50 Fun Facts About While You Were Sleeping

Who plays Lucy, the lonely token collector at the heart of While You Were Sleeping?

Bullock got the part after Demi Moore and Julia Roberts both turned it down; it followed straight on from her breakthrough in Speed.

Which actor plays Jack Callaghan, the brother Lucy actually falls for?

Pullman reportedly tried to quit after a disastrous table read but his agent told him he could not walk away from another film.

Which actor plays the rich, gullible commuter Lucy rescues from the tracks?

Gallagher later became best known as Sandy Cohen on The O.C.

In what year was While You Were Sleeping released?

It opened on April 21, 1995 and beat Bad Boys that weekend.

In which city is the film set and shot?

The original script was set in New York; the setting was moved for budget reasons and the film was shot on location.

Who directed While You Were Sleeping?

Turteltaub had just made Cool Runnings and would go on to direct National Treasure and The Meg.

Lucy collects fares for which agency?

Her booth is at the Randolph/Wabash elevated station in the Loop, which was demolished after closing in 2017.

On which holiday does Lucy pull Peter off the train tracks?

She then spends a belated Christmas with the Callaghans and the plot runs through New Year's.

At the hospital, Lucy is mistaken for Peter's what?

She stays quiet partly out of embarrassment and partly to protect his grandmother, who has a heart condition.

Which member of the household overhears Lucy confessing the truth to the comatose patient?

Saul decides to keep her secret because the accident has brought the family closer.

Which actor plays Saul Tuttle, the family friend and neighbour?

Warden was a former professional boxer and 101st Airborne paratrooper who earned Oscar nominations for Shampoo and Heaven Can Wait.

Which actor plays Ox Callaghan, the wisecracking head of the family furniture business?

Boyle went on to play Frank Barone on Everybody Loves Raymond a year later.

Which veteran actress plays Elsie, the slightly deluded grandmother?

Johns was Winifred Banks in Mary Poppins and lived to 100, dying in January 2024.

What is the name of Peter's actual girlfriend, who eventually turns up at the wedding?

Ashley leaves answering-machine messages accepting Peter's proposal, then learns from his doorman that he is 'engaged' to someone else.

Which actress plays Peter's snarky, superficial real fiancée?

Walker went on to lead the NBC drama Profiler and played Agent Stahl in Sons of Anarchy.

What does Jack want to do instead of taking over his father's business?

He finally tells his father the truth the day after Peter wakes up.

Because of a misunderstanding, what does Jack believe about Lucy?

He confronts her about it at her friend's New Year's Eve party.

When Peter wakes and does not recognise Lucy, what does everyone assume?

Lucy tries to confess, but the family thinks she is only saying she is not pregnant.

What gift does Jack bring Lucy after Peter proposes?

She asks him for a reason not to marry Peter, and he cannot give her one.

What two words does Lucy blurt out at the altar?

Jack agrees with her, then Ashley and Ashley's husband both arrive to object as well.

Where does Jack place the engagement ring when he finally proposes?

He proposes at her work booth with most of the Callaghans watching.

Which Italian city is Lucy's dream destination, where Jack takes her for their honeymoon?

They leave the wedding on a CTA train and her stamp collection has hinted at the dream all along.

What was the original title of the screenplay?

The title changed soon after Caravan Pictures acquired the script.

Which actress was among the first to turn down the lead, when Lucy was to be the one in a coma?

Demi Moore and Julia Roberts also passed before Bullock was cast.

Roughly how much did While You Were Sleeping gross worldwide?

That was against a budget of about $17 million, making it the 13th highest-grossing film of 1995 in the US.

Which film did While You Were Sleeping beat on its opening weekend?

It took $9.3 million over April 21-23, 1995.

Bullock earned a Golden Globe nomination for the film in which category?

She was also up for Best Female Performance and Most Desirable Female at the 1996 MTV Movie Awards.

Which grade did audiences give the film in CinemaScore polling?

Roger Ebert gave it three stars and admitted he was astonished at how much he enjoyed it.

Which Disney production company acquired the script?

Caravan, founded by Roger Birnbaum and Joe Roth, had greenlight authority up to $30 million per film.

Which producer called the film's table read "the worst table read of all time"?

It nearly cost the film its leading man, who tried to quit afterwards.

Which AFI list nominated the film in 2002?

The list ranked America's greatest love stories; the film was nominated but did not make the final hundred.

Which elevated 'L' station was used for exterior shots of Lucy's booth?

The station opened in 1896, also appeared in Adventures in Babysitting, and was closed and demolished after 2017.

Which 1994 action film had made Bullock a star just before this role?

Speed put her on a runaway bus opposite Keanu Reeves and led directly to leading roles.

A year after the film, the actor who plays Jack took which role in Independence Day?

President Thomas Whitmore's speech became one of the most quoted movie moments of the decade.

The actor who plays Ox later starred as Frank Barone in which sitcom?

He earned seven Emmy nominations for the role and had earlier played the monster in Young Frankenstein.

Which Disney classic featured the actress who plays Elsie as Winifred Banks?

The Sherman Brothers wrote "Sister Suffragette" specifically for her voice.

Which teen drama later cast Monica Keena, who plays young sister Mary, as Abby Morgan?

While You Were Sleeping was her feature film debut; she went on to star in Freddy vs. Jason.

Which sports comedy had the same director made two years earlier?

His later hits include Phenomenon and both National Treasure films.

The film's director is the son of a comedy writer best known for which sitcom?

Saul Turteltaub shares a first name with the film's godfather character, played by Jack Warden.

The actor who plays the coma patient later starred as Sandy Cohen in which series?

He also played Deputy Chief Dodds on Law & Order: SVU and Nick on Grace & Frankie.

Which actress plays Midge Callaghan, the warm-hearted mother?

Chicago-born Mercurio had also played Rosemary Szabo in Flashdance.

Which actor plays Joe Fusco Jr., Lucy's harmless neighbour with unrequited feelings for her?

Joe Jr. is the landlord's son who keeps angling for a date.

Which actor plays Jerry Wallace, Lucy's dry-humoured boss?

Bernard, a Chicago native, was also Herman's boss on Herman's Head and Caleb Taylor in the miniseries V.

When Peter asks Lucy when she fell in love with Jack, what does she reply?

The line is the film's closing joke and its title drop.

Instead of telling the truth, Saul tells Peter he is a "putz" and encourages him to do what?

It backfires: Peter is charmed and proposes 'again' before Lucy can confess.

Between which dates was the film shot?

The winter shoot in Chicago is why the streets and holidays feel real.

Which two stars turned down the role of Lucy Moderatz before Sandra Bullock was cast?

After Hollywood Pictures acquired the script in 1994, it struggled for some time to find interested actors.

Where was the original script set before budget concerns moved the story?

The switch to Chicago meant the film could be shot on location there, including the elevated train booth scenes.

What was the film's estimated production budget?

It returned more than ten times that worldwide, opening on April 21-23, 1995 with $9.3 million.

How many stars out of four did Roger Ebert award the film?

He called it 'a feel-good film, warm and good-hearted' and admitted being astonished by how much he enjoyed it.