood Reporter]

Sandra occupies the position of being both extremely prolific and well-regarded as an actress, so it makes sense that (a) she would be burned out and (b) that if she steps away she will be able to come back when she’s ready and pick and choose her projects. Julia Roberts scaling back her acting projects for a while comes to mind as well. After being everywhere from like 1995-2009, Sandra does sometimes take a few years between projects now. It sounds like she’s planning to do that again, but for an indefinite amount of time. Her comment about “going out with a bang” is interesting though. It really makes it sound like Sandra has no new projects planned for the foreseeable future and she’s not even thinking generally about when her break might end. If she’s tired and has the ability to step away from the thing burning her out, I can’t fault her for that. Sandra probably wants to spend more time with her kids and her partner. Sounds like Paramount would love for her break to be short though.

Photos credit: Avalon.red

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40 Responses to “Sandra Bullock is taking a break from acting: ‘I’m so burnt out. I’m so tired’”

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  1. Jo says:

    I have always been a bit weirded out by her ever since her relationship (marriage?) with that Jesse something Nazi dude. I don’t follow her (or any gossip other than here) so she may have explained it very clearly and I missed it. My mind still wonders how she did not know what the dude was about.
    Please re-assure me and tell me she’s great!

    • Saba says:

      Some people have a way of wanting to see the best in their partner. Their potential rather than reality. Other people can be extremely manipulative, love bomb and then become abusive.

      I don’t know much about her relationship with Jesse, other than she was smart enough to get out.

      Also, she dated Ryan Gosling before he was super famous. I’m leaning towards her being great!

    • Jessamine says:

      There was *a lot* of absolutely bat**** stuff that came out about that guy and Sandra seemed genuinely shell-shocked and blindsided in the aftermath. But she got out, prioritized her son and their well-being, and she’s longterm friends with Keanu so I’m also leaning toward her being great!

    • C says:

      The Blind Side is one of the cringiest things I ever saw and that combined with her marriage to that Nazi makes me side-eye her just a little. She seems like a nice person otherwise.

    • I’ve known people who worked VERY closely with her for years and love her to death. She treats crew well, I’ve never heard a bad word about her on set, or otherwise. I’ve met Keaunu, and he’s just the loveliest. He wouldn’t be friends with her if she were a nazi. Ultimately we will never know what goes on in someone’s marriage, or how someone crafted themselves to appear charming and loving. I was married to a classic diagnosed narcissist and they have a way of fooling everybody. I give her all the credit in the world. I KNOW she’s a great mom, and puts her kids first, is very unpretentious with them and protects them. I’d give her a break, she’s one of the good ones.

      • Julia K says:

        Yes to the narcissists being able to fool everyone. Such charm! So manipulative pitting family against family. Such good liars. I can believe she was blindsided. It took years for us to realize we’d been played.

  2. Runaway says:

    I unapologetically love sandy B, and I enjoyed Lost city because the stars are talented, not necessarily because the story or acting was stellar. She really phoned in her performance, and her face barely moved which I found distracting. I’m glad she’s taking a break, and if she does come back I hope so does her passion for her work

    • Green girl says:

      I love her, too, and I hope every penny she has makes her smile. I do think her comments are tone-deaf as there are so many people who would love to just take an extended break without worrying about the bills. Did she even need to announce her break? She could have just…laid low for a while and then reappear in a new film late next year.

      • elle says:

        @Green girl – Does she even make yearly movies as it is? It doesn’t seem like it, so I’m not sure anyone would have noticed a break! I always liked her, but lately she has seemed extra try-hard, like her appearance on Kelly Clarkson’s show.

        Her promo thumbnail looks like Mary Louise Parker, which is absolutely no insult, but she has her own face, which was also perfectly lovely.

      • BothSidesNow says:

        @ Green girl, I enjoy her movies tremendously, but her comment is so tone deaf right now. There is such an enormous amount of tragedy and unrest happening right now. I think it would have been best had she not made that comment, just disappear for awhile. She doesn’t work non stop as it is.

    • Mrs.Krabapple says:

      I saw Lost City because the ads made me think of Romancing the Stone, which I loved because of the memorable one-liners, the chemistry between Turner and Douglas, the good use of Mexican locations, great cameo by Arau, and all-around humor mixed with adventure. Lost City had NONE of that. Such a huuuge disappointment.

    • SarahFrancisco says:

      I love her too and enjoyed most of the movies she was in. She is able to convey this feeling of being a solid, normal person, regardless of who she is playing or what she is really like in real life.

      By the way… When actors of this level, total A-listers who don’t need money or awards say they are taking a break b/c they are overworked and unexcited about the roles they are being offered, I wonder – what stops them from being vigilant about choosing ONLY what they want to do? These actors can do what they want and only when they want it. But then, Salma Hayek a total superstar and a very wealthy woman who had made the movie she always wanted to make, then went on to do some silly trash… The whole business is a mystery to me.

  3. Kimma1216 says:

    I wish I had this option. I am also burned out and exhausted. Must be nice.

    • Granger says:

      Seriously, I’m happy for her, but this was my first thought too. If only we all had the option of taking a long hiatus from work to focus on making healthy, smart decisions!

      • Ramona says:

        I would also looove to take a break from my job but I couldn’t do her job either (long hours on a set or traveling a lot,always be pleasant and on to promote a movie or something)and be in the public eye and judged…I guess I prefer my life and my job😅

      • Twin Falls says:

        I saw the lost city and it was okay. I liked her promotional interviews for the movie better than the movie itself. It does not need a sequel.

    • kirk says:

      Sorry to hear that Kimma1216. If you can, try to schedule a weekly date just for yourself – bubble bath, tai chi in the park, 2 hours in bed with good book from the library, or whatever works to help you feel refreshed.

    • Jo says:

      I didn’t want to be crankyballs but that was my second thought.
      But hey, burn-out is a Democratic thing and I believe her when she says it. It has many causes and we don’t know what goes on in people’s lives.

    • Barbiem says:

      My first thoughts as well.
      Must be nice. No shade toward her, she got into a career and can afford to quit working. Im an exhausted nurse wondering how im gonna retire early because no way I can work until im almost 70. I cant make it.

    • Bettyrose says:

      MTE! I just had an emotional melt down after working yet another weekend to catch up. I don’t have children and simply can’t fathom how people are managing it these days. Work expects non stop availability and life costs a fortune.

      But I wish Sandy the best. When she decides to return she should pick some worthwhile streaming projects.

    • Dee says:

      Right! I’m a health care worker caring for sick people in a pandemic who chose the advice from politicians over the advice from doctors! Wish we could just “take a break”

    • Jess says:

      Me too. I like her and I loved the Lost City but all I felt reading this was resentment. I know I should be glad for her but I’m so burnt out and exhausted and there’s no break in sight for me, so yea, I’m just envious and a little resentful that a multimillionaire doing their dream job is getting to take a “break” because they’re “burnt out.”

      • Nikki says:

        Celebrities and wealthy people can feel burnout too. She probably works 12 hour days, and has the financial welfare of an entire cast & crew on her shoulders most days. She’s been doing it pretty non-stop for years, though she’s a devoted hands-on mom. I don’t roll my eyes or judge her for being real.

      • C says:

        Mmmm…I get what you mean but lots of studies show that less resources financially will cost you your mental health and personal relationships much quicker and more destructively than someone like her. And her days may be long but she can take whole seasons off if she likes, and go places, and not worry about rent or bills.

      • Granger says:

        The argument that actors work 12-hour days doesn’t hold water for me. Sure, maybe twice a year they work 12-hour days for a 2 or 3-month stretch. But then they get the other 6 months of the year off. Oh, and while they’re working, there’s someone at home cleaning their toilets, doing their laundry, and cooking their meals. Big name actors like Sandra Bullock don’t even drive themselves to work. They roll out of bed, walk out the door to a chauffeur driven car, and then sit in a chair having their hair and make-up done — which sounds AWESOME to me. 😀 I don’t begrudge anyone for wanting to take time to focus on their well-being, but movie stars definitely have it pretty darn good.

    • Alice says:

      Same with B’s new song, get a bf and quit your job. I was like, I’d love to but don’t have a billion in the bank, so…I do admit I’m jealous though. I am so tired. Mentally exhausted from stress.

    • CoffeeChamp says:

      Sorry to hear this Kimma1216 et al. The burn out is so real. Until we can…
      “Release your anger, Release your mind, Release your job, Release your time, Release your trade, Release the stress, Release the love, forget the rest” Beyonce ft. Big Freedia.

  4. Sasha says:

    She’s so beloved she’s going to be able to come back when she wants to. Agree with the other commenters – if only the rest of us were so lucky to be able to take a break from work!

  5. Concern Fae says:

    We’re the same age. 58. You can have all the plastic surgery and “non/invasive procedures,” but at some point you have to face that you are pushing 60, and making movies where you not only look but do the action scenes of someone much younger is going to take a toll.

    Not everyone is Tom Cruise. Who is only two years older than Bullock, but gets gets way more shit about looking inappropriately young. He is a far more terrible person, however.

    • Betsy says:

      I find that I really like Sandra Bullock the person but her distorted face is much like Tom Cruise’s now. I can’t look. I miss normal faces.

      • Lens says:

        Yeah I’m her age approximately too and there is a big change in the energy level you bring to your work in the ten years between 48 and 58. At least there was for me as a teacher.

  6. Lucy2 says:

    I really enjoyed lost city, it was fun and funny. I don’t blame her for wanting to take a long break, I think almost everyone wishes they could! She’s lucky to be able to do so.

  7. molly says:

    Seriously, go start a wine company and just chill at home with your kids. (Because that’s what I’d do if I had piles of money.)

    Call up Cameron Diaz. She seems pretty dang happy these days.

  8. Common sense says:

    I haven’t watched a Sandra Bullock movie that I didn’t enjoy. Good for her for taking time out for herself and her family.

  9. K-law says:

    She may be burnt out by other things in life too. That happened to me recently – the only choice I had was to quit my job and recover. I don’t know if she’s necessarily blaming work for the burnout here?

    Here’s a really good book on women & burnout:

    https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/592377/burnout-by-emily-nagoski-phd-and-amelia-nagoski-dma/

  10. Mothra says:

    She’s someone I’d miss seeing on screen, love her charismatic presence.

  11. Ann says:

    Wasn’t she on a break before? I’m confused now. Whatever!

  12. Zone says:

    Good for her. Cameron Diaz did the same thing except she retired permanently in the end. As CD said, you get a lot of energy coming at you in their line of work. I already find office politics draining enough; can’t imagine billions judging you and having that much pressure to make movies work and all the marketing they have to do with each film. Yes, they’re paid extremely well but still…think it was Harrison Ford who said he’d act for free but his pay cheques compensate him for the loss of anonymity.

  13. Thinking says:

    I like her as a person, but I don’t know if I’d miss her from movies…. Unless maybe it’s a Miss Congenualiry sequel.