A Minute with: Sandra Bullock on playing a baddie in 'Minions'

[July 02, 2015]  By Sara Hemrajani 

LONDON (Reuters) - Sandra Bullock has played a medical engineer in space in "Gravity" and an undercover FBI agent posing as a beauty pageant model in "Miss Congeniality," but she takes on her first villainous role in the animated "Minions."

In "Minions," a "Despicable Me" spin-off out in theaters on July 10, Bullock supplies the voice of the glamorous Scarlett Overkill, who wants the small yellow minions to help her get the British crown jewels.

Bullock, 50, spoke to Reuters about playing a baddie.

Q: The reaction to "Minions" at the London premiere was huge. Do you ever take a step back and think millions of people are excited about your work?

A: It was the Minions. I think love like that can only be for little, yellow pill-shaped creatures with eyeballs.

Q: Scarlett Overkill is not exactly a Cruella de Vil-type character.

A: I said I don't want her to be Cruella de Vil. Cruella was perfect for "101 Dalmations."

I loved that they showed (Scarlett) having a loving relationship with her husband, he dug her. ... They worked as a great team together. ... I wanted my son to see a couple that was into each other.

Q: Voicework is a long process, how did it change from early sketches to the script?

A: It evolved like crazy every time we went in. Something would dawn on me a year later that wasn't evident before and I'd say 'Can we go back and tweak this?' Sometimes there was time to do it and sometimes there wasn't. But it is a growing process, it's very organic.

Q: As one of Hollywood's leading actresses, do you ever feel pressure to push the boundaries more for women?

A: I always loved pushing roles to be something more than the way they were written, saying women are a little more multidimensional, and I was allowed to do it. I didn't really feel that glass ceiling pushing down on me so hard until I got to a certain level when I should've felt freer, and when it happened I was devastated.

I want my son to grow up in a society where he knows what he knows now at a later time in life, which is all women are equal. There is no difference. Unfortunately that doesn't exist now, but, hopefully, I will do my part as many other millions of women are doing their part, and it'll level out.

(Reporting by Sara Hemrajani; Editing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian, Jill Serjeant and Jonathan Oatis)
 

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