I finally saw Widows, and it’s a great film – incredible performances across the board, from Viola Davis, Liam Neeson, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, Cynthia Erivo and more. It’s not a perfect film – at times it felt very “actory” and staged – but it was a very violent and interesting film and thoroughly enjoyable. One of the most lived-in performances of Widows? Olivia, the Westie terrier, who seemed to be flawless and fluffy in every damn scene. There she was, being threatened by a bad guy and yipping on cue. There she was, curled up by her grieving mom. Olivia went almost everywhere with her on-screen mom, and Viola’s character seemed to use Olivia as a security blanket and surrogate child in many scenes. So that’s got people talking… why can’t Olivia get an Oscar??? As it turns out, Olivia has been churning out great performances all year.
“People live with dogs, so let’s be true to the reality that we live in.” That is director Steve McQueen’s explanation for why he granted significantly more screen time to a white, fluffy terrier than to Carrie Coon in his new heist thriller, Widows.
Who is this Hollywood newcomer? Because it is 2018, and the internet contains an endless trove of information relating to famous animals, I present to you, a full overview of her career: Olivia is a 3-year-old 15-pound West Highland white terrier whose real name is also Olivia. She is one of six “Medium Dogs” on the roster of Animal Casting Atlanta, which calls itself the no. 1 provider of animal talent in the southeast. The company’s canines have starred in everything from Stranger Things to The Hunger Games. Olivia’s “comp card”—the animal equivalent of a headshot—includes an image of her upstaging a white stuffed animal of a similar size. According to her trainer, Greg Tresan, she had her own trailer on the set of Widows and received on-site fur touch-ups. She follows a raw diet, but on her cheat days she enjoys cheddar cheese and hot dogs. She also loves to snuggle. “Olivia ‘loves and lives loud,’ as Viola says!” Tresan told The Ringer via email.
But her breakout role was as a blood-soaked dog named Bastian in Game Night. “He was pretty easy, he didn’t talk that much,” Jason Bateman said of working with Olivia, who was apparently so good in her role that she made Bateman believe she was male. “He was pretty serious about what he was doing. He was nervous. He peed on the set. He had a real weak bladder on him. But he did hit his mark and was there on time. And didn’t complain that much.”
Davis has offered similarly high praise of Olivia’s work in Widows. “I don’t own a dog in life, so I was [complaining] like, ‘I’ve gotta work with a dog. What if the dog licks me? Dogs are nasty and disgusting,’” Davis said at the aforementioned Widows screening. “Within the first five minutes, I’m kissing the dog, I’m holding the dog, the dog was on my chest. I love that dog, and she came to me so easily.”
[From The Ringer]
What Viola says about Olivia is amazing, because you could really see that in both of their performances. Olivia was not a prop, she had a big role and so much of her performance was dependent on her chemistry with Viola, who really was holding her in like half the film’s scenes. Olivia stole every scene she was in too, grounding the film in the reality of a grief-stricken woman who only gives a sh-t about her dog at this point of her life. So why can’t Olivia get an Oscar nomination??
Photos courtesy of ‘Widows’ and ‘Game Night’.
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