10 Actors Who Reinvented Themselves In Unexpected Ways
9. Sandra Bullock
Although she first came to major prominence for her part in The Bus That Couldn't Slow Down (aka Speed), Sandra Bullock went on to firmly establish herself as a romantic comedy kinda gal.
The Proposal, Two Weeks Notice, the Miss Congeniality movies, these were the sort of thing most people associated with Ms. Bullock prior to 2009.
What happened in 2009? Only a little movie called The Blind Side.
Playing the real life figure of Leigh Anne Tuohy, a woman who took in and cared for a young man who would go on to become a famous American Football player, Bullock wowed critics with her emotional depth and relatability as a mother torn between two different worlds.
She was even awarded Best Actress at the Oscars for the role, famously collecting her statue just one night after also winning the Razzie for Worst Actress.
Since then, more dramatic roles have followed in films like Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close and Gravity. Yes, she still does guff like The Lost City and The Heat from time to time, but on the whole she's in a much stronger position as an actor now than she was before The Blind Side.