Brad Pitt earns the trust of a very unusual co-star in Heart of the Beast. Pitt has worked opposite some of the biggest names in Hollywood, but this movie gave him a very different kind of scene partner: a dog.
And when much of your story depends on audiences believing that a man and his canine companion would do just about anything for each other, chemistry becomes pretty important.
Directed by David Ayer, Heart of the Beast stars Pitt as James Belmont, a Special Forces officer who becomes stranded deep in the Alaskan wilderness after a plane crash. His closest companion is Odin, his combat dog, and the two are forced to rely on each other as they battle the elements and try to survive.
That meant Pitt could not simply show up on set and expect everything to work. He had to build that relationship first.
Brad Pitt earns canine trust before filming begins
Before the film opened, Pitt talked about what it took to build a believable relationship with the dogs playing Odin. The most important thing was trust.
Brad Pitt builds trust with his canine co-stars by spending time with them before filming, giving the dogs a chance to become comfortable around him. That preparation mattered because so much of the movie depends on audiences believing James and Odin already share a deep bond.
Multiple dogs contributed to Odin’s performance on screen, which gave Pitt another challenge. He needed that connection to feel consistent no matter which dog was working with him in a particular scene.
There are other actors in the film, including J.K. Simmons and Anna Lambe, but much of the story comes down to Pitt and his canine co-star trying to make it through some very unforgiving territory. You cannot fake that kind of connection very easily.
Brad Pitt’s canine co-star is more than a sidekick
Odin is not there simply to follow Pitt through the wilderness.
The relationship between James and Odin is really the emotional center of Heart of the Beast. The two characters depend on each other physically, but there is also an emotional connection underneath the survival story.
That gives Pitt a different kind of acting challenge. There is no traditional back and forth dialogue with his main scene partner. A look, movement or reaction from the dog may have to carry part of a scene.
And Pitt has to respond in a way that makes audiences believe these two have history together. That is why the time spent bonding before production mattered so much.
Click on the video to hear Brad Pitt on working with dogs in Heart of the Beast and why earning their trust before filming was so important.
A very different kind of survival story
Heart of the Beast also reunites Pitt with director David Ayer, who previously directed him in Fury.
This time the battlefield looks very different. Instead of tanks and soldiers, Pitt’s character is dealing with isolation, brutal terrain and the unpredictability of nature.
But through all of that, the relationship between a man and his dog remains at the center of the story.
For Brad Pitt, earning that canine trust was not just preparation for the movie. It helped create the relationship the entire story depends on.
Sometimes your most important co-star does not need any dialogue at all.
Heart of the Beast is now playing in theaters.
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