I’m 11 — and skipped school to interview Hugh Jackman about ‘The Sheep Detectives’

Take Your Kid to Work Day looks a little different when mom’s an entertainment reporter.

For my 11-year-old daughter, Gigi, it meant an early screening of The Sheep Detectives, brainstorming questions for Hugh Jackman and then sitting down across from the movie star — with two cameras rolling — to carry a nearly 10-minute interview for Yahoo. The film, which premiered on May 8 and has a 93% Rotten Tomatoes score, grossed $15.9 million at the box office over the weekend.

Under studio lighting, my kid fought nerves and came out with a lot more confidence on the other side. Not to mention hugs from an A-list star.

Over the course of their conversation, Jackman talked about falling asleep while playing dead in the movie (joking, “I’m an old man”), the sheep-themed items he lifted from set and the most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to him onstage — a story involving Beauty and the Beast, red tights and 2,000 audience members.

He also recorded a video message for my daughter’s teachers, excusing the school absence before attempting to stretch the missed day into a six-week vacation — a proposal that was extremely popular with one child.

Here’s how Gigi remembers it…

At my winter school concert, I had an “A Million Dreams” solo. Never in my dreams did I think I’d be interviewing The Greatest Showman a few months later.

We got to see The Sheep Detectives before the interview. It was all business — zero snacks in the screening room — which made me realize work life definitely has downsides. Luckily, the movie pulled me in fast, and I forgot all about slushies. Well, until now.

I already knew from the trailer that Hugh Jackman’s character, George, was going to get killed — that’s basically the whole setup of the whodunit — but it still made me sad. George reads mysteries to his flock, and one sheep in particular, Lily, becomes very good at solving them.

That was good because the one police officer in their town is completely clueless — although he was funny.

The movie is a mystery, but it’s also about loss, not fitting in and what people will do for money. It’s also about how great animals are.

I loved it. Winter Lamb was my favorite. My mom and I both cried. I won’t tell you at which parts, but when you see it, you’ll know.

Later, Hugh told me he felt emotional watching it too. “I think it’s one of those movies that makes you laugh and cry,” he said.

The night before my interview, I was allowed to watch Deadpool & Wolverine so I could see Hugh as his most famous character for research. I learned a lot of new words in the 15 minutes I was allowed to watch before my mom shut it off.

The Sheep Detectives is … definitely not that.

When we got to the Warren Street Hotel in NYC, I got to go into the press suite before the interview. It was very fancy, and there was a whole spread of food, so I had pancakes and took photos with the sheep decorations.

I was feeling nervous, but something that calmed me down was seeing a rescue dog from — of all places — our local animal shelter Paws Crossed, where I’ve been a junior volunteer. I got to pet Kansas, who was doing a story for the Dodo, and feed her lots of bacon.

I’ve been in a lot of plays, but I’ve never been in front of actual TV cameras, so it felt intimidating walking into the room where I’d interview Hugh. Soon, I heard a bunch of voices — and one unmistakable Australian accent — coming from down the hall.

Hugh had arrived.

Before I met him, I was shaking. I felt like I had to make a perfect impression, but fortunately for me, he was such a nice person that it was pretty easy.

I was introduced as “Gigi, kid reporter.” Hugh gave me a hug, sat down across from me and we started right away.

I told him I was feeling nervous. Even though he’s been in giant movies and on Broadway, Hugh told me, “I get nervous in my job all the time,” which surprised me.

“You’ll never lose the nerves,” he said. “What will happen is you’ll learn not to be upset by them. You’ll go, ‘Oh, that means I’m going to do something fun today. Or something new.’”

He also said that when there are no butterflies, “that’s when you should start to worry.”

Another one of the best things he told me came early when I asked why George doesn’t simply tell Lily who killed him when he appears to her in a vision.

“This movie, Gigi, is about growing up,” he told me. “One of the hardest things about being a parent is not solving all the problems for your kid. It’s allowing them to trust themselves and their own instincts and do things for themselves.”

I loved that, but note to my mom: I’m not volunteering for extra chores or anything. I’m good.

I also asked Hugh about having to play dead in the movie. (You’ll see when you watch it — he spends a long time lying there in the grass.) I wanted to know if he started laughing during those scenes.

“No, I fell asleep, though,” he said. “Shh — don’t tell anyone. At one point, apparently, I was moving … little twitches and maybe even a little bit of a snore. Someone said, ‘If you could just be quiet. You’re meant to be dead.’”

He added: “I’m an old man. You put me down on the ground for five minutes, I’m falling asleep.”

Hugh took more than one nap on the set:

Another thing I learned: Most of the sheep in the film weren’t real. While they had a few lambs on set to help the actors get into character, Hugh was working with a puppeteer, who held a fake sheep (called a “stuffie”) that looked realistic and made it move.

I asked if he stole anything from the set — I heard stars do that — and he said that he took sheep-themed blankets and pillows from his trailer. Though “I’m sure they would have given them to me if I’d asked,” he laughed.

He said if it had been possible, he would have taken George’s entire Airstream trailer.

One story I’ll let you discover for yourself involved Hugh having an “accident” on stage when he was in Beauty and the Beast in 1995.

Trust me: watch the interview.

“It happens to most people, usually somewhere in the 5 and under [age range],” he told me. “But to happen when you’re 35 in front of 2,000 people? It’s like a bad dream.”

Another funny moment came when I asked Hugh if he had ever had braces. I’d just gotten mine a few days earlier and was still getting used to them while interviewing a worldwide movie star (!), so I figured I’d ask.

When he said he hadn’t — though his siblings had — the only thing I could think of to say back was: “Your teeth are so straight.” 🙈

He politely agreed, but said he’s had “a lot of cavities,” so don’t forget to floss, kids.

Before we finished, I asked Hugh if he could help me out with an excuse note for my teachers since I missed school to interview him.

Instead, he recorded an entire video message. He apologized to my teachers for my absence and then casually suggested I should get the rest of the school year off too.

“I’m not very good at interviews,” he told them. “I think this is our 25th take of it, but I’m still not getting it right. So … this may go for maybe two or three weeks. If you don’t see Gigi at school for a while, it is my fault, and I just want you to be very kind to her as she misses three, four, up to six weeks of school. OK, have a great summer.”

My teachers loved it.

They told my mom I was excused and they played the video in class. One of my teachers said she kept rewinding to hear Hugh say her name over and over.

Most importantly, I was officially excused.

After the interview, we got invited to Woodstock Farm Sanctuary in High Falls, N.Y., to meet real sheep. Yes, I missed more school for it, but it was a hands-on science lesson.

I learned how sheep are cared for and about their dispositions: shy, emotional and smart. It takes time for the animals to build trust. They didn’t want to get too close, but they watched us closely.

Some of the rescue animals at the sanctuary had disabilities. One sheep had a prosthetic leg, which I especially loved as a Wizard of Paws fan. Another used a wheeled walker, and there was a tripod sheep. Seeing animals (and people!) with prosthetics or physical disabilities makes me feel inspired. They work so hard and try their very best to figure it out.

The sheep are free range for part of the day, and whenever their leader, Toni, decides to go somewhere, they all sprint after her together in a stampede.

I also got to feed a cow, Colin, twice and he drooled all over me! I wiped my hands on a tissue and put it in my mom’s purse. (Sorry, Mom.)

I did not want to leave the sanctuary because I was having so much fun with the animals — including turkeys, goats, rabbits and pigs.

When we finally did, the sheep blocked the road around our car, and we had to sit there for a few minutes. It was like they were saying goodbye — and “come back and see us soon.”

In that moment, I understood why George talked to them like they could understand. They seemed to.

For me, this experience taught me that it’s OK to be nervous when you’re doing something new. Even Wolverine gets butterflies sometimes.

Thanks, Hugh Jackman.

The Sheep Detectives is now playing in theaters.