The most memorable Sandra Bullock roles

It wasn’t her first movie, but it was her first significant movie (and also only her second role in a film that didn’t go direct-to-video). Tate Donovan plays a man who becomes irresistible to women through a love potion, but the primary object of his affection is Bullock. It was her first time playing a romantic lead, and far from the last.

Demolition Man is primarily an action film pitting Sylvester Stallone against Wesley Snipes. It’s also a bunch of stuff about the future that is weird and a bit silly. Well, other than Taco Bell winning the fast food wars. That makes sense. Bullock’s role is important in the film, but she gets a little overshadowed in all the action.

Speed is what turned Bullock into a star. Oddly, it was an action film that did it. She had great chemistry with Keanu Reeves in this famous thriller built around a simple, though absurd, premise. What if a bus couldn’t slow down? It would turn into a hit movie, apparently.

This movie shouldn’t work. Bullock plays a woman who pretends to be the fiancée of a man in the coma, and then she falls for the comatose man’s brother. Fortunately, romantic comedies often yield a wide berth to ridiculous, sketchy premise — especially when an actress with Bullock’s charms is in the middle of the action.

The Net is fun. It’s fun because it’s a mid-‘90s look at the internet that seemingly was written by people who didn’t know anything about the internet. It had aged poorly by 1996, and now it’s decades later. That being said, it’s also memorable for being an early internet movie, even if it’s a bad one.

Reeves didn’t return for Speed 2, but Bullock was game to return so that the sequel had some ties to the original. Sure, it’s less exciting when the vehicle is a boat. In terms of iffy sequels, Speed 2 is up there. We’ve had Cruise Control lodged in our brain for years, but again, memorable doesn’t necessarily mean “good."

Hey, we just found out this movie was directed by Forest Whitaker. That’s interesting. On the surface, this is a generic drama. A woman and her daughter move back to her small hometown after she leaves her cheating husband. Is there a romance to be found? Of course. There’s nothing groundbreaking here, but it’s a proper execution of the tropes.

Another magic-infused romantic comedy within six years? Hey, Bullock went back to the well, but it worked again. This time, she was a star who could sell a movie, though. However, she had help on this film. Nicole Kidman is also around to play her sister. Both are witches, of course.

There’s romantic comedy-style comedy, and then there is comedy film comedy. They aren’t the same thing. With Miss Congeniality, Bullock showed she could do both. Bullock plays an FBI agent who goes undercover at a beauty pageant. It’s broad, but it's also a lot of fun. Bullock showed she had comedic chops to be sure.

It’s a funny title. That’s helped to make it memorable. While this is an ensemble movie, Bullock is still at the center. She’s the main draw, and she helped make sure the movie got plenty of attention.

Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock: That’s a combination consisting of rom-com royalty. These two were apex romantic comedy performers throughout the ‘90s and into the early 2000s. This isn’t their best work, but it didn’t matter. You throw these two together, and you get a hit.

Keanu and Sandra reunite! This time in a…weird fantasy romance movie? The two play people who live in the same lake house but at different times, but they can communicate through letters they place in the mailbox? And they fall in love? A lot of what makes this movie memorable is just how puzzling it was. Hey, at least it wasn’t generic.

There’s a bit more acidity in this romantic comedy than others. Bullock plays a woman who marries her put-upon assistant to avoid being deported. That’s a tricky place to start a romantic comedy. However, she and Ryan Reynolds had great chemistry, and Betty White was along for the ride as well.

The movie that won Bullock her Oscar. Now, it’s not a good movie. It’s a by-the-numbers inspirational sports movie that made a lot of money — and earned an equal number of eye rolls. Many would call it a win for career achievement, not for this specific performance. However, when you win an Oscar, it definitely makes for a memorable movie.

The same year Bullock won an Oscar, she also won a Razzie for All About Steve. Whatever your take on the Razzies, this was an earned “victory.” This movie is a mess. It pretty much immediately became infamously bad. All About Steve is a massive misfire. On the other hand, Bullock went to the Razzies to claim her award, which was sporting of her.

This is just  a straight-up profane, raunchy comedy built around Bullock and Melissa McCarthy. Bullock plays the upright one of the team. McCarthy does more of the vulgar stuff. It’s a fun action comedy, and Bullock shined in a role that was a departure from most of her memorable roles.

It’s kind of a shame that Bullock won her Oscar for The Blind Side. Otherwise, she would have probably won for Gravity, and she should have. She’s basically the only actor in the movie. It’s a ballet duet between director Alfonso Cuaron and Bullock. Both deserved wins for this film.

Bullock lends her voice to Scarlett Overkill, one of the main character from the movie. People love the Minions. Any of those movies are decidedly memorable. Even if it’s just her voice, being in Minions meant a role that was destined to make this list.

On paper, Ocean’s 8 seemed fun. Bullock was playing George Clooney’s Danny Ocean’s sister. In execution, it was as much a miss as a hit. Nevertheless, Bullock headlined a movie in the Ocean’s series. It was a significant moment in her career.

So much was expected of Ocean’s 8, and it landed a little flat. Bird Box was a Netflix release with little fanfare that became a huge hit for the streamer. People were doing the “Bird Box Challenge.” It was a massive movie, and if Bullock hadn’t been around, who knows if it would have been as much of a draw.