
Benjamin Mee (Matt Damon) buys the zoo, Rosemoor Animal Park, in order to give his family a fresh start in life. His wife Katherine has recently died and he is looking for a new direction for himself and his two young children. Running and restoring a dilapidated zoo is ostensibly an odd choice and Mee definitely takes on more than he bargained for. With the help of an eclectic staff and with an assortment of adventures along the way, the family works to return the run down zoo to its former glory and to heal their own pain.
A: “Kelly is incredibly driven and focused. She has dedicated her entire life to her job and she actually says in the film, ‘I don't have a life, this is my whole life. I come here from morning to night and my friends are out enjoying themselves with different guys and going to bars. I don't do any of that stuff.’
Q: What was the appeal and challenge of this character for you?
A: “What I love about Kelly is that she’s so totally matter of fact. There’s nothing about her that’s vindictive. She doesn’t really want anything from anybody except for an honest day’s work and I appreciate that sentiment. I have never had the opportunity to really play a girl who’s very pure and straightforward in her thinking.”