'The Odd Life of Timothy Green' Joel Edgerton Explains Why He Wanted to Star in the Disney Film (Video)

11:01 AM PDT 8/14/2012 by Paula Zulian

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The Australian actor also talks to THR about what he learned from his 11-year-old co-star, CJ Adams.

Australian actor Joel Edgerton, who played the tough MMA fighter in 2011's Warrior, takes on a very different role in Disney’s The Odd Life of Timothy Green.

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'The Odd Life of Timothy Green's' CJ Adams Returns to Acting for the Right Role (Video)

While the actor admits that it was "surprising" that the story drew him in, Edgerton says that he wanted to play the role of Jim Green, the caring husband of Jennifer Garner's character, because of the "magical" aspect of the film.

PHOTOS: 'The Odd Life of Timothy Green' Premiere: Jennifer Garner and Joel Edgerton Celebrate Disney's Homegrown Family Film

“It reminded me of the movies that I really kind of devoured as a kid, E.T., and Big,” he tells The Hollywood Reporter.

In the film, written and directed by Peter Hedges, Edgerton and Garner's characters can't have a child of their own. One night, they write down the qualities they wished their child could have, put in a box and buries it in the garden. After a storm, a 10-year-old boy (CJ Adams) appears from the garden claiming to be their son.

"My character in this is very unsure of himself at first, and then he starts to learn about himself, through having parenthood thrust upon him," he says.

Edgerton says he didn't have to give any advice to his 11-year-old co-star. “I didn't want to tell him how to act," he says. "A child teaches you how to act because they don't have any impediments."

VIDEO: 'The Odd Life of Timothy Green's' CJ Adams Returns to Acting for the Right Role

The Odd Life of Timothy Green hits theaters on Wednesday, August 15.

Watch THR's full interview with Edgerton above to find out what part of the film was his favorite to shoot with Jennifer Garner.