Tim McGraw Blind Sided by Movie Opportunity

Tim McGraw Photo Courtesy of Curb Records

Sept. 22, 2009 — Fans who’ve seen the trailer for Tim McGraw’s next movie are likely noticing a similarity between The Blind Side and his very first motion picture, Friday Night Lights.

In both cases, Tim plays the father of a high-school football player. Tim wasn’t necessarily looking to reprise the earlier role, but The Blind Side script proved irresistible. It’s built around the life of Michael Oher, a poverty-stricken Memphis kid who was adopted by a wealthy suburban family. Michael became an All-American college player and was a first-round draft pick of the Baltimore Ravens, and that reversal of fortune kind of roped Tim in.

"It’s a great story," he told the national radio show GAC Nights: Live From Nashville. "It’s such an inspirational story, you know, a true story — you know, a kid that came from where this kid came from, to get drafted in the first round of the NFL with millions of dollars and given the chance by this family. So when I read the script, I didn’t know if I wanted to do another football movie. I didn’t know if I wanted to play a dad again, and so both of these things came in one script. But after reading the script, it was such an inspirational story."

In addition, Sandra Bullock was already on board and Tim was familiar with producer Gil Netter, who also produced the movie Flicka, which featured Tim on the screen and on the soundtrack.

The Blind Side comes out Nov. 20, while Tim’s next album, Southern Voice, is on the way Oct. 20.