"I just think Michael needed somebody, and it was so evident that there was nobody in his life. It just broke my heart," the real Leigh Anne Tuohy said in a December 2009 20/20 TV interview.

Like in The Blind Side movie, Michael Oher's birth father was murdered. He was shot and killed, then thrown off an overpass on the west side of Memphis. Michael didn't learn of his father's death until three months after it happened, partially because it took time for his father to be identified. Tony Henderson, who helped Michael get into Briarcrest, called the school office with the news of Michael's father's death. Michael's father hadn't been around when he was growing up. -The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game

The real Big Tony (right) played a more significant role in Michael's life than his movie character (left).

Who was the man who helped Michael get into Briarcrest Christian School?

The character in the movie who refers to himself as Tony Hamilton is based on Tony Henderson (aka Big Tony), who in real life runs an athletic program that mentors teens in his neighborhood. Recognizing Michael's unstable home life, Tony took Michael in. "He was a good kid," Tony recalls. "He was real quiet and especially stayed to himself." Like in The Blind Side movie, Tony took his teenage son Steven to be enrolled in Briarcrest Christian School, and he brought Michael along with them (20/20). In real life, Tony worked across town as a mechanic, as stated in the movie (Evolution of a Game).

In the movie, the Christian school that Michael attends is named Wingate and is the home of the Wingate Crusaders football team. Through our research into the Michael Oher true story we discovered that the real name of the school is Briarcrest, home of the Briarcrest Saints. "It wasn't adversarial, there were just concerns," Briarcrest president Mark Merrill said. He noted that there were several school administrators who were concerned over instances of "artistic license" in the original script that stretched the truth. -CommercialAppeal.com

The real coach (Hugh Freeze, right) and his onscreen counterpart (left).

Did the coach at Briarcrest Christian School really lobby to get Michael accepted?

No. When researching The Blind Side facts vs fiction, it was revealed that due to Michael Oher's poor and nearly non-existent academic record as of 2002, the principal at Briarcrest insisted that he participate in a home school program for a few months first to get his grades up. -The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game

Prior to Briarcrest, Michael had been to 11 schools in 9 years, often skipping class. During one year at Westwood High School, he was absent 51 days. By his freshman year of high school his grade point average was .06. "It was easy for me to say, ya know, 'I'm going to hang out with these guys and do drugs and not go to school,'" Michael said, "but I decided I didn't want to do it. I wanted to be something in life." -20/20

The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game

Tackle the real story as author Michael Lewis presents Oher's journey without the Hollywood sugarcoating, revealing certain less flattering details about Oher's path to college football and eventually the NFL. This isn't to say his experience isn't inspiring; the book just does a better job at disclosing every aspect of the story.

The Tuohy's then 15-year-old daughter Collins was in one of Michael's classes and she told her father about the big quiet new guy in her class. Sean made an effort to get to know him and realized that he was hungry all day and that he had no money to buy lunch. So, Sean started to pay for his lunches. -Author Michael Lewis Interview

No. Unlike what we see in the movie, in real life Leigh Anne's husband Sean started paying for Michael's lunch at school before his wife encountered Michael on the side of the road. A fictional account of this can be seen in the DVD's deleted scenes. -Author Michael Lewis Interview

The real biology teacher, Marilyn Beasley (right), found potential after giving Michael a test verbally.

Did Michael really write the "White Walls" essay that was read by his biology teacher in the movie?

Yes. Early in the movie, Mrs. Boswell (Kim Dickens) reads the beginning of an essay that the real Michael Oher wrote, which he titled "White Walls." In reality, he actually wrote the essay later during his senior year, as he reflected on his initial days at Briarcrest Christian High School. Mrs. Boswell is based on the real life Marilyn Beasley, a biology teacher at Briarcrest who discovered that Michael did much better when his tests were administered orally. The beginning of Michael's "White Walls" essay reads:

I look and I see white everywhere: white walls, white floors, and a lot of white people…. The teachers are not aware that I have no idea of anything they are talking about. I do not want to listen to anyone, especially the teachers. They are giving homework and expecting me to do the problems on my own. I've never done homework in my life. I go to the bathroom, look in the mirror, and say, "This is not Mike Oher. I want to get out of this place." -Evolution of a Game

"There were a few artistic liberties taken in that scene," the real Leigh Anne Tuohy told Mike Huckabee during a Fox News Channel interview. Unlike the rainy nighttime scene in the movie, The Blind Side true story reveals that Leigh Anne's encounter with Michael on the side of the road really happened on a cold morning during Thanksgiving break. She and her husband watched Michael get off a city bus in the snow wearing only cutoff blue jeans and a t-shirt. Like in the movie, Michael was on his way to the school gym in order to escape the weather and find warmth. In reality, Leigh Anne didn't offer Michael a place to stay immediately. Instead, their encounter on the side of the road on that snowy November morning in 2002, prompted her to pick Michael up at Briarcrest the next day and take him shopping. She couldn't ignore that he had been out in the cold in cutoff jeans and a t-shirt, the same outfit he was seen wearing every day. -Evolution of a Game

Michael was 16-years-old when Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy welcomed him into their home.

Yes. Leigh Anne works as an interior decorator and is a graduate of the University of Mississippi. After Michael Oher made it to the NFL and moved to Baltimore to play for the Ravens, Leigh Anne helped him decorate his suburban home.

No. In real life the Tuohy's daughter Collins was a state champion pole vaulter. She was also a high school cheerleader, as seen in the movie. -Good Morning America

Michael Oher as a kid around 10-years-old.

Did Michael Oher really never have his own bed prior to living with the Tuohy family?

Yes. Being one of twelve children growing up in the projects, the real Michael Oher never had his own bed. Like Sandra Bullock's character does in the movie, Leigh Anne bought him a futon to sleep on since her husband told her that the larger pro athletes use them if they can't find a bed big enough. -NYTimes.com

Yes. As in the movie, most people who knew Michael Oher referred to him as "Big Mike". This included the people he knew back in Hurt Village where he grew up and the people he met at Briarcrest Christian School. Like in The Blind Side movie, in real life he admitted to Leigh Anne that he hated to be called "Big Mike". -Evolution of a Game

No. This was grossly exaggerated in the movie. Michael did not have to learn how to play football, and Leigh Anne never walked onto the practice field to inspire Michael by telling him to protect his team as if he was protecting their family. The film's suggestion that he needed to be taught how to play football upset the real Michael Oher, "That part right there, it really got me because it was never like that. I've always known how to play the game of football. I've always had a passion for the game. You know, it's Hollywood, so I mean that's what they do, but at the end of the day it's still a good story."

No. "I've always had that fire and passion in me on the field," says Michael. "You can't put aggression into a person. It's impossible. Either you have that toughness and aggression or you don't." -20/20

No. As the real Michael Oher stated above, he already knew how to play football. When Michael Oher was taken in by the Tuohy family, the Tuohy's son S.J. (Sean Jr.) was 8-years-old at the time (NYTimes.com). Actor Jay Head, who portrays S.J. in the movie, had just turned 11-years-old when filming began, although onscreen he looks to be a few years younger than he is and more in line with the true story. The real S.J. was not nearly as small either. He was by no means the pipsqueak that we see onscreen. Michael and S.J. did play sports together recreationally, but S.J. didn't have to teach him anything.

No. As Michael Lewis states in his book, when racist fans were taunting him, the real Michael Oher flipped them the bird.

Yes. During a scrimmage against a team from Munford, the defensive end who lined up across from Michael delivered a hefty dose of trash talk with every play, threatening Michael and calling him fat. Like in the movie, when the opportunity arose during a play later in the game, Michael lifted his trash talking opponent up by his pads and began to carry him off the field, through the Munford bench, across the cinder track and toward his bus. In real life, Michael got the Munford player up to the fence but not over it (unlike what we see in the movie) before a group of Munford players piled on top of him. Unsure what penalty to call, the refs penalized Michael for "excessive blocking", the same unusual penalty called in the movie. -Evolution of a Game

Collins Tuohy (right) and Michael Oher during their days at Ole Miss.

Did the library scene really happen with Leigh Anne's daughter Collins?

Yes. In the movie, Leigh Anne's (Sandra Bullock) friends ask her intrusive questions about Michael during a lunch gathering. The real Leigh Anne Tuohy commented on this in Michael Lewis' book The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game, "We knew people were going to have issues because we had a daughter exactly the same age," Leigh Anne admitted. Leigh Anne faced countless questions from people she encountered at shops, restaurants and school events, all typically asking, "How have you handled it?" More specifically, one of the questions they often asked her was how she handled Michael's sexual urges, him being a teenage boy living under the same roof as her daughter. Eventually, Leigh Anne let her opinion of this line of questioning be known, "You just need to mind your own business. You worry about your own life and I'll worry about mine," she said.

"It had nothing to do with what color Michael was or how big he was," Leigh Anne told 20/20 interviewer Deborah Roberts. "He was a child that had a need, and it needed to be filled."

Yes, but in real life this happened on a regular basis, as Sean Tuohy pointed out in an interview. "He made us sit around the dinner table. But if we were going to spend time with him, we'd come eat at the table. We haven't eaten at the table since he left," Sean stated jokingly. -20/20

Yes. Like in The Blind Side movie, the Michael Oher true story confirms that he was legally adopted by Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy.

"I don't understand why people would feel that way," the real Michael Oher said, "because as long as somebody is helping somebody and taking somebody off the streets, I don't care, you know, black or white or whatever, it should never be a problem." -20/20

The real Tuohy family Christmas card photo vs. the movie photo (inset).

Was Michael really included in the family Christmas card like in the movie?

Yes. The actual photo is shown on the right. Like in the movie, Leigh Anne says that her cousin called her to ask her about the photo. "He said, 'I'm not trying to be rude or anything. Who's the black boy in the Christmas card?'" -20/20

Yes. In The Blind Side movie, the Tuohys hire Kathy Bates' character, Miss Sue, to tutor Michael. In real life, Sue Mitchell spoke about her routine with Michael, "We worked hours and hours every day. He would come home, he'd take a shower and we would work until at least 11:30 every night. And we did this six nights a week." (20/20) By his senior year at Briarcrest, Michael was making the honor roll (Author Michael Lewis Interview).

Yes. In the movie, a distracted Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron) doesn't see a landscaping truck backing out in front of him as he and S.J. are on their way to get the new Madden videogame that has just come out. The Blind Side true story reveals that the accident actually happened in icy conditions when Michael's truck skidded across the divide traveling at 25 miles per hour and crashed head-on into a big van, which was also moving at 25 miles per hour. When Leigh Anne first arrived on the scene of the accident, she approached Michael who was sobbing uncontrollably to the point she could hardly understand what he was trying to tell her. -Evolution of a Game

In real life, S.J.'s injuries looked much worse than what we see in the movie. In addition to blood being on his shirt, S.J.'s face was so severely swollen that his mother almost didn't recognize him. Surprisingly, despite the swelling, no bones were broken. -Evolution of a Game

Yes. When Leigh Anne came home from the hospital, she delivered the news that S.J. was okay and that the doctors were amazed that his facial injuries weren't more severe. It was then that Michael held out his arm to show Leigh Anne the unsightly burn mark that ran down the length of it. -Evolution of a Game

Yes, Leigh Anne's husband Sean is one of three partners who operate RGT Management, Inc., a corporation that owns more than 80 restaurants under the Taco Bell, Long John Silver's, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Off the Grill brands. RGT's stores can be found across Tennessee, Mississippi, Kentucky, Ohio and Missouri. -Memphis Business Journal

What's not mentioned in The Blind Side movie is that Sean Tuohy also works as a sports commentator and as of 2009 was in his ninth season as a broadcaster for the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies. He also has seven years experience serving as a broadcast analyst on radio programs at Ole Miss, in addition to working on national broadcasts for Westwood One and CBS Radio. -NBA.com

Yes. Leigh Anne's husband Sean Tuohy played college basketball for The University of Mississippi (Ole Miss). He was named All-SEC in each of the four seasons that he played and was named to the All-Century SEC team. In 1982, he was drafted by the New Jersey Nets but instead opted to continue his career overseas before returning to the US to be with his father during his final days. -NBA.com

The southeastern conference (SEC) coaches who appear in the movie are portrayed by the actual coaches who recruited Michael Oher. This includes former Notre Dame and then South Carolina coach Lou Holtz, former LSU coach Nick Saban, former Arkansas coach (and current Ole Miss coach) Houston Nutt, former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville, former Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer, and ex-Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron, who actually won the fierce recruiting battle for Michael Oher. -ESPN.com

"What's in it for me," S.J. asks the recruiters in movie, making demands such as being allowed to lead the team onto the field. "I don't know if it's quite like that," the real S.J. admitted. "I think Jay [John Lee Hancock] might have pulled me off better than I pull myself off." S.J.'s parents interjected, "He worked those coaches pretty hard," Sean Tuohy added. "Don't let him fool ya." (Huckabee) Lewis' book states that the only sort of perk S.J. got was a tour through The Grove (a popular campus tailgating spot) from Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron.

In his February 2010 article "Why 'The Blind Side' is Too Good to be True", Entertainment Weekly columnist Mark Harris is critical of some of Michael Oher's methods to become eligible for the NCAA, stating that Oher's methods largely trash educational ethics.

Michael had nothing but D's and F's until the end of his junior year. However, he made all A's and B's during his senior year, but with no more classes to take, he could at best only finish with a 2.05 grade-point average. This was a problem since the NCAA required a 2.65 GPA (NYTimes.com). Regarding Michael and the Tuohy's questionable academic efforts to fix this problem, columnist Harris focuses on 10-day internet courses that Michael took his senior year from Brigham Young University, in order to replace existing F's on his transcript with A's. Harris refers to the courses as "an NCAA eligibility trick." The author of The Blind Side book labels the practice as "the great Mormon grade grub." Sean Tuohy had gotten the idea from a friend and the effort was being managed by Michael's tutor Sue Mitchell. (Evolution of a Game).

Sean Tuohy selected a series of 10-day online BYU character courses for Michael to complete over the summer with Sue Mitchell's help. All that each course required students to do was to read a few brief passages from famous works or speeches and then answer five questions on it. A's that Michael earned in these character courses could be used to replace existing F's that he had earned in high school English courses. Sean's strategy for Michael almost didn't work because even after he had been accepted to Ole Miss, the NCAA said that his GPA was still a bit too low to play college football. Sean quickly enrolled him in another BYU internet character course and on August 1, 2005 the NCAA finally accepted him. -NYTimes

Another loophole that Sean had found was that since Michael had been certified as learning-disabled, he was allowed to retake the ACT tests as many times as he wanted and Miss Sue was on hand to help him analyze the questions. Recouping a small amount of points on the ACT meant that he needed less on his GPA, since the NCAA had a sliding scale when it came to ACT scores and grade-point averages. If you had a higher ACT score, then you didn't need as high of a GPA to be eligible. -Evolution of a Game

In the movie, Michael is questioned by an NCAA investigator over whether or not Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy had a grand plan for Michael to go to their alma mater Ole Miss. When interviewer Deborah Roberts suggested to Leigh Anne that some people think that she and Sean took a black teen in to mold him and make him what they wanted him to be, Leigh Anne responded by saying, "Nobody has the guts to say that to my face. No one has ever said that to my face. And if they did, I would tell them don't let the door hit their butt on the way out." -20/20

No. Michael did not get into a fight with gang members in his old neighborhood. However, after researching The Blind Side true story, we discovered that while he was in college at Ole Miss, Michael got into a fight with teammate Antonio Turner who had visited the Tuohy's home. At some point after his visit, Turner called Michael a cracker for living with a white family. Antonio also made comments to Michael suggesting that he was going to have sex with Michael's white sister and white mother (similar to the comments made by the gang member in the movie). This infuriated Michael who chased after Antonio and eventually tracked him down hiding at the study hall where the football players studied with their tutors. Michael threw the 230 pound Antonio into the ground, picked him up by the throat, beat him in the face and threw him across the room. In the process, the 3-year-old son of one of the tutors was knocked to the floor and suffered a bad head wound. The small white boy laid on the floor in a pool of his own blood. When Michael saw what had happened to the boy, he ran off. Antonio was taken to one of the coaches homes for protection. At Sean Tuohy's urging, Michael eventually turned himself in to the campus police, and Sean called his friend, well known attorney Steve Farese. Michael ended up making apologies and was given ten hours of community service. -Evolution of a Game

Regarding Michael going back to his old neighborhood to see his mom, it is stated in author Michael Lewis' book that whenever Michael Oher went back to his old neighborhood bad things often happened. For instance, on one occasion Michael arrived at his birth mother's apartment to find her being arrested. She had been driving around in a truck that had belonged to a man who turned up murdered. The police asked Michael what he was doing there and then took him into custody to central lockup. Sean had to get him out.

"It was unbelievable, just to walk across the stage and shake the president's hand." Michael said. "I was the first one out of anybody that I ever knew to graduate, so it was a great experience." -20/20

Tuohy family on the field at Ole Miss, where Michael and Collins attended.

Why did Michael Oher choose to go to The University of Mississippi (Ole Miss)?

"Ole Miss was right down the road," Michael said, "and I figured it would be easier for my family, you know, my friends to get down to Oxford to come see me play." (ABCNews.go.com) He received more than a thousand letters from college football recruiting programs, with Penn State being the only major football school that didn't offer him a full scholarship. -Evolution of a Game

Michael was a sophomore when he came to Briarcrest. He began staying regularly at the Tuohy's in the fall of his junior year, 2003 (NYTimes.com). He remained with the Tuohys until he left for college at Ole Miss. Officially adopted by the family, Michael returned often to visit, sometimes bringing players from the Ole Miss team with him (Evolution of a Game).

Yes. At the end of the movie, Michael's tutor, Miss Sue (Kathy Bates), is shown on his college campus making a comment about moving her things into an apartment nearby. In real life, Michael's tutor, Sue Mitchell, did continue to tutor Michael at Ole Miss. -Evolution of a Game

Yes. Michael graduated from the University of Mississippi (aka Ole Miss) after playing football for the Ole Miss Rebels for four years. While attending Ole Miss, Michael made the dean's list. He and the Tuohy's daughter Collins were the same age in real life (they were a year apart in the movie). Collins also went to college at Ole Miss, which allowed the two of them to grow even closer due to their shared experiences.

Leigh Anne Tuohy congratulates Michael Oher at the 2009 NFL Draft.

When did Michael Oher enter the NFL?

Yes. Eight years after they brought Michael into their home, the Tuohys are just as devoted to him. On game days, they take a private jet to go see him play. -20/20

Michael, 23, bought his own home and lives in suburban Baltimore. Leigh Anne, an interior decorator, helped him to spruce it up. "I definitely came a long way," says Michael. "Growing up in the projects in some of the roughest parts in Memphis. …it was a long road. Everyday I'm like, 'wow, how did I get here?'"

The Blind Side credits song is called "Chances" by the group Five For Fighting. The song can be found on the The Blind Side Movie Soundtrack and on Five For Fighting's album Slice.

Before auditioning for the part of Michael Oher, a then 23-year-old Quinton Aaron was working as a security guard. He was living in a rough neighborhood in the Bronx with his brother and mother, and it was his mother who discovered the casting call online. After director John Lee Hancock saw Quinton's tape, he flew him out to Los Angeles to meet in person. After the meeting, Quinton gave Hancock a card with his contact information and offered to work as a security guard on the movie set if he didn't get the part. -20/20

It took a year before casting was complete and Quinton was notified that he got the part. During that time Quinton's mother had died and he was unable to pay his rent. On the verge of being evicted from his apartment, he got a phone call telling him that he got the part. Quinton drew from his own personal experiences to help relate to his onscreen character. -20/20

Michael Lewis' Blind Side book.

Why did author Michael Lewis write The Blind Side book?

In the new afterword to the paperback edition of his book The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game, author Michael Lewis writes that the purpose of his story was to "examine the many forces—chance encounters with a family, big changes in football strategy—that affected the value of this one unlucky turned lucky boy." Lewis says the thing that impressed him was that Michael Oher, who was 6 foot 2 inches tall and 350 pounds at the age of sixteen, and ran a 4-9-40, was already considered by many to be bound for the NFL. Michael Lewis is a non-fiction author and financial journalist. He is married to former MTV news anchor Tabitha Soren.

As diagrammed with the Joe Theismann/Lawrence Taylor footage at the beginning of the movie (see below), Michael Oher's position on the football field is left tackle. It is the left tackle's job to protect the quarterback's blind side.

Watch interviews and video exploring the Michael Oher true story. See the complete footage of the Lawrence Taylor hit on Joe Theismann that is featured at the beginning of movie. Watch interviews with the Tuohy family and a separate interview with author Michael Lewis that further explores The Blind Side facts vs. fiction.

• NY Times "Ballad of Big Mike" 2006 Article
• "Why 'The Blind Side' is Too Good to Be True" Entertainment Weekly Article
• "Prominent Coaches Turn Actors for Film" - ESPN.com Article
• ABC 20/20 Blind Side Special
• Oprah.com - "Michael Oher's Inspiring Journey"
• The Blind Side Official Movie Web Site