The super-busy Hugh Jackman provides the voice of pampered house mouse Roddy St James in the animated family comedy, Flushed Away. Jackman said he loved doing the voice work on Flushed Away and appreciated the fact he didn’t have to sit through hair and make-up. Jackman also enjoyed being able to ad-lib and play around with the character a bit.
Did you ever have the opportunity to work with Kate Winslet?
“No, but I do know Kate and we do actually get on very well together. The thing is, to be honest, Kate is one of the best actors going around, so she can make anything work and I think we did. What happened was once she started to record more and I was recording, I would listen to her a lot. Sometimes they would even play her to me so I can hear her. I also had a fantastic woman called Susan who would read opposite me. She was at every session, I believe, in New York or here. She was great. She would read every part. She was incredible. She’d go from Toad to Rita to Sid and Whitey, all of them. Le Frog, she did all of them. So I always had someone to work with, but Kate was just phenomenal, isn’t she?”
Did you see any of your gestures in the finished product?
“I did see some similarities. It’s a little frightening to see yourself looking like a rodent but it’s an adorable one, right? A pampered pet, shall we say. But no, there are some things, definitely, and they were filming it all the time. It was great going back in to see how these scenes were evolving, to see how they were using that. Anyway, it was interesting.”
What’s the timeline of all these projects? Have you been working nonstop?
“I’ve been working fairly steadily, but I did Broadway for over a year. I started recording both of the animated projects [Flushed Away and Happy Feet] during that year while I was doing the Broadway show. So that started…I think I started on this January 2004, I want to say. I can’t remember; it’s been a couple of years. Then when I finished that, I did The Fountain. Had a bit of time off while my wife did a film, and then I did the Woody Allen movie, X-Men 3 and then The Prestige. So I had a bit of a gap in between.”
It’s hard to believe you had any time off.
“Yeah, there was probably a month off in between each. People say, ‘You work hard.’ I’m like, ‘Hey, most people work about 48 weeks a year. I’m lucky if I do 40.’ People say, ‘Oh, look at him, he’s so busy.’ I’m like, ‘I hate to say it, but you’re busier than me.’”
Does adding the role of a producer change your schedule?
“It does. It ultimately will free things up for me because right now we’re shooting a film in New York. Now that’s sort of a goal, one of the goals, apart from doing movies I love and roles I want to play and also being able to give back in areas, as producer I can do films in my hometown. New York is where we’re based so now I can do a film and sort of force the issue, rather than that film going somewhere else. I can make sure that that film’s happening where I love and that way I can be with my family. They don’t have to uproot. So it’s a great decision; it’s great for me.
It’s a great feeling walking on set as a producer. I went on Thursday. There are two thoughts that come into mind. The first thought is like, ‘Wow, look at all these jobs I’ve created, all these people, it’s so fantastic.’ Then a minute later I’m like, ‘Why are they all standing around? Let’s go, come on, people.’”
Do you find it hard to transition from producer to artist?
“Easy. I find it easy. I find myself now a little bit already I’m like, ‘Come on guys, we’ve got to get going.’ Whereas as an actor, you’re like, ‘Oh, we’ll finish it tomorrow.’ It’s a little bit like that. I know what’s at stake. I know what the budget is. I know how many days we can go over and how many we can’t. It’s actually a thing that I think all actors and directors should be like that. I just did a film with Chris Nolan and that guy is so aware of every part of the filmmaking process, and so responsible. There are some directors who aren’t. They’re just like they’ve got their vision of the film and if the film goes way over budget, they don’t think about it. I think everyone should have a go at producing at some point. It’s always easier to say, ‘Oh, they’ll extend.’ And it’s someone’s money.”
Is Happy Feet your normal voice or a character?
“I do a character. I play a character called Memphis. He thinks he’s Elvis Presley. I’m a penguin who thinks he’s Elvis.”
Had you ever done an Elvis voice before?
“No, never. In fact, I don’t want to raise your hopes too high because when I first went in there, the character’s name was Elvis and the second session I went in, all of a sudden this character was called Memphis. I said, ‘George, is this a reflection on my ability?’ He goes, ‘Oh, I was only ever after like the essence of Elvis really.’ I’m like, ‘Thanks, mate.’”
