Sandra Bullock on Returning to Movies after Hiatus

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2010 was a landmark year for Sandra Bullock. From January to June, Bullock adopted a child, won her first Oscar, underwent a highly-publicized divorce and summarily took an extended break from Hollywood. This Christmas the actress will return to the big screen with the 9/11-themed drama Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, and as Sandra reveals to Entertainment Tonight, she hadn't intended her time away from the spotlight to be this brief.

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"It's true, I didn't want to go back," said Bullock of the infamous period between 2010 to present for which she'd kept a very low profile. Although Sandra planned for a lengthier hiatus, the chance to take a part in the Stephen Daldry-directed project was something she couldn't pass up.

In the film, Bullock plays mother to a young boy coping with the loss of his father in the world trade center attacks of September 11. She says the undertaking was "a huge challenge" emotionally, but a dream role nonetheless.

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"It was an opportunity as an actor that you hope you have and you're given it, as long as it was a great experience for me and my son at the same time, then it was an experience I wanted to take."

In fact, the cast and crew were so welcoming for Bullock, they created a "round set" with no sharp edges in sight so that baby Louis and his mom could remain inseparable during filming. "They made it amazing," Sandra remembers, "[they were] so great about making it one big playground."

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Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, which also stars Tom Hanks, Thomas Horn, Viola Davis and James Gandolfini, opens in limited release this Christmas with a wide release January 20, 2012.