--- description: The "Our Brand Is Crisis" actress was asked why her wealthy character would allow the gray roots of her blonde hair show title: Sandra Bullock Shuts Down Reporter's Question About Her Hair image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9d0412216ce12fd4/698863628e06016956462512/gettyimages-487885404.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [celebrities](/tag/celebrities/) ## celebrities Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Sandra Bullock Brilliantly Shuts Down Reporter's Question About Her Hair  by [Tanya Basu](/author/tanya-basu/)  ## Tanya Basu Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 13, 2015 2:01 PM CUT  Sandra Bullock speaks onstage during the "Our Brand Is Crisis" press conference at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 12, 2015. Sandra Bullock speaks onstage during the "Our Brand Is Crisis" press conference at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 12, 2015.George Pimentel—Getty Images  by [Tanya Basu](/author/tanya-basu/)  ## Tanya Basu Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 13, 2015 2:01 PM CUT Actress Sandra Bullock shot down a reporter who couldn’t believe her high-powered character didn’t care about her hair color. At the Toronto International Film Festival premiere of her much-buzzed about turn as a political strategist in [_Our Brand is Crisis_](http://time.com/4025544/sandra-bullock-our-brand-is-crisis/ "undefined"), Bullock was asked by a reporter about her character’s grown out roots, [reports Refinery29](http://www.refinery29.com/2015/09/93873/sandra-bullock-our-brand-is-crisis-tiff?utm%5Fsource=facebook.com&utm%5Fmedium=post&unique%5Fid=entry%5F93873 "undefined"). Bullock’s character, a retired political strategist staging a comeback by handling a foreign election, is portrayed as a tough-as-nails woman who’s got better things on her mind than touching up the gray roots of her blonde hair. “It was clear she had money, and all the money she’d ever need,” the reporter asked, puzzled. “And yet her hair was clearly two colors, black and white.” Bullock gleefully took to the question, explaining why “root grow out” is a very normal thing. “Sometimes the roots grow out,” she responded. “Sometimes they are grey and sometimes they are dark. It wasn’t white, it was an ashy blonde. It was a very conscious decision to show there was a time in which she had money, you can tell by her clothes as well, that was a time she’s trying to let go.” Producer George Clooney, [for whom the role was originally written for](http://time.com/4032456/george-clooney-hollywood-sexism/ "undefined"), chimed in: “Aren’t you glad you asked that question?” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4032722/sandra-bullock-hair-roots/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4032722/sandra-bullock-hair-roots/"},"headline":"Sandra Bullock Brilliantly Shuts Down Reporter's Question About Her Hair","datePublished":"2015-09-13T14:01:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T10:53:51.258Z","description":"\"Sometimes, roots grow out.\"","url":"https://time.com/4032722/sandra-bullock-hair-roots/","keywords":["celebrities","movies","George Clooney","Sandra Bullock","sexism","hair"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9d0412216ce12fd4/698863628e06016956462512/gettyimages-487885404.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tanya Basu","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tanya-basu/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9d0412216ce12fd4/698863628e06016956462512/gettyimages-487885404.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"2015 Toronto International Film Festival - \"Our Brand Is Crisis\" Press Conference","caption":"2015 Toronto International Film Festival - \"Our Brand Is Crisis\" Press Conference","creditText":"George Pimentel—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/celebrities/","name":"celebrities"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4032722/sandra-bullock-hair-roots/","name":"Sandra Bullock Brilliantly Shuts Down Reporter's Question About Her Hair"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Melinda Gates on Women's Biggest Problem in the Workplace","description":"Melinda Gates talks to TIME's Belinda Luscombe about the biggest problem for women in the workplace","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/umfaJAjz/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-11-19T23:55:26.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/umfaJAjz.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4032722/sandra-bullock-hair-roots/","duration":"PT1M","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4032722/sandra-bullock-hair-roots/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```