It’s been 30 years since actor Peter Gallagher was rescued by Sandra Bullock in the beloved holiday rom-com “While You Were Sleeping.”
The 1995 film follows Chicago Transit Authority fare collector Lucy Eleanor Moderatz as her infatuation for metro rider Peter Callaghan grows each day he rides. On Christmas Day, Lucy rescues Peter after he was pushed onto the train tracks by muggers. After being mistaken for his fiancée, she becomes close with his family as they wait for him to wake from a coma.
After her lie gets out of hand, she spends a belated Christmas with the family and ends up falling for Peter’s brother, Jack, played by Bill Pullman.
Here is a look at the top five stars and how they have changed since the film first premiered.
Sandra Bullock as Lucy Eleanor Moderatz
GettyAlready a household name due to the success of “Speed,” Bullock played the lead role in “While You Were Sleeping,” which only propelled her to superstardom.
In the years since, she has gone on to star in other romantic comedies such as “The Proposal,” “Two Weeks Notice,” and “Miss Congeniality.” Bullock is perhaps better known for her drama roles in films like “The Blind Side,” for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress.
The beloved starlet largely remains out of the spotlight as she raises her children: Son Louis and daughter Laila.
Peter Gallagher as Peter Callaghan
GettyGallagher got his start in film in the early 1980s, landing roles in films such as “Bob Roberts,” “The Player,” “Short Cuts.”
“What I remember about that movie is that we had a script that we all loved, and then we got to Chicago, and they changed it completely,” he said of “While You Were Sleeping,” during a 2020 interview with Vulture. “It was a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful cast.”
According to “The O.C.” star, he was actually asleep during filming the coma scenes.
“They’d wake me up when we were done! First of all, it’s very hard to pretend to be in a coma, or to pretend to be asleep. Just the act of trying to be calm and relaxed, invariably your eyes are gonna twitch, or your lips are gonna go funny, or all you’re thinking about is breathing,” he recalled.
Bill Pullman as Jack Callaghan
GettyFollowing “While You Were Sleeping,” Pullman—who was already known for roles in “Spaceballs” and “Sleepless in Seattle”—went on to appear in “Independence Day,” “Lost Highway” and “Lake Placid,” to name a few.
During a 2024 episode of the “Hollywood Gold” podcast, producer Jonathan Glickman revealed that Pullman nearly quitting the beloved rom-com.
“We went to Chicago and we did a read-through, a table read of the script,” Glickman explained. “And the script was kind of a cut-and-paste of the stuff that the original guys had written and the new person had written…We had a table read and it was one of the worst table reads of all time.”
Glickman added, “Bill Pullman said — he had just quit a movie that he was making before — said his agent said he wasn’t allowed to quit another movie, otherwise he would quit this movie.”
Peter Boyle as Ox Callaghan
GettyBoyle is best known for his role as the patriarch Frank Barone on the beloved sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond,” which ran from 1996 to 2005.
When it comes to film roles, Boyle starred as the monster in Mel Brooks’ 1974 film, “Young Frankenstein,” “Taxi Driver,” “Where the Buffalo Roam,” and “The Candidate,” to name a few.
Boyle tragically passed on December 12, 2006, after suffering from multiple myeloma and heart disease. He was 71.
