Zootopia – Ginnifer Goodwin Interview (and why she’s my new favorite actress!)

Ginnifer Goodwin has been an actress I’ve followed for years. I loved her in the movies Something Borrowed and He’s Just Not That Into You. I’m obsessed with her in Once Upon a Time. And now – I have officially become her biggest fan after interviewing her for the Walt Disney Animated film, Zootopia – where she voices the character (and protagonist) Judy Hopps.

Since Ginnifer is 7 months pregnant, we didn’t get to interview her in person, so we did what any digital mom would do – we interviewed her via Skype. It actually was the perfect kind of interview because it went very well with our group of bloggers. We can pretty much get our job done anywhere, at anytime – and this was the perfect example. Even though we didn’t get to actually see Ginnifer up close and personal, you wouldn’t have known it. She engaged with us beautifully, answering all of our questions and was fully open and fully present.

Since following her for years, and seeing her full body of work, I was very interested to ask her, “What made you want this role?” It’s different from other stuff she worked on, so for me – it was my top question to ask.

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Photo provided by Disney

I loved her answer, “To be honest, there was one word that convinced me that I needed to take this role and that was Disney. That’s the truth. I was sitting in Mickey Mouse pajamas in my kitchen. I was pregnant. I was in Vancouver shooting Once Upon a Time and I got a phone call that I was being offered this job and I had never heard of Zootopia and I took it immediately. My representative said, ‘don’t you want to know anything about the character or the script?’ and I said, of course. I mean, I want to, but just accept the job first and then call me back!

Her honesty was refreshing and so real. You could tell that she just knew the power and the magnitude of Disney and wanted to be part of that incredible legacy. “One of the things that I love most about Disney is that, it’s the studio of which I’m aware that will start from scratch to make something better, even if they’re years into the process which is what happened with this one. But reading the script, I was really taken with, not only the scenes, but the fact that, like every great Disney film, it could make me laugh. It could make me cry at the same points every time I read it. I related very much to the character.

It was interesting for me to learn that Jason Bateman (voice of Nick Wilde) and Ginnifer never actually recorded together. They both had to go in raw and create these characters from inspiration within themselves, doing tons of takes and really committing to the characters. You need to really be focused to be able to craft a character that way, it was impressive to hear about it. “They would always decorate the sound booth in artwork which was incredibly inspiring and anything new would go up for me to see.

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Photo provided by Disney

But for me, what really did it for me and made me just become Ginnifer’s top fan was hearing her talk about why she loved being part of this movie because of what it teaches and stands for, beyond just the entertainment value of it all. “There’s so many incredible themes in this movie. I mean, the one that I gravitate towards the most because it’s the one I, it’s the one my character articulated was that anyone can be anything and I absolutely believe that. I believe that’s in keeping with the answer, to the question about, defying other peoples’ expectations and in stereotyping me and how I am received. I do believe anyone can be anything. I believe that there are infinite amounts of opportunities for everyone.

I honestly started tearing up when she was talking because I immediately thought of my children and how I want them to always believe this truth.

I do believe anyone can be anything.

It’s such a powerful message throughout Zootopia and it’s something that I feel everyone needs to always remember and believe, regardless of their age.

As Ginnifer explained, “I’ve never understood this idea that there’s only so many pieces of the pie. Like if actresses are fellow actress haters and are extremely competitive… I’m just using actresses because I’m an actress… but I’m sure it’s the same in many, many different fields. I’ve always felt like why aren’t there, why can’t we just look at it as there’s an infinite number of pies? There’s enough to go around and there’s enough for everyone to carve their niche in life. So that’s the thing that I would hope on the surface that I hope my kids take away from seeing Zootopia.

I mean, she couldn’t have said it any better. I honestly wanted to stand up and clap!

Someone asked Ginnifer what her favorite scene in the movie was for Judy Hopps. I immediately thought she was going to say the DMV scene, but I was surprised by her answer. “I mean, as an actress, I would say that because I’m a glutton for punishment that I love the scene in which Judy takes responsibility for what she has not only done in the world of Zootopia, but what she has done to Nick and goes back and apologizes, but also calls him to action. That scene under the bridge. That was one of the most fun to film because it was, it just required me to be the most emotionally available and as an actress, I love to go to, to places.

As we were ending our interview, someone asked Ginnifer “What was the best thing about playing Judy?”

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Photo provided by Disney

She took a moment before answering.

I don’t know if this answers your question. It’s less about playing her, more about her affect on me as an audience member. I was really surprised when I saw the final product because I had given the directors just a million different versions of everything. I mean, they crafted her performance. It’s not like when we’re doing live action and we feel we’re in control of creating a through line. It’s like I provided them a million different pieces and then they made her and what I was ecstatic to find is that they created an action hero and a real butt kicker who is kind and generous and girly and uncompromising and frankly, didn’t have to have any of what we associate with masculine qualities in order to be that action hero. I don’t remember the last time I saw any character in any kind of film that like that, that I would call, feminine. I love that she didn’t have to become jaded to be strong. I think that those are qualities that we assume have to go together and they don’t. I love that she was forever kind and I don’t think that kindness is something that we always associate with strength, so I found her extremely refreshing and I was really proud to have gotten to contribute to the pieces that made her.

I mean, how could you not fall in love with her!? She’s amazing. I’m telling you, Ginnifer just blew me away. She was everything I hoped she would be and more.

Please make sure you head to the theaters on March 4th for ZOOTOPIA!

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Disclosure: This was a Disney press trip. My travel was covered for this trip. All opinions are 100% my own.

About Audrey

Audrey McClelland has been a digital influencer since 2005. She’s a mom of 5 and shares tips on her three favorite things: parenting, fashion and beauty. She’s also a Contemporary Romance Author.

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