‘The Sheep Detectives’ Interview: Julia Louis-Dreyfus and More

The film’s live-action cast includes Hugh Jackman (‘Deadpool & Wolverine’), Nicholas Braun (‘Succession’), Nicholas Galitzine (‘Masters of the Universe’), Molly Gordon (‘Booksmart’), Hong Chau (‘The Menu’), and Oscar winner Emma Thompson (‘Cruella’), while the voice cast features Julia Louis-Dreyfus (‘Thunderbolts*’), Bryan Cranston (‘Drive’), Chris O’Dowd as Mopple (‘Bridesmaids’), Regina Hall (‘One Battle After Another’), Patrick Stewart (‘Logan’), Bella Ramsey (‘The Last of Us’), and Brett Goldstein (‘Ted Lasso’).

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Chris O’Dowd about their work on ‘The Sheep Detectives’, their characters, the challenges of playing a sheep, the fun of solving a good mystery, and why audiences should be excited to see the movie in a theater.

Related Article: Hugh Jackman and More on for ‘Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Movie’

(L to R) Chris O’Dowd as the voice of Mopple and Julia Louis-Dreyfus as the voice of Lily in ‘The Sheep Detectives’, from Amazon MGM Studios. Photo credit: Courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios. © 2026 Amazon Content Services LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Moviefone: To begin with, Julia, what would you say to audience members sitting down right now in a movie theater to prepare them for the theatrical experience they are about to have?

Julia Louis-Dreyfus: I would say sit back, relax, give in, and you’re about to be entertained deeply. I mean, honestly, I would just say open your heart and your mind.

MF: Chris, what would you say to anyone about to sit down and watch this movie?

Chris O’Dowd: You’re about to be absorbed into the beautiful lush, British countryside into a whodunit, the likes of which you’ve never seen before. So put your hooves up and enjoy the ride.

(L to R) Julia-Louis Dreyfus as the voice of Lily, the sheep, and Hugh Jackman as George Hardy in ‘The Sheep Detectives’, from Amazon MGM Studios. Photo: Courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios. Copyright: © 2025 Amazon Content Services LLC. All Rights Reserved.

MF: Julia, what was your first reaction to the screenplay and as an actor, how do you approach playing a sheep?

JLD: Well, before I read the screenplay, I heard about it, and I will say that I had some doubts as to what this was. Then, when I read the script, I was completely taken in by the whimsy of the story. It’s so not derivative of anything else. Aside from, of course, it’s a whodunit, but then it just goes every which way. I love that aspect of it. It has an ethereal quality to it that I love. I mean, I was a little worried because I thought, how am I going to do a sheep? I don’t know how to do a sheep. But fortunately, I could just go in and sort of be myself. I didn’t have to do any kind of “Baa baa” talking.

(L to R) Chris O’Dowd as the voice of Mopple and Julia-Louis Dreyfus as the voice of Lily in ‘The Sheep Detectives’, from Amazon MGM Studios. Photo credit: Courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios. © 2026 Amazon Content Services LLC. All Rights Reserved.

MF: Chris, Mopple carries with him the burden of never being able to forget. Can you talk about how that affects his relationship with Lily and the rest of his flock?

CO: I mean, it’s interesting, isn’t it? He’s like an uncle in a family who has the secrets from the grandparents and doesn’t want to pass them on because it would destroy the family. I think he has to curate then what everybody knows. There is suddenly a huge burden with that because I suppose pain, he can dole it out if he wishes, because the truth is painful. I think parents hide the truth from kids because so much of it is hard. Then as you grow up, you learn that you need that truth to propel you forward. So, he’s a little exhausted from that. When he shares that burden with Lily and with the flock, I think it helps him actually.

Nicholas Braun stars as Officer Tim Derry in ‘The Sheep Detectives’, from Amazon MGM Studios. Photo credit: Alex Bailey. © 2026 Amazon Content Services LLC. All Rights Reserved.

MF: Finally, Julia, your character, Lily, loves mystery novels and has gotten good at solving them. Do you enjoy a good mystery, and how are you at solving them yourself?

JLD: I love a good mystery and I like to think I’m good at solving them. I fear that I am not. I’ve only been able to solve one mystery and that was back in the day, ‘Presumed Innocent’. I was able to guess who the killer was and how he or she pulled it off. But other than that, most of the time I’m a lousy, failure at solving mysteries.

(L to R) Ishi Agrawal as the voice of Pickles, Aroop Shergill as the voice of Daisy, Jasper Ambrose as the voice of Oliver, Regina Hall as the voice of Cloud, Rhys Darby as the voice of Wool-Eyes, Brett Goldstein as the voice of Reggie and Ronnie, Patrick Stewart as the voice of Sir Ritchfield, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as the voice of Lily, Chris O’Dowd as the voice of Mopple, Bella Ramsey as the voice of Zora, and Laraine Newman as the voice of the Fainting Sheep in ‘The Sheep Detectives’, from Amazon MGM Studios. Photo credit: Courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios. © 2026 Amazon Content Services LLC. All Rights Reserved.

What is the plot of ‘The Sheep Detectives’?

A flock of sheep set off to solve the mystery of who murdered their beloved shepherd (Hugh Jackman).

Who is in the cast of ‘The Sheep Detectives’?

• Hugh Jackman as George Hardy
• Nicholas Braun as Tim Derry
• Nicholas Galitzine as Elliot Matthews
• Molly Gordon as Rebecca Hampstead
• Hong Chau as Beth Pennock
• Emma Thompson as Lydia Harbottle
• Kobna Holdbrook-Smith as a priest
• Conleth Hill as a butcher
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Lily
• Bryan Cranston as Sebastian
• Chris O’Dowd as Mopple
• Regina Hall as Cloud
• Patrick Stewart as Sir Richfield
• Bella Ramsey as a Danish Landrace sheep
• Brett Goldstein as Reggie and Ronnie
• Rhys Darby as Wool-Eyes

‘The Sheep Detectives’ opens in theaters on May 8th.

List of Kyle Balda Movies:

Buy Tickets: ‘The Sheep Detectives’ Movie Showtimes

Buy Julia Louis-Dreyfus Movies on Amazon