Were you aware that you would voice for Tigress when you were offered Kung Fu Panda?

No, at first, I wasn’t sure which character I would be playing. When I first came in and saw all the characters, I didn’t know who I was, I was secretly hoping I got to be Tigress. I thought Tigress was a boy when I first saw her and I thought, ‘I wonder who that is, must be Jackie Chan. I guess I’m not gonna be the tiger’. But then they told me that I will voice for Tigress and I was stoked.

Why you were so keen to voice the Tigress?

I have a giant tiger tattoo on my back, and my kids always look at it, so it was very important that I be the tiger. When I came in and saw the beautiful snake with the beautiful eyes, and I saw the monkey and all of the characters… they were all very cool, but I loved the Tigress. She’s cool. She’s secretly who we all want to be. If I were half as tough and straightforward as this character, it would be amazing.

What really incited you to accept the offer of an animation film?

I had many reasons for accepting the role of Tigress. I had voiced Lola for DreamWorks in Shark Tale, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I just had such a good experience. It was so much fun to do, not just because I have children. That sounds like a really good excuse — ‘I do it for my children.’ But really, I’m a big kid. Animation has just grown and changed in the last few years and the stories are so good. And this film was especially interesting to me because it was a sort of return to the classics.

What is the Tigress like in the movie?

Tigress is the strongest and boldest of the Kung Fu masters. She is a forceful character, opinionated, outspoken and direct. Basically, she’s everything you’d want in a hero: over-achieving, brave, fearless and, well, heroic…she’d do anything to save the day. Anything except believe in Po, who she thinks is a joke. But even the strongest can be wrong, and Tigress learns that destiny sometimes arrives in unexpected ways.

What makes your character so interesting?

Tigress is very straightforward. It was explained to me that there are all different styles of Kung Fu, and hers is attack. There’s no defence. It’s just attack, attack, attack…so that makes her a very interesting character.

What do you have to say about the various action sequences in the film?

I am quite impressed, it’s amazing action. I underestimated what it was going to be. I’m not just pleasantly surprised, I’m really excited. Anytime I’ve done a film where I have to work on a stunt, you practise it and you try to find the best ways to do something interesting. I think the best stunt sequence is when the audience watches it and can understand everything that’s going on —they can really follow the details of the stunt. At the same time, they are seeing things they’ve never seen before. And everything is used in the most extraordinary way.

Your favourite scene from the film?

It has to be the bridge fight sequence. It’s amazing to see the bridge fight, and to see everything that they thought to do on this bridge, and all the different styles of fighting from the different animals, and how they put it together in a really clever way…it was so much more than I anticipated, and really well thought-out, really beautifully done, and really funny, in between, too.

What you have to say to the audience about Kung Fu Panda?

It’s like classic storytelling for children, and there aren’t a bunch of modern references. There are some beautiful messages and some really fun characters. There’s a sweetness to it. At the same time, the setting is absolutely beautiful. I love that part of the world. I have two children from Asia, so the fact that I get to be in Kung Fu Panda, which is set in China, and I get to play a tiger, is very cool.

Which animal does Angelina Jolie resemble the most? Tell t2@abpmail.com