Sandra Bullock Told the ‘Practical Magic 2’ Writers to Use as Much of Her Real Grief as They Wanted, Because It Was Going to Show Up Anyway
· Thought Catalog
Updated 16 minutes ago, September 11, 2026
When Sandra Bullock signed on for “Practical Magic 2,” she didn’t ask the writers to protect her. She told them the opposite: use as much of her real grief as they wanted, because it was going to surface on screen regardless. The role, as it turned out, had been waiting for exactly what she was carrying.
The sequel was Bullock’s first film after the death of her longtime partner, Bryan Randall, whom she cared for during his battle with ALS.
Her character Sally’s path in the book was already strikingly close to her own. Once filming moved to England, being around people she wanted to be around made her wonder if she’d come out the other side.
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She told CBS Mornings’ Adriana Diaz that in the aftermath, her focus on doing the right thing for her kids felt “almost robotic.” England was the shift. Not free of grief, she said, but free of that mode: “It was such a happy time.” Being around Lee, Nick, the girls, and the crew reminded her, she said, “what a happy person I am, just by nature.”
By then it had been 2.5 years. Bullock said she started to think, “maybe I kind of got through the other side,” though she isn’t sure: “I’ll know probably on my deathbed if I completed that one.”
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