Can Hollywood’s topmost dogs really act or is it all down to ingenious training?

The Artist is being tipped for success at this year’s Oscars; however there will be no Academy Award for one of the silent film’s biggest stars. In fact, he will be fortunate enough to get a pat on the head and a bone to gnaw on.

Nine-year-old Uggie is a Jack Russell terrier-and the Academy is notably sniffy when it comes to giving out awards to animals. Cheetah, Rin Tin Tin and Lassie may have been among the biggest celebrities of their day-but none of them ever gripped the renowned gold figurine in their jaws.

The nearest a ‘non-human’ artist has come to Oscar-night glory was in 1988, when Bart the Bear, a 1,480-pound Kodiak and star of movies such as Legends of the Fall and The Edge, presented the Oscar for Best Achievement in Sound Effects Editing.

Fans of pooch Uggie-who has previously won the coveted Palm Dog at the Cannes film festival for his performance as the faithful sidekick of a fading matinee idol-have launched a battle on Facebook and Twitter for the Academy to recognise his abilities.

However the odds of his latest Doggie De Niro jumping the celluloid species barrier into the world of human acting honours seem distant.

The Academy appears to have had a downer on canines ever since the first Oscar night in 1929 when, legend has it, Rin Tin Tin; the German shepherd was voted best actor, only for the statuette to be mystifyingly handed to a human artist, Emil Jannings, instead.

Some think today’s Hollywood formation are no less guarded of sharing the awards night limelight with a furry rival.

Writer Susan Orlean, who is campaigning for Rin Tin Tin to be awarded a posthumous Oscar said: “There is a good chance that a certain number of serious thespians would be very offended to be on a stage with, say, a cute golden retriever who happened to make a very popular film.”

Mrs Orlean claims, Rin Tin Tin was the undoubted star of the silent era and could rightfully lay claim to being a “great actor”, even if there may have been some mischief and “spoofing” of the fledging academy by individuals who took part in the 1929 vote.

She further added: “His performance sometimes leaves you amazed. I mean how would you teach a dog to look suspicious or all of those emotional reactions that Rin Tin Tin had? Maybe he had a subtle kind of intelligence that allowed him to understand emotions.”

“There are lots of animals in Hollywoodwho are merely well-trained and are in roles that simply require them to go through a series of actions.”

But there are certain distinct animals-such as the equine stars in current hit War Horse-that have enough “presence” and “charisma” to be considered actors in their own right, says Ms Orlean, writer of Rin Tin Tin: The Life and The Legend.


The Screens Actors Guild and the Academyof Motion Pictures   Arts and Sciences did not reply to requests on the subject of whether the ban on animal Oscars should be lifted.