Why George Lopez Says He ‘Wouldn’t Be Anybody’ Without Sandra Bullock

George Lopez has a special place in his heart for his friend, Sandra Bullock.

The comedian, 63, candidly reflected on how the actress “changed the direction of my life” during an appearance on the Thursday, Sept. 5 edition of iHeartRadio’s Politickin’ with Gavin Newsom, Marshawn Lynch, and Doug Hendrickson podcast.

Lopez said Bullock, 60, was set to go to a comedy club he was performing at in the mid to late ’90s until he begged the manager not to let her go because he was “drinking a lot” and didn’t want her “to see me like this.”

“I didn’t even know her,” he recalled. “And I got on my knees that in that f—— green room, and I said,’ Please, please don’t let her.’ ”

The two would cross paths approximately a year and a half later when the actress, who would go on and become an executive producer for his hit television show, George Lopez, was looking for new talent.

“I had already kind of cleaned up a little bit, and then she saw me, and she’s like, ‘come to my office, and we sat there for like three hours,’ ” recalled Lopez, adding, “I’d never had anybody believe in me.”

The George Lopez show premiered soon after in 2002 and aired for six seasons until 2007.

“She changed the direction of my life, and you know, everybody that’s in my family, and for no other purpose other than she just thought I was funny,” said Lopez.

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!

After confirming that Bullock served as an executive producer, he added, “She did the show, and she did the show a few times and was very, I mean, she came to the tapings and stuff like that, and I mean, I wouldn’t be anybody without her.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 

Lopez echoed similar sentiments in a 2006 interview with PEOPLE, expressing, “From the time Sandy and I first laid eyes on each other, she has been nothing but a person of her word and embracing of me and my family.”