Uggie still riding high on his well-earned fame as top dog in "The Artist"

If movie fans could vote on the Oscar for Best Actor, in 2011 it might have gone to one very funny master of improvisational acting. But fans can't weigh in, and Jean Dujardin, star of The Artist," took home the statuette. No offense to the French actor, but another player in the same movie -- who some say stole the show -- was the ultimate master of improv, a dog named Uggie.

Of course, there isn't a category for "Best Dog." If you count the laughs in "The Artist," though, it's likely Uggie's exceed Dujardin's. All those Uggie-isms -- from acting out a slow death to falling over -- weren't in the original script. Director Michel Hazanavicius encouraged both human and canine ad-libbing. Uggie seemed to understand when he was being funny, says his trainer, Omar Von Muller.

"The best animal actors really do act," adds Von Muller. "Many dogs are very smart and can learn tricks. Uggie is a star because when the director says 'action' he turns on, and does whatever he is supposed to. He doesn't get distracted with the cameras or anything else."

Uggie shouldn't feel too bad. Today, more moviegoers likely know his name than that of Jean Dujardin's. Besides, Uggie has earned the acclaim any mutt-inee idol deserves: the coveted Golden Collar Award. Now, he's written a book (with a little help from interpreter Wendy Holden and Von Muller) called "Uggie: My Story" (Simon and Schuster, New York, NY, 2012; $16). The biography isn't very long, but then it's all in dog years.

Uggie story is a rags-to-riches tale.

"He was a young Jack Russell terrier doing crazy stuff, as Jack Russell's do," recalls Von Muller. "He wanted to kill cats. He wanted to chase cars. The previous owners couldn't handle him. They would have given him up to a pound, but a friend called to tell me about him. For what we do, we seek energetic dogs who can channel that energy into work."

And work Uggie has done. Still, his 'tail' wasn't one of overnight success. He toiled in many TV commercials and small-time movies before hitting it big in "Water for Elephants" in 2011.

Like all Hollywood memoirs, Uggie's includes scandal. For the first time, Uggie has admitted his infatuation with actress Reese Witherspoon, who he met making "Water." But that's solely Uggie's spin on the story. Von Muller reveals the shocking truth, which, so far, has not aired on "Extra."

"All the time (Uggie was in love), Reese actually had more of a crush on Popeye, my Bulldog, who wasn't even in the movie ('Water for Elephants') but sometimes came to the set," he revealed.

Von Muller adds that people tell him all the time that they have dogs who do tricks and could make movies.

"I thought that, too," he says. "But when I got on my first movie set I found out how hard it is. I thought, 'My dog can walk out of a church, then sit. That's not tough.' Well, on a movie set you might need to repeat that identical behavior 20 times for 20 shots at 20 angles."

At age 10, Uggie's days of leading dog roles are over, but he remains busy attending social events like the White House Correspondents Dinner and benefits to help shelter dogs.

Is that adage right, "Stars aren't made, they're born"?

"Uggie's my top dog ever," Von Muller says and then laughs. "But still I'd like to get some credit."


Featured Stories



Top Trending Videos