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Melissa McCarthy, Sandra Bullock 'plagued' by guilt as working moms

Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy may have never met prior to filming their upcoming buddy-cop film "The Heat," but when the two started working together, they discovered they had a lot in common -- including working-mom guilt. As they told Parade magazine in an article that will publish this weekend, making movies while having young children at home (Bullock has a 3-year-old son; McCarthy has d
Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy in \"The Heat.\"
Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy in \"The Heat.\"Today

Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy may have never met prior to filming their upcoming buddy-cop film "The Heat," but when the two started working together, they discovered they had a lot in common -- including working-mom guilt.

As they told Parade magazine in an article that will publish this weekend, making movies while having young children at home (Bullock has a 3-year-old son; McCarthy has daughters aged 6 and 3) was hugely guilt-inducing.

"It plagues me," said McCarthy, who also stars on CBS's "Mike and Molly." "I feel intensely guilty for working. But I feel like it's a weird modern phenomenon that you always feel guilty for it."

Added Bullock, "I don't know if I feel like a bad mom, but at the end of the day I'm always plagued with, 'Did I do enough? Should I go in a different direction?' But I also know that my entire life revolves around (son) Louis."

Both expressed strong protective feelings about trying to keep their kids out of the limelight. Bullock acknowledged, "We're adults, and we're fair game. ... But I instinctively throw things over Louis's head. ... He doesn't like (paparazzi). He gives them the stink-eye and they're like, 'That's such an angry kid' but I look at them and say, 'Only when you guys are around.'"

McCarthy was more emphatic, saying kids should be off-limits for roving photographers. "Strangers shouldn't be allowed to take a picture of your child and sell it for profit," she said. "They think, 'We're putting out a product,' but you're putting out a child."

Still, these shared trials may have made for a stronger, more instant chemistry in "Heat." Noted Bullock, "Having kids connected us on a deeper level. And the things we're obsessed with outside of being a mom are the same, too -- construction and home renovation. ... We're kindred spirits in that world. If we had a beer den, with Barcaloungers -- but our version of that -- it'd be great!"

"The Heat" opens in theaters on June 28. Check out the trailer: