Hugh Jackman is shedding the claws and spandex for a role as a shepherd in the upcoming comedy, The Sheep Detectives. The actor plays a shepherd whose murder spurs his sheep to turn detectives and solve the mystery. The actor has revealed that he said yes to the film very early on in the script read, which left him emotional and in tears.
Hugh Jackman opens up on The Sheep Detectives
Hugh Jackman said that he found the script heartwarming and compelling, and it even made him cry three times. The actor said yes to the film by page 25. “Craig wrote such a beautiful script, and I knew that in Kyle’s hands it would become something truly special—heartwarming, funny, and unique. Comedy without heart isn’t satisfying—it wears thin. This story is full of heart. That’s what audiences want: to be moved, to be surprised, to be transported,” the actor says.
Growing up in Australia, Hugh Jackman had briefly worked on a sheep farm in the Australian outback. But he says that despite that, he came to the project with limited experience. But over the course of filming, the actor developed a genuine affection for the flock, helped by some impressively lifelike stand-ins.
{{/usCountry}}Growing up in Australia, Hugh Jackman had briefly worked on a sheep farm in the Australian outback. But he says that despite that, he came to the project with limited experience. But over the course of filming, the actor developed a genuine affection for the flock, helped by some impressively lifelike stand-ins.
{{/usCountry}}The producer of The Sheep Detectives, Lindsay Doran, is all praise for the veteran star. “Hugh understood it completely. You watch him on that farm and believe it instantly—that he’s a shepherd, that he loves his sheep, that he connects with them more easily than with people, and that he genuinely enjoys reading to them,” she says.
All about The Sheep Detectives
The Sheep Detectives is the story of a flock of sheep set off to solve the mystery of who murdered their beloved shepherd. Hugh Jackman stars as the shepherd, alongside Nicholas Braun, Nicholas Galitzine, Molly Gordon, Emma Thompson, and Conleth Hill in pivotal roles. The film also employs the voices of Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston, Chris O'Dowd, Regina Hall, Patrick Stewart, Bella Ramsey, Brett Goldstein, and Rhys Darby as the flock of sheep detectives.
Based on the 2005 novel Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann, The Sheep Detectives has been adapted to screen by Craig Mazin. Directed by Kyle Balda, and produced by Amazon MGM Studios in the US and by Sony Pictures Releasing International internationally, the film releases in theatres on 8 May.