The film was first brought to Ewan McGregor's attention by Zellweger, who had kept in contact with him after collaborating on "Down with Love." McGregor described the film as having a somewhat similar appeal as that film, and noted that he was familiar with Beatrix Potter's stories, which he read to his children. To prepare for the role, McGregor studied photographs of Norman Warne and visited the modern-day Warne publishing house. Zellweger read actual letters between Beatrix Potter and Norman Warne and Millie to prepare for the role, but had difficulty with the accent, which she said was very different from Bridget Jones'.