When you think of adversity, what do you see? Do you see a single mother having given birth to multiple infants, not knowing who their father is? How about the inability to care for and provide shelter and love for your eleven children? Because the way Michael Oher was brought up defines the extreme adversity of low-income families, as well as what that lack of care results in — an emptiness that almost nothing can fill.

Oher was placed in multiple foster homes and found no place comfortable to return to upon turning 18. After being welcomed into the home of a well-known and financially stable family, the Tuohys, Oher slowly began to learn how to trust and open up. The Tuohys provided him with shelter, food, clothes, education, and a family as they eventually adopted him as their own son.

Though Mrs. Tuohy did everything she could to connect Oher with a safe place to call his own, she went the extra mile by proposing he play football for his high school team. Oher progressed so well on the team that he received a plethora of offers to play from college football teams. He ended up playing offensive tackle for Ole Miss. Continuing to thrive athletically as "Big Mike," Oher was drafted twenty-third in the NFL draft by the Baltimore Ravens, where he played and started in 110 games.

Though he retired from the NFL in 2016, Oher has continued with charity work and has since married his girlfriend of seventeen years. The Tuohy reside in Tennessee and now own 80 chain restaurants. And since the characters of The Blind Side did so well at their story portrayal, we’re deciding to take you into the cast's current life to see what they’re working on now.

Sandra Bullock

Sandra Bullock
Paramount Pictures

Sandra Bullock is incredible at character portrayal. She’s succeeded in films like Miss Congeniality, Bird Box, The Proposal, and more. When she took on the role of Leigh Anne Tuohy in The Blind Side, not only did her warmth envelope the screen with a love so strong it made a homeless drifter find land, but she exquisitely took on the southern accent to increase the believability of Oher’s story.

Though Bullock took time away from acting in 2022 at her Wyoming ranch to focus on mindfulness, and is still doing so with her longtime partner Bryan Randall and two adopted children, she managed to film a role in the 2020 movie Bullet Train. There’s no talk about Bullock not returning to acting, but rather an indication that she just needed a brief break. With that being said, we should definitely see more of her effortless character conviction again.

Lily Collins

Emily in Paris
Netflix

Lily Collins’ emergence into film would be her role as Collins Tuohy, the adoptive sister of Oher in The Blind Side. She acted as a well-mannered teenager who loved her new older brother without prejudice. She continued in film alongside Julia Roberts in the 2012 movie Mirror Mirror among a few other works before her mid-twenties. She’s starred in comedy-dramas like To The Bone in 2019, as well as the 2020 movie Thriller. Collins has displayed a poised uniqueness that is current across all genres.

Related: Lily Collins' 8 Best Performances, Ranked

She’s currently working on the Netflix series Emily in Paris as a young, wild, and free 20-year-old working at a Paris marketing agency. The comedy-drama is predicted to release Season 4 in December 2023. Collins’ most recent movie was Netflix’s 2022 crime thriller Windfall. Aside from Season 4 of Emily in Paris, we are unable to confirm what’s next for Collins, but what’s to be expected is a chilling charm that fits that of thriller, comedy, romance, or drama.

Tim McGraw

Tim McGraw The Blind Side
Warner Bros. Pictures

Though he would earn his name through country music as one of the greatest in the business, Tim McGraw transitioned into acting along the way without putting his music career to the side. He has released 16 studio albums and won numerous awards including three Grammys and a ranking among the best-selling music artists of all time alongside The Beatles and Elton John.

McGraw has been in film since his 2004 role as a sheriff in Black Cloud. He’s been in quite a few reputable films like Friday Night Lights, Country Strong, The Shack, and more. McGraw’s acting talent is not to be dismissed, as he truly grasps the characters he takes on. McGraw is so entrusted with the film industry, that he’s begun producing. He’s set to produce and star in the upcoming film The Unbelievers, a Western classic that will have fans thinking back to the Western prequel series 1883 where McGraw starred alongside his wife Faith Hill. Though there is no release date for The Unbelievers, the work behind the camera and on set should not disappoint.

Kathy Bates

Annie yells at the author in Misery
Columbia Pictures

Kathy Bates has been in film for over five decades and there is no sign of stopping. She took on her first film role in the 1971 movie Taking Off and leaned into performing both on screen and on stage, giving her momentum for years to come. Her transition into psychological thrillers would be the pivot she needed to make a name for herself. In 1990, she starred in Steven King’s Misery and took home an Academy Award for her role as Annie Wilkes, a deranged woman who tortures a man she claimed to rescue.

Related: Best Sandra Bullock Movies, Ranked

Along with numerous movies, Bates has done just as much work in television, earning her 14 Emmy nominations and two wins for roles in Two and a Half Men and American Horror Story. She has two upcoming movies. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, stars Bates and Rachel McAdams and is set to be released by Lionsgate on April 28, 2023. A Family Affair, starring Bates Nicole Kidman, and Zac Efron will be released on November 17, 2023. With the ability to work on multiple films at once, there is no doubt that come next year, Bates will be in yet another series or movie.

Quinton Aaron

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Warner Bros. Pictures

Taking on his first lead role to portray NFL player Micheal Oher in The Blind Side, Quinton Aaron continued with quite a few television roles including Law and Order, Mercy, and acted once again alongside Kathy Bates in Harry’s Law. However, Aaron’s movie catalog is larger than one may think. He’s been in dozens of films, and with his stature, he’s been able to land many roles in thrillers and dramas, as not many people are his size — giving him an advantage in the industry.

A few of his works in film include Left Behind in 2014 with Nicolas Cage as well as the 2017 independent drama Jason’s Letter alongside Vivica A. Fox. He starred as Coach Aaron in the 2016 football film Greater and has acted in many short films as well. Aaron’s latest role was as a flower shop attendant in the 2022 sequel The Wedding Pact 2, which also starred Haylie Duff. As of late, Aaron is working more so in production and contributing to charities like Quarterback of Life and Forgotten Angels. We’re unsure when he’ll be back on-screen, but we’re waiting, nonetheless.

The Blind Side will always be a football classic. The actors did exceptionally with their true story depiction. Lily Collins’ and Quinton Aaron’s success after the film premiered exemplifies how far one can go when one immerses themselves fully into their role. Actors like Sandra Bullock, Kathy Bates, and Tim McGraw may have already had a name in acting before their roles in The Blind Side, but their conviction in the film did everything it needed to do to keep the trio as the acclaimed actors that they are.