We Asked An 11-Year-Old To Interview Hugh Jackman

When we heard Hugh Jackman was starring in a murder mystery where the primary investigators are a flock of highly intelligent, crime-novel-obsessed sheep, we knew right away: Today's Parent needed a detective of its own on the case.

In The Sheep Detectives (based on the popular novel Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann), Jackman plays George Hardy, a gentle shepherd who spends evenings reading detective stories and old-school whodunits to his flock. When George is mysteriously murdered, his sheep—led by the sharp-witted Lily (voiced by Julia Louis-Dreyfus)—decide to put those stories to use and solve the case themselves.

A runaway critical hit, The Sheep Detectives is a story rooted in imagination, bravery and the kind of "what if?" logic that kids understand better than anyone. So, when the chance came up for us to sit down with Hugh Jackman himself and get the inside story on his latest role, we jumped on it.

Enter Edie Chua: a spunky 11-year-old martial artist, skateboarder, actress and friend of Today's Parent who we knew would be perfect to pick Hugh Jackman's brain.

The Interview

Did you use any real sheep or sheep noises during the movie?

There were some. I remember lambs coming to rehearsal, and there were some sheep on the field, but most of the time I got to work with this amazing puppeteer called Tom [Wilton]. He'd be on the ground, and put his hand inside the sheep, and it looked perfect. Having that puppet to work with was incredible—for my brain, I was literally with a sheep that could talk and think and feel and interact with me. These puppeteers are just extraordinary.

If you were going to read any book to sheep, what book would you choose?

Hmm...I'm going to say, Harry Potter. I've never read it, but my sister was telling me it's awesome, and I have a feeling sheep might really like magic.

In the movie, the sheep were scared to cross the road at first, but they did it anyway. Have you ever had to do something like that?

Every day, Edie. 'Crossing the road'—doing something scary? Quite a lot, I have to do things that I've never done before, and I'm not sure how they're going to go. And even though I've been acting and doing different things for 30 years, it all feels like I've never done it before. And this is the time where I'm going to fall flat on my face...but now I realize it's a good thing. To have butterflies in your stomach means that you care, means that you're excited, and means that you're probably pushing yourself to do something that you may not have done before.

What was the funniest thing that happened during this movie?

Working with Nicholas Braun is funny. That guy is really laugh-out-loud funny. I love him. I mean, the film was just a delight. We were in the English countryside in summertime, and it was heaven. Working with him made me laugh till I cried a lot.

Do you think sheep are the best animals to solve mysteries?

I think I do now. I don't think I can imagine any other animals...but I'm sure in the hands of Craig Mazin, the writer, pretty much anyone can solve a great murder mystery. But when I was reading the script, I had no idea who had done the murder. I haven't met many people who guessed it, so I'm interested to hear what people think when they go to see it—if they work it out or not.

If you could give your sheep detectives one special skill or superpower, what would it be?

I think the message of the story...I play very much a fatherly figure to these sheep—and I am a father, so I know this feeling—in the end, you want them to love themselves for exactly who they are. No matter what anybody else says, no matter what. I think that's the great superpower.