Sandra Bullock's harrowing movie experience: 'Just fire me'

Sandra Bullock has revealed she was a victim of unwanted advances from an unnamed 'person of authority' while working on one of her first movies. Photo / Getty Images

Sandra Bullock has opened up about the harrowing experience on a movie set that left her begging bosses to "just fire me".

The Ocean's 8 star revealed that she was a victim of unwanted advances from an unnamed "person of authority" while working on one of her first movies.

"Very early on in my career I had a situation on a film, which was hard," she told the Sunday Times. "It came from a person of authority. I kept deflecting it with humour and it didn't work. Finally, I said, 'Please just fire me.'"

Bullock also shared her thoughts on Harvey Weinstein, who last month was formally charged with rape and other sexual misconduct acts.

While she was never personally targeted by the former movie mogul, she knew enough of his reputation to stay away.

"I heard about Harvey and I was afraid of him," Bullock said.

"I wasn't asked to be in that world. I learnt early on to shut things off so those things didn't come my way. I only heard what Harvey wanted people to hear, and that made me so f**king angry. People would say, 'Well, you know how she got that role? She f**ked Harvey.' I would say, 'Shut the f**k up. You don't know that.' Then, later, to find out that woman was brutally attacked … They didn't sleep with Harvey. Harvey wanted you to think that."

The actress admitted that while she was glad when his first accusers spoke up, she'd also had concerns about the fallout.

"I was like, 'Oh my God, this is amazing, but f**k, f**k, f**k, what if it doesn't work?'" Bullock said. "'Please God, let it not swing the other way.' We're in such uncharted territory right now. I've seen a lot of fear and a lot of men of a certain generation not understanding."

Over the past year, with the #MeToo movement continuing to sweep Hollywood, Bullock has already noticed a big difference.

"I saw a tremendous amount of fear from men on set," she said. "In the end, I said, 'I know you're scared, but I feel safe, so you can make some jokes now. But if you cross the line, I will f**k you up."

Bullock is currently in the midst of a publicity blitz for Ocean's 8, which has so far received mixed reviews.

Earlier this week, she hit out at critics, insisting there aren't enough female film reviewers.

"It would be nice if reviewers reflected who the film is for, like children should review children's films, not a 60-year-old man," she said.

Bullock added that she would like there to be "balancing out the pool of critics so that it reflects the world we are in, like we are trying to reflect the world that I live in and my friends live in".