Sandra's High School Secrets
Miss Congeniality on cheerleading, dating, and wearing nothing but duct tape (ouch!)
Apr 01, 2004 02:30PM EST

Tony Barson/WireImage.com
TEENPEOPLE.COM: When did you know you wanted to act?
SANDRA BULLOCK: It’s not that I always knew I wanted to act. It’s just what I always did. My dad was the first one in the neighborhood to get a (video recorder), and I would make movies with the neighborhood kids. I would produce and direct them, and tell everyone what to do. There was always some blonde with big boobs, and there was always a toilet flushing somewhere.

TEENPEOPLE.COM: What’s the most outrageous thing you’ve ever done for a role?
SB: Taped my breasts. In one of the first movies I did, there was a love scene, and I didn’t trust them (not to show anything). So I made myself a duct-tape bikini. I wouldn’t suggest that any of you try it, because even if you don’t think you have body hair, you do -- tiny little invisible hairs that duct tape adheres to very strongly.

TEENPEOPLE.COM: What was it like being a cheerleader in high school?
SB: I wasn’t allowed to date, so the only way I could see my boyfriend, who was a wrestler and (played) baseball and football, would be if I became a cheerleader. The day that I got chosen for the squad, I came to school and the gates of heaven opened. Everyone’s opinion of me changed overnight. And it’s sad. I started conforming and got really preppy. One day during my senior year, I went, “What are you doing?” And then everything went back to drama central.

TEENPEOPLE.COM: Do you have any dating advice for teens?
SB: My advice is always date! Experience all kinds of things. I’m not saying sleep around. I’m just saying explore. Don’t settle down and get married -- leave your options open and enjoy. But be kind with people’s feelings. If you dog somebody now, I’m telling you, karma is gonna slap you in the face.

TEENPEOPLE.COM: Looking back, what was your worst high school moment?
SB: Drinking. I had some (rum) at a school dance, didn’t mix it and passed out. My mother and my father came to the gym with my sister dragging behind them. I was throwing up at that point. I remember waking up in the hospital. It was good because I didn’t want to drink after that!

TEENPEOPLE.COM: How about the best thing?
SB: Realizing that conforming didn’t accomplish anything. I was so preppy -- everything was monogrammed and everything had to match. It was such a stress. Being popular was so much work! Do your own thing. As long as you learn that, you’re cool.

PLUS FEATURE

Five More Questions with Sandra Bullock!
On superstardom, unrequited love, and maybe starting a farm one day

Apr 01, 2005 02:00PM EST


TP.COM : What do you think of celebrity worship?
SANDRA BULLOCK: I think it’s unhealthy. We make too much out of the profession. Why don’t we worship the doctors who invent medicine… is that not sexy? Whomever you put on camera and put on screen or on TV automatically becomes sexy, whether or not they looked a certain way before. We make a lot out of this profession, which I don’t think deserves the accolades it gets. Take it down a couple notches. We’re entertainers. That's our job. We are there to make you laugh or make you think…

TP.COM: Do you think there’s such a thing as love at first sight?
SB: I’ve never had it. I’ve had big lust at first sight. I remember this guy named Mookie, and I loved Mookie so much. But Mookie had the most beautiful girlfriend. She was smart and beautiful, and I was OK with that because I was like, "Well, if he’s dating her, then he’s even better than I thought." Plus, Mookie wasn’t looking at me twice. He sort of patted me on the head a little bit. I had some love from afar. Yeah, I loved Mookie a lot. But I also loved that guy from the Chaka Khan video who was in Breakin', parts 1 and 2. And then I also had Prince. I had a lot of love, but they didn’t love me back.

TP.COM : For young people like me, who want to be an actor, what advice can you give?
SB: Be the maverick. Be the one who chooses the path less traveled and just stick with it. Eventually your time will come. It’s not about the crazy money people make. It’s not about being on the cover of a magazine. It’s about doing good and challenging work.

TP.COM: I read that when you were in high school you were voted most likely to brighten up someone's day. Do you still see yourself that way?
SB: No, but I act as though it’s my job. I think it’s just because I have hostess anxiety. I always feel like I need to entertain the troops and make sure everyone is happy. It’s just what I do and it’s exhausting. I’m sure it’s annoying. People are probably talking behind my back saying they wish I’d stop. I should probably ask some people if I annoy them when I do it. But I am the quintessential hostess.

TP.COM: So, looking down the road, 10 years from now…
SB: I don’t look down the road. I really don’t care where I am in 10 years, as long as I’m healthy and happy. I would like to think I’ll know what I’m gonna do, but every time you plan, life happens and nothing you ever plan happens. So, it doesn’t matter as long as I’m having a good time, whether it’s in this business or not in this business or maybe even starting a farm.

Source : http://www.teenpeople.com/teenpeopl...030122,00.shtml