Behind the Scenes: While You Were Sleeping

Behind the Scenes: While you were Sleeping

The Christmas classic could have looked very different…

Here at Christmas FM, we believe that While You Were Sleeping is one of those holiday films that often gets overshadowed by it’s more star-studded contemporaries like The Holiday or Love Actually.

But if you watch it again you’ll see that it has everything you need from a Christmas classic – snow, romance, decorations, a hilarious family dinner, and of course, mistaken identity.

Here are some interesting, heart-warming and fun facts about the 1995 classic that will forever have a place on our ‘must-watch’ Christmas movie list.

A gender flip

The movie was originally written with a male lead who falls for a woman in a coma, but Disney thought it felt it might seem a little creepy, so they flipped the genders and it worked perfectly.

Perfect casting

Sandra Bullock, who plays the adorable Lucy Moderatz, was cast after her breakout role in Speed (1994), cementing her status as America’s sweetheart.

Bill Pullman wasn’t the first choice for Jack. Actors like Harrison Ford, Matthew McConaughey, and Patrick Swayze were considered before him.

The role of Peter Callaghan (Lucy’s original crush who ends up in a coma) was played by Peter Gallagher, who said it was his “easiest job ever” because he spent half the movie asleep. Nice work if you can get it…

Family ties

The supporting cast playing the Callaghans are a big part of the film’s warm and cosy vibe. In fact, the family dynamic between the actors was so natural that many fans thought they were a real family.

Improvising and natural chemistry

Bill Pullman and Sandra Bullock had great off-the-cuff chemistry, and director Jon Turteltaub often let the camera roll to capture their unscripted moments.

The infamous sliding on the ice scene outside Lucy’s apartment wasn’t in the script! Bill actually slipped on the ice accidentally, stayed in character, and kept going. Sandra’s laugh is 100% real and they decided to keep it because it made Jack look adorably human.

When Jack tells Lucy that “Joe Jr leaned,” much of that scene’s rhythm – the pauses, the teasing tone, and the line, “You have to understand, men are shameless… if you lean, we believe you” – was Bill riffing naturally with Sandra.

In an interview, Turtletaub said that “half of Sandra’s charm in that movie is her invention.” He encouraged her to “keep the stammers, pauses, and weird little asides” because Lucy was supposed to feel like someone you might actually know.

Sandra improvised much of the confused, spiralling dialogue when Lucy first tries to explain the mix-up. The director, Jon Turteltaub, told her to “just keep talking until it feels like you’ve completely lost control,” and she did.

She also was the one to ad-lib the random comment, “These mashed potatoes are so creamy” to fill an awkward pause. It got such a big laugh from the cast that it stayed in the final cut.

Random facts