He may have been playing a canine character named Jack, but Uggie the dog made a name for himself in the 2011 silent film The Artist, to the point where many were pushing for him to get some kind of Oscar recognition. That wasn’t meant to be, but Uggie remains one of the most beloved animal actors to come along in a long time.
Since the movie was a throwback to the days of silent, black and white movies—when they were still just movies rather than talkies—a non-verbal character like a dog fits right in with the other performers who are stripped of their ability to communicate through speech. This enhanced a ton of the sight gags with star Jean Dujardin, with whom Uggie developed a kind of comedy duo, including the famous moment at breakfast where their expressions mirror each other. And then he gets to be the hero in the end, in a sequence straight out of the earliest days of film history, where the noble and loyal dog saves the day for his companion. He’s the best part of a movie that is virtually impossible to hate.
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