The Cast of ‘While You Were Sleeping’, Then and Now: Sandra Bullock, Bill Pullman and the Rest
Plus, learn how actor Peter Gallagher remembers the late Peter Boyle.
Every girl wants the chance to finally capture her crush’s heart, but pulling him away from an upcoming train and then pretending to be his fiance while he’s in a coma might not be the way to do it. Especially when said girl finds herself slowly falling in love with his brother instead. If you want to know what happens next, you’ll just have to watch the hit 1995 movie While You Were Sleeping. But before you do that, make sure you catch up with the While You Were Sleeping cast below.
Sandra Bullock
CHARACTER PLAYED: Lucy Eleanor Moderatz
BEST KNOWN FOR: Speed (1994), Miss. Congeniality (2000), The Blind Side (2009), The Proposal (2009), Gravity (2013), Ocean’s Eight (2018) and The Lost City (2022).
PERSONAL: Bullock was married to Jesse James from 2005 to 2010.
THOUGHTS ON WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING: “Dressing like Lucy was very similar to dressing like me. I like to hide every single aspect of my body, and then I feel like I have a good suit of armor on, and I feel comfortable and safe. The only time I get into sexy-time clothes is when I’m doing press.”
FUN FACT: Demi Moore was the original choice to play Lucy, but Bullock eventually won the part.
Bill Pullman: ‘While you Were Sleeping’ cast
CHARACTER PLAYED: Jack Callaghan
BEST KNOWN FOR: Spaceballs (1987), A League of Their Own (1992), Sleepless in Seattle (1993), Independence Day (1996), Scary Movie 4 (2006), 1600 Penn (2012 to 2013), Battle of the Sexes (2017), The Equalizer 2 (2018) and The High Note (2020).
PERSONAL: Pullman has been married to his wife Tamara since 1987, and they have three children together.
THOUGHTS ON WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING: My wife always says, ‘Is that the jacket from While You Were Sleeping?’ I still have it. It’s reversible. Denim on one side and khaki on the other. I wear it mostly with khaki. It’s a little bulky, so you can put a lot of layers on with it, and I just love that it’s holding up.”
FUN FACT: Pullman and Peter Gallagher also worked together in Malice (1993).
Peter Gallagher
CHARACTER PLAYED: Peter Callaghan
BEST KNOWN FOR: Dreamchild (1985), Watch It (1993), The Secret Lives of Men (1998 to 1999), The O.C (2003 to 2007), Burlesque (2010), Covert Affairs (2010 to 2014), A Bad Moms Christmas (2017), Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist (2020 to 2021), Grey’s Anatomy (2021 to 2022) and Grace and Frankie (2017 to 2022).
PERSONAL: Gallagher has been married to Paula Harwood since 1983. They have two children together.
THOUGHTS ON WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING: “I like to judge by the delight in the eyes of the people who have felt the need to tell me it’s their favorite movie. If you can contribute to a movie that’s made people happy for all these years, that’s pretty much what you hope to accomplish, especially in times like these.”
FUN FACT: In the film, Peter says his birthday is March 11, 1959, meaning he was 35 years old, making Gallagher five years older than his on-screen character.
Peter Boyle: ‘While you Were Sleeping’ cast
CHARACTER PLAYED: Ox Callaghan
BEST KNOWN FOR: The Candidate (1972), Young Frankenstein (1974), Taxi Driver (1976), Red Heat (1988), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Everybody Loves Raymond (1996 to 2005), Doctor Dolittle (1998), Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004), The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006) and All Roads Lead Home (2008).
PERSONAL: Boyle was married to his wife, Loraine Alterman Boyle, from 1977 until his death in 2006. They had two children together.
THOUGHTS ON WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING: Remembers Gallagher, “Peter Boyle and I just hit it off. I think it was an Irish Catholic thing. We were both knuckleheads threatening to get into all sorts of mayhem and, of course, terrified to do anything wrong. And boy, did we laugh.”
FUN FACT: Boyle is one of the two Peters to star in the film.
Glynis Johns
CHARACTER PLAYED: Elsie
BEST KNOWN FOR: The Fugitive (1939), Vacation from Marriage (1945), The Great Manhunt (1950), Mad About Men (1954), The Court Jester (1955), The Spider’s Web (1960), Mary Poppins (1964), Dear Brigitte (1965), Coming of Age (1988 to 1989) The Ref (1994) and Superstar (1999).
PERSONAL: Johns was married four times and had one child before her death in 2024.
FUN FACT: John’s character Elise’s line, “I don’t drink anymore. I don’t drink any less either!” is a reference to Jack Warden’s character Rex Barker in Bewitched, who said the exact same thing in the season one episode “It Shouldn’t Happen to a Dog” in 1964.
Jack Warden: ‘While you Were Sleeping’ cast
CHARACTER PLAYED: Saul
BEST KNOWN FOR: The Man with My Face (1951), Edge of the City (1957), 12 Angry Men (1957), Donovan’s Reef (1963), N.Y.P.D (1967 to 1969), All the President’s Men (1976), And Justice for All (1979), The Verdict (1982), Guilty as Sin (1993) and The Replacements (2000).
PERSONAL: Warden was married to his wife, Wanda Ottoni, from 1958 until his death in 2006. They had one child together.
FUN FACT: Warden was 75 when the movie was released.
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