Sandra Bullock Reveals She Was Asked to 'Drop My Pants' by 'Every Pervert' in Her Early Auditions

Sandra Bullock has recalled being asked to 'drop my pants' during early acting auditions in New York, saying she encountered 'every pervert that existed.' The Practical Magic 2 star made the remarks while speaking to Jennifer Aniston for Interview magazine in an article published on 8 September 2026.

Bullock said she was working as a waitress in New York while auditioning for roles. She described the experience when Aniston asked whether she had made deliberate choices about the direction of her career.

'I was in New York, I was a waitress, I was auditioning for every pervert that existed asking me to drop my pants,' Bullock said. 'I was like, 'Nope, not the role for me.'

She added that uncertainty is part of working life for many actors. 'Every working actor thinks you will never work again so you just take what you can get and make the most of it,' she said.

Sandra Bullock Reveals Why She Walked Away

Bullock did not name any casting directors, producers, productions or specific auditions. Her comments were a personal account of the conditions she encountered while seeking work, rather than an allegation against an identified individual.

The quote is blunt, but it is not a detailed account of a single incident and does not identify anyone. Her recollection highlights questions about consent and the power imbalance between inexperienced actors and people controlling access to roles.

Bullock later reflected on how much control performers have over their public stories. She said the industry had felt more difficult earlier in her career, before actors had the same ability to speak openly about their experiences.

'It was scarier back then,' Bullock said. 'Now we've seen behind the curtain and we see it's all smoke and mirrors. We get to have more agency over our narrative now and speak the truth, when back then we really couldn't.'

The exchange places her comments within the broader discussion around the pressures women in Hollywood have faced throughout their careers. Bullock's account remains limited to what she personally encountered, with no further details provided about the auditions.

Her decision to leave those opportunities was one of two career choices she discussed with Aniston. The second came after she had become widely known for romantic comedies.

Sandra Bullock Reveals Her Career Pivot

Bullock said she eventually decided to move away from rom-coms after facing criticism for appearing in them. She described that decision as another deliberate moment in her career.

'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 shit for them,' she said.

She then accepted a role in Crash, the 2004 ensemble drama. 'I wanted to start flexing other muscles,' Bullock said.

Aniston suggested that the decision must have been risky. She also defended comedy, telling Bullock, 'The industry tends to pooh-pooh comedies, but they're not as easy as they look.'

Bullock said her view of the genre had changed. 'Now more than ever, I miss that,' she said. 'I want to do nothing but that now.'

Her comments come as she returns to the world of Practical Magic with Practical Magic 2. The film reunites Bullock and Nicole Kidman as sisters Sally and Gillian Owens, while Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing reprise their roles as Frances and Jet.

Bullock also discussed the original 1998 film's difficult reception. 'When we made the first film, we were absolutely eviscerated,' she said, referring to the response from critics at the time.

She credited social media with helping audiences explain why the film had remained important to them. Bullock said mothers had watched it with their daughters, allowing its following to continue across generations.

The sequel did not happen quickly. Bullock said the decision to move ahead with it took five years after the initial 'Let's go do this' conversation.

Practical Magic 2 marks Bullock's return to the franchise at a moment when she is revisiting both the films that shaped her career and the choices she made to move beyond them. Her account of those early auditions is considerably less nostalgic, and much harder to dismiss as just another Hollywood anecdote.