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, Bullock was asked by a reporter about her character’s grown out roots, reports Refinery29.
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, chimed in: “Aren’t you glad you asked that question?”
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Write to Tanya Basu at tanya.basu@time.com