Bryan Cranston lends his voice to the film The Sheep Detectives, playing Sebastian, a black Icelandic leader sheep. A world-weary cynic, Sebastian joined the flock later in life and has never truly felt like he belongs. It is only when his haunting past comes to light that we understand why he struggles to trust anyone other than George, the shepherd who is mysteriously found dead.
To shape Sebastian, Bryan Cranston drew not only from his voice, “gravelly, like I’ve had a sore throat forever”, he jokes, but also from his own experiences feeling like an outsider.
“Sebastian’s perspective is essential to good storytelling. You need contrasting viewpoints, something for the character to push against. Otherwise, it’s boring,” Cranston says.
Paired with Lily (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), Sebastian forms the emotional backbone of the film, grounding its whimsical mystery in something deeper. His scenes with Lily sometimes feel like romantic comedy, while others feel like heartbreaking romantic drama.
“Julia and I go way back—to Seinfeld, when our characters dated. When you know her voice and the vulnerability she brings, you can feel that rhythm between the characters. It becomes not just Lily and Sebastian, but something more, a relationship that gives the story real heart,” adds Cranston.
The Sheep Detectives Plot
The film is based on the 2005 novel Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann. It revolves around George, a shepherd who dies under suspicious circumstances. Following his death, his flock decides to take matters into their own hands and resolve the mystery.
Filmfare’s Review of The Sheep Detectives
Filmfare’s reviewer rated the film four out of five stars and wrote, “In the end, what lingers is not the novelty of sheep solving a murder but the film’s quiet insistence that stories, no matter how imperfectly understood, are how we make sense of loss. And in that regard, this woolly whodunnit proves far more profound than it has any right to be.”
The Sheep Detectives releases in cinemas today, May 8, in India.
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