'The Blind Side' Cast Side-by-Side with the Real-Life People They Played

Take a look at the real-life people played by Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw and Quinton Aaron in the sports drama

New details are coming to light about Michael Oher and the Tuohy family, who inspired 2009's The Blind Side.

Based on the 2006 book of the same name by Michael Lewis, the film is centered around the Tuohy family taking Oher in and offering to help him with school and his football career.

The movie went on to make more than $330 million at the box office, plus more as the film gained extra notoriety when it was nominated for Best Picture at the 82nd Academy Awards and Sandra Bullock won the Oscar for Best Actress for her portrayal of the Tuohy matriarch, Leigh Anne.

Though the film was a commercial success, it later put a strain on Oher's relationship with the Tuohy family, as the former NFL player expressed remorse over how the film depicts him — especially the way it frames him as a student who struggled in the classroom.

On Aug. 14, 2023, Oher filed a legal petition to terminate a conservatorship, in which he alleges Leigh Anne Tuohy and Sean Tuohy lied about adopting him while making millions off his name.

In a filing in the Shelby County, Tenn. probate court, Oher claims the Tuohy family tricked him into making them his conservators when he was 18, allegedly telling him there was no consequential difference between being adopted and entering into a conservatorship. Oher also alleges in his legal petition that he did not receive the same earnings from film as the four members of the Tuohy family, whom he claims were paid $225,000 for the film plus 2.5% of the film’s proceeds.

Ahead, see the cast side-by-side with their real-life counterparts and what they've all said about the film.

Sandra Bullock as Leigh Anne Tuohy

Sandra Bullock played the Tuohy matriarch, Leigh Anne Tuohy, in the hit film. Though Bullock received critical acclaim for her role, including the Academy Award for Best Actress, she was skeptical about taking on the part initially, thinking the movie would be too sappy.

”I didn’t trust it,” she told Entertainment Weekly. ”I thought it would be schmaltzy and soft.” However, after spending a day with Leigh Anne, she changed her mind.

Tuohy was also won over by Bullock's portrayal. ”She did a good job,” Tuohy told EW. ”And if she’d done a bad job, I’d have told you in a second — I’m all about being honest.”

Tim McGraw as Sean Tuohy

Tim McGraw played the Tuohy patriarch, Sean Tuohy, in the movie. Like Bullock, McGraw was hesitant about taking on the role, mostly because he didn't want to do another sports film following Friday Night Lights.

"I had already done that and I really didn’t want to do a father kind of deal because I’d just done Flicka," he told NJ.com. "The script was in a stack I had to read on vacation. I didn’t think I would be interested, and I read it and it stuck with me. I knew Sandra was going to do it and John Lee Hancock was going to direct and all the reasons to do it started adding up and the reasons not to do it didn’t make sense anymore."

Quinton Aaron as Michael Oher

Quinton Aaron starred as Michael Oher in the film, a role he first auditioned for when he was a student at New York University. In fact, it was his mother who first put him up for the part.

“At the time, my mom was acting as my manager,” Aaron told Dallas Observer. “She read to me the breakdown of the character and said, ‘Who does that sound like?’ and I said, ‘That sounds like me.’ I thought it was something she was writing about me to submit me for something. And then she was like, ‘OK, now go back to bed.’ I went back to bed and didn’t think anything of it.” The next day, his mother informed him he had an audition.

Though Aaron met Sean and Leigh Anne during filming, he told the publication that he didn't actually meet Oher until years later. “It was cool,” Aaron recalled of the meeting. “We were actually doing an autograph signing in Chicago. We chatted, went out to dinner and everything. He’s a really cool guy.”

For years, Oher has expressed remorse over how the film depicts him — specifically the way it frames him as a student who struggled in the classroom. "I don't like the movie," he told ESPN.com in 2016, adding that many people make assumptions about him based on the film before getting to know him.

Lily Collins as Collins Tuohy

Lily Collins played the Tuohys' eldest daughter, Collins Tuohy, who attended high school with Oher. The film marked Collins' breakthrough role as an actress. In 2019, the Emily in Paris star reflected on the pivotal role as she documented the film's 10th anniversary.

"10 years ago today, my first film 'The Blindside' [sic] premiered," she wrote at the time, per Fox News. "I'm forever grateful for this experience and the incredible journey it has sent me on. Insane how time flies..."

Jae Head as Sean Tuohy Jr.

Jae Head played the Tuohys' youngest son, Sean Tuohy Jr., nicknamed SJ. The real Sean Jr. has previously spoken about how he was portrayed in the film, telling KATV in 2018, "Everyone wants me to stay as this 11-year-old kid."

"Some people think I 'Benjamin Button'-ed it, never aged or went backwards. I think it's disappointing to someone when I say that's me. 'Oh man, I thought you were much smaller and cuter!' "

He also noted that Bullock's portrayal of his mother was pretty accurate, to an extent. "She's much worse in real life than Sandra Bullock was in the movie. That was two hours of my mom. Think about that as a 24-hour day, all the time."

Ray McKinnon as Hugh Freeze

In the film, Ray McKinnon plays Coach Cotton. The character represents Hugh Freeze, who coached Oher at Briarcrest Christian School before becoming the head football coach at the University of Mississippi.

Freeze previously told the New York Post that he has mixed thoughts on his portrayal in the film.

“I sure hope I’m not as goofy as this guy — that was my reaction,” Freeze told the publication. “I don’t think I needed so much guidance in coaching, but at the end of the day the movie is about a young man who receives a chance and a family who puts their faith into action. It changed a person’s trajectory in life. At the end of the day, that’s what I want my coaching to be about.”

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