Sandra Bullock: ‘All the people in the world will never amount to Dolly Parton’

Hollywood actress Sandra Bullock said “all the people in the world will never amount to what Dolly Parton is”, following the death of the country music superstar.Parton, famed for genre-defining hits including 9 To 5, I Will Always Love You and Jolene, died aged 80 following a “brief battle with cancer”.Bullock, 62, is a long-time fan of Parton and famously wrote her a letter asking her to make a cameo appearance in 2005 comedy film Miss Congeniality 2: Armed And Fabulous.Sandra Bullock wrote a letter to Dolly Parton asking her to make a cameo in a film (Ian West/PA)PA WireThe actress has previously discussed her surprise when Parton agreed, and featured in a scene where she was tackled to the ground by Bullock’s character, FBI agent Gracie Hart, who mistook her for an impersonator.Speaking at a premiere for Practical Magic 2, Bullock recounted “one of my favourite memories working with Dolly” as she paid tribute to the late country singer.She said: “I hated flying for the longest time, and I used to just take a tour bus everywhere and I would sleep in the tour bus.“(Dolly) came to Vegas, and she pulled her tour bus up next to mine. I think it was pink – of course.“And I said, ‘OK, so Miss Parton, we’ve got a hotel in the room for you’. She goes, ‘No, I’ll stay in the bus’.“I went ‘oh, OK, so where do you want to do your hair and makeup?’ and she goes, ‘I want to do it on the bus’.“I went, ‘well, where do you want to sleep?’, and she goes, ‘oh, I’ll sleep on the bus’ – and I went, ‘I’m sleeping on the bus!'”“So she and I slept side by side on buses.”Sandra Bullock has spoken of her time working with Dolly Parton (Doug Peters/PA)PA WireThe actress added: “All the people here and in the world will never amount to what Dolly Parton is.“She’s here. She sprinkles everywhere. She’s not going anywhere.”Bullock has often discussed working with Parton, and in an interview with the BBC in 2005, she acknowledged how surreal their stunt together was and said: “It was extraordinary to straddle Dolly Parton.Read More“I was literally lying on top of her, and I didn’t feel comfortable with this but she looked at me and said: ‘We’re going to put the Madonna-Britney kiss to shame!’“And I thought ‘Wow, you rock. You just rock!’.“Really, she was everything you’d want her to be and more.”The actress, who won an Oscar for her role in The Blind Side, also famously interrupted an interview with Parton and Friends star Jennifer Aniston while they were promoting their 2018 film Dumplin’.Bullock walked into their press junket holding a bottle of tequila, lime juice, and shots to toast and the women shared a toast together.