James Corden has been having “a lot of fun” providing the voice for Peter Rabbit in director Will Gluck’s eagerly anticipated big screen adventure that features the mischievous, lovable character that has charmed generations — and, in the process, rediscovering a story that he has loved since he was a boy.

Did you know the Peter Rabbit stories from your childhood?

Oh very much so, yes. It’s quite interesting talking to Americans, who really don’t have any concept of it existing as a book — of the stories and even of Beatrix Potter. And that’s the sort of juggling act. When you are doing a film like this, how do you satisfy an existing audience and introduce it to a new audience? When I was first told about the movie I felt flattered. I also felt quite reticent at the same time because you wonder if it is going to be respectful of that legacy. As soon as Will Gluck told me that he had the full blessing of the Beatrix Potter Estate, that they read the script and were very much behind it, that was all I needed to hear. I thought it was amazing and incredible that they thought my voice would be OK for something like this. 

So it was important to you that the film does honour the legacy of the stories?

It was important to me, to Domhnall, to Sony, to everybody involved with it because otherwise you may as well make ‘Dave the Bunny’. Obviously, the biggest leap was that a lot of the Beatrix Potter stories were very short. When I went back and read them again, a lot of them could be short stories as opposed to novels. So it’s about taking the essence of the character, the essence of the world that Beatrix Potter created, and telling it in the best way possible.

How did you discover the stories when you were a kid? 

I think I first discovered the books at home and also at Sunday School. I grew up in a Salvation Army family and we would go to Sunday School every week. I have a vague recollection of finding and discovering them during free time in the corner of a library somewhere. 

What did you like about them?

I loved the Beatrix Potter books in the same way that I used to love (UK comic) The Beano. They felt slightly grown up. I also loved that Peter Rabbit was mischievous because when you are that age and you are constantly being told not to do this, not to do that and to sit down or whatever. And when you find a character that your parents are encouraging you to read, who absolutely does the opposite of what they are told, that’s kind of thrilling. 

Have you read them to your children yet?

We actually have all of the books and my son and I have started reading them in the last year. He is six and he has been aware of the stories for a while — he had a Peter Rabbit soft toy that someone bought for him when he was very young. And now he has an unbelievable love of reading. He has discovered the books and he loves Peter Rabbit and all the characters and what they get up to. 

Will said that when he was working on the script that you were in his mind for Peter Rabbit right from the start, someone who can be mischievous and be full of heart from the start...

I didn’t actually know that. That’s very sweet. I first met Will when he saw me in a play, One Man, Two Guvnors at The National Theatre and we got on well and I’m such a fan of his — I love his movie Easy A, I think it’s completely brilliant. And he is also an incredible man just to hang out with in a room with no windows for a day (laughs). He’s an amazing person and his passion and commitment for the film is so infectious. But I never knew that he wrote it with me in mind. I always assumed that three other people must have turned it down. It’s flattering to hear because I just have such huge respect for Will. I really do.

Let’s talk about how you worked with Will. Did he show you storyboards to give you a feel for how it would look?

No. I think when I did my first ever recording the script wasn’t finished and the animators needed a voice to start informing what the animated rabbit would actually look like. They needed a voice to do that first. It’s a very interesting process.The thing I really love most about it is before I started doing (The Late Late Show), I used to act. I have days when I miss it very much and [Peter Rabbit] gives me an opportunity to go into a room and take on a character for a little while. Then I get into my car and go and do my day job. In that respect, it gives me a chance to use those muscles that lie dormant while I’m doing this job. 

And what’s great with Will is we’ll record the scripted lines and then he will go ‘is there anything else we can think of? Is there anything else we could do or say?’ Then he would start scribbling stuff down. He would put it in front of you and we would record it. Sometimes you can spend 25 minutes on two lines and the next time you record four pages in 10 minutes. 

Is it fun? 

I find it tremendous fun because it’s something new and it’s different. It’s also quite a low-pressure environment — if you don’t do something right, there’s always an opportunity to go back and do it again. Even in the world of film, yes you have multiple takes, but the day has a clock on it and you start worrying about losing light or time, or you have to move location and you have to shoot a whole film in 30 days or whatever. This is not that — this is endless sessions where you can try things. It’s very liberating. What you need is the right director who has their eye on who the character and what the story is. Will is ever thinking about the project and what’s best for it.

You’ve said that you loved the Peter Rabbit stories from when you were a child but there will be a whole new audience out there who don’t know Beatrix Potter. Give us a flavour of what they can expect…

My hope is that they will enjoy this character very much, enjoy the story very much and then will go back and discover the books, too. This film is based on these wonderful children’s books and maybe they will want to check them out and that would be a really wonderful thing.

As a parent you take your children to films like this. And they have to entertain both the parents and the kids, they have to be fun for all ages. Is that what Peter Rabbit is going to do?

I hope so very much. It’s worth saying that my children are the absolute reason I’m doing this. I did a voice a couple of years ago on a really beautiful film called The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo’s Child which my children absolutely love and they get this unbelievable kick out of the fact that I’m the voice of the Mouse. To think that I’m Peter Rabbit — well, my son is just losing his brain in a way. He is so excited. So I’m really excited for my children to see Peter Rabbit. I really am.

Will said that it was important that there was a heart to the story — he said it was about sharing and learning to live with one another and that Young McGregor (Domhnall Gleeson) and Peter and the animals have to share the garden. Did you guys talk about that?

Not so much but I see that is a real theme of the film. And you hope that children would learn about acceptance and sharing all the time, and if Peter Rabbit is going to help with that, then that would be great.

Have you met any of your fellow cast members during the process?

I’ve met many of them but I’ve never seen any of them in a booth while I’m recording.

The film is live action and animation and, it looks seamless...

It’s just incredible. I’m really excited to see the live action and the animation combined — I’ve seen so many bits where it’s just a plate or a man holding a blue stick in front of Domhnall’s face and so I’m really excited to see it. And all of the guys that Will has used in the film are really at the forefront of animation and the fur looks real, it looks great.

You’ve talked about your ‘day job’ — hosting The Late Late Show — how is life going over there in the States?

We’re very much enjoying it. I feel very lucky to be given such an opportunity and what it gives us and our family is incredible and, you know, it’s hard at times because you feel a long way away and it feels like it’s all happened so quickly. And that’s the thing that I wasn’t really prepared for. I was prepared for the workload and I was prepared to get my head down and try my best. But I never thought it would have happened this fast but it’s a really great time in our lives to be here right now.

What do you love most about being there?

The boundless sense of opportunity and optimism, and I really enjoy the life it gives me with my family. So much of my life before was ‘oh, I’m going for three weeks to South Africa to film something’ or going away somewhere else and we never quite knew where we were going to be or what we were going to do.To be here right now gives us an opportunity to all be together.

What do you miss most about England?

The people. I miss family and friends. And I also miss the architecture. I never thought I’d say that but whenever I meet people now who say ‘I’m going to London, what should I do?’ I just say ‘you should look up’. And you’ll always be rewarded by some of the most beautiful buildings you could ever see. When you live in a place you take it for granted. We all do and we all take everything for granted. But I do miss those buildings.

You’ve said that you like to keep acting while you are doing the show. Will we see more of that in the future?

I don’t know really. I’ve no idea what the future holds. Right now, I’m just enjoying all of it. I really do feel very lucky and blessed with all of it. If life has taught me anything it’s that you can’t really think about the future too much.