Noble Dogs – Dogs Starring in Blockbuster Films

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102 – October, 2026

By Sarah Montague

“Never work with children or animals.”

This oft-quoted show business adage is usually credit to professional comedian and curmudgeon W.C. Fields (who also gave us “It’s not a fit night out for man or beast”. )

Well, contemporary Hollywood begs to differ. Of course, there have been dogs in the movies since there were movies—Lassie, Rin Tin Tin, Petey from The Little Rascals, Toto in The Wizard of Oz. But they were characters in family dramas, or situation comedies.

It’s a whole different story when the dogs are partnering with A-listers–and have equal emotional time. The 1989 buddy movie Turner & Hooch gave a Dogue de Bordeaux its fifteen minutes of fame opposite Tom Hanks. As Good As It Gets (1997) gave us Jack Nicholson and sassy Brussels Griffon Verdell, and in 2025 there was The Friend, starring Great Dane Bing as Apollo opposite Naomi Watts and Bill Murray. In these films, the human characters are neurotic and vulnerable, or driven, and are drawn out of their shells by dogs they didn’t want in their lives.

But three recently released films have strong, affecting roles for dogs opposite archetypal heroes, with gripping, emotionally charged stories and high-stakes action.

An Old Hound: Argos and The Odyssey

Click here to read the complete article
102 – October, 2026

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Posted by AnthonyA on Oct 9 2026. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.