Sandra Bullock credits George Clooney for one of her early relationships

At 51, Sandra Bullock has lived plenty of tales to tell. Those stories also include her Gravity co-star and Our Brand is Crisis co-producers George Clooney and Grant Heslov. “We have known each other since we started in this business," she told the new issue of Glamour magazine. "Literally before any of us had a job.”

“Grant, George, and the person I dated were all friends. I met George at a party where he was doing Buddy Hackett imitations! George was the reason the guy that I ended up dating dated me," she shared. "He was like, ‘If you don’t get with her, I’m gonna get with her.’ He was kidding, but sort of pushing. So we’ve all known each other for umpteen-chillion years and have supported each other from afar."

Photo: Matt Irwin

Sandra more so now than ever is really enjoying life. “I don’t want to miss a moment. People asked me, ‘Remember in ’96 when.…’ I go, ‘I don’t. I don’t remember most of my life, because I was not present.’ I was worried, I was fearful, I was running, I was hiding,” the actress, who is in a new relationship with photographer Bryan Randall, said. “Only in the last five years do I remember everything."

Much of the reason she feels this way is due to her son Louis. Since adopting the now 5-year-old in 2010, she has become savvier as to the decisions she makes. "Well, I did some stupid things in college. Fact that I didn't wind up in jail: Miracle!” she continued. “So I'm grateful for that. But, you know, I don't feel like I was an adult till about five years ago. I had to step back and go, 'I have the greatest gift in little Louis, and I'm gonna let him see the woman I want him to know.' So a child forces you to get your sh-t together. In the best way."

Photo: Getty Images

As her son gets older, she hopes he will only be judged by the man he is in the future. "You see how far we’ve come in civil rights — and where we’ve gotten back to now. I want my son to be safe," she said. "We are at a point now where if we don’t do something, we will have destroyed what so many amazing people have done. You look at women’s rights; it’s turning into a mad, mad world out there. But sometimes it needs to get really loud for people to say, ‘I can’t unsee this.'"

Leading by example is exactly what the Minions star is doing. After reading the role for Our Brand is Crisis, which was initially written for a man, Sandra decided to go after it herself. "I did as my mother did: I put my blinders on and blazed forward. Sometimes you get a no. But I expect the no,” she explained. “I don’t expect the yes. With this I got very nervous. I didn’t know if George [Clooney] had made this for himself. But the response was ‘We’re cool with it.'"

She along with her Gravity co-star co-produced this film with Grant Heslov. "I like creating a story. I don’t have to be in front of the camera to do it. I stopped [producing] when I had Lou because it’s a 24/7 job sometimes," she mentioned. "With Our Brand I said, ‘I want to dip my toe back in.’ And I was able to balance everything, have my school drop-off time.”

More about