Sandra Bullock revealed a heartwarming surprise for her two teenage children during the Los Angeles premiere of “Practical Magic 2” on Aug. 31. The Oscar winner, 62, adopted her son Louis, now 16, in 2010 and daughter Laila, now 13, in 2015. Speaking alongside co-star Nicole Kidman on the Sept. 8 episode of Hoda Kotb’s “Making Space” podcast, Bullock shared that the highly anticipated sequel marks the first film set her teens were old enough to remember visiting—and the first where they actually made the final cut.
From Set Visitors to On-Screen Presence
Bullock described her children’s evolving curiosity about her work, progressing from “Where are you going?” to “Can we watch?” and finally, “Can we be in it?” However, previous attempts to include them had ended on the cutting room floor.
“every time I put them in the background before, it’s gotten cut,” Bullock said. “Sorry. Show business.”
Things changed with “Practical Magic 2.” Bullock incorporated “their essences,” using “little recordings from when they were babies and then all the way up” to weave their voices into the film. The teenagers remained unaware until the premiere.
“Last night when it came up, they’re all like, ‘That’s me?’ And they got to see themselves as babies and little toddlers. And yeah, it was very sweet,” she said. “So they didn’t get cut out,” Bullock added with a laugh. “They’re kinda in it.”
Kidman’s Family Experience on Set
Nicole Kidman, 59, also brought her family to the London set. She shares daughters Sunday Rose, 18, and Faith Margaret, 15, with husband Keith Urban, and has two adult children with ex-husband Tom Cruise.
“They’ve been on sets pretty much their whole lives,” Kidman told Hoda. “So it was more like they were in London in the summer, and it was just beautiful for them. And my niece was there, and so for us it was just a family kind of affair. And they would come and go and watch things, and both of them have seen this movie now. They hadn’t seen the original.”
Kidman noted her teens have since watched the 1998 cult classic in which she and Bullock play the Owens sisters, witch descendants navigating practical magic.
Parenting Teenagers: Perspectives from Two Oscar Winners
The conversation turned to raising teenagers, with both actors offering insights for Kotb, whose daughters are 9 and 7.
“I think it’s a joy,” Kidman said. “I mean, is it hard? Aspects of it can be challenging. But at the same time, is it extraordinary to accompany these people on their journey, on the beginning of their journey, and just say, ‘I’m here. I’m your guide. I’m hopefully your home, your safe place, and the world is your oyster?'”
Bullock described a different parenting reality shaped by race. While she is white, both her children are Black.
“I mean, we’re different this, you know?” she said while gesturing to her skin. “I’m uber paranoid, and they will tell you. They’re like, ‘Mom, it’s going to be fine.’ I’m like, ‘It’s not fine. It’s not fine outside.’ The energy that is floating around our country and our world.”
“Again, the color of their skin. They’re my babies, they’re my life, but no one knows that when they leave my house,” she continued. “So that is always in the forefront of my mind. But I’m now learning to trust them. Where they are now is extraordinary.”
“Practical Magic 2” hits theaters Sept. 10.
