We spoke with comedians Kevin Hart, Louis C.K., and Modern Family’s Eric Stonestreet about their roles in the ‘Secret Life of Pets.’
Kevin Hart’s character, Snowball, a cute, furry bunny may seem ironic at first, but his personality is even more heightened as he rises to be the star of the film. Hart’s bunny is a resentful pet that was flushed away and now leads an underground group of pets who wish to start a revolution against human owners. Louis C.K. portrays a spoiled dog, Max, living with his owner in New York City and has no real idea of what the outside world looks or feels like. Throughout the film, viewers become engaged as Max and Snowball come to odds and ultimately bond which proves entertaining and quite funny.
“This movie always made sense to me, that’s why I decided to do it. The dog living in NYC, I live in NYC. I always understood Max. Dogs are very transparent, they’re easy to read. I get dogs. When you play another species, you can more easily get rid of parts of yourself. Dogs believe that whatever they’re feeling is what they’ll always feel. Dogs don’t have any confidence in the future.” C.K. said. “These are domestic creatures. They really need someone to feel okay. You can give dogs a lot of treats, but they’re not happy unless you’re there.”
Hart’s animated film debut brought the majority of humor to the film, as his scenes are the ones viewers look forward to while watching. “His humor in the film,” Hart says, “is actually a veil for other issues that Snow
ball is experiencing. The thing about my character is that he’s very insecure. There’s a strong sense of doubt in everything he does. He’s all over the place, he’s a mess. Ultimately, he wants what Max and Duke want which is love.”
Hart also spoke about critics that play the race card in Hollywood, when it comes to his acting. “I think in this day and age – look – it is what it is. You want it to be more diversified, you want to see more diversity, but a lot of people make attention and draw attention by talking about it whereas if you just work and progress, you eventually put yourself in a position to help the problem by bringing more people into the business,” he says.
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“I bust my ass and do what I’m supposed to and I’ve been promoting movies internationally now for the past four years,” Hart said. “They say movies don’t transfer with black actors internationally. I don’t feed into that. I do what I do. If other people did the same thing, you will look up and see more multicultural films being perceived by so many more people. People will look for any excuse to play the race card in Hollywood.”
Eric Stonestreet, who plays the flamboyant Cameron in Modern Family, takes on the role of Duke in the Secret Life of Pets and spoke about why this film was especially meaningful for him. Stonestreet said that he connected with Duke on a few levels and he attributed a lot of it to his upbringing in Kansas. “I love dogs. I grew up with pigs, and dogs, and cats in Kansas. It taught me at a very small age that the world exists outside of the three foot parameter around me. I connect with Duke on that level.” he said. “Duke, In the beginning when you meet him, he’s hiding something because he’s scared and we all do that sometimes … Duke uses his size and girth to boss his way in. I’ve probably been guilty of using my physicality to get a brownie or something.”
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Stonestreet’s dog ‘Coleman’ also served as an inspiration for the actor, “My dog, who I’ve had for 15 years, unfortunately just passed away. It’s kinda like he knew another dog was coming into my life. He watched my whole career happen. He gave the feeling that he understood all the emotions I was going through. There was no complexity to the relationship, they’re just there for you,” he said.
The process of viewing yourself transformed into an animated character can be exciting and surreal, Stonestreet added. “I can’t wait to see a dog with a Duke toy. My sister already bought a Duke bed.” Stonestreet also spoke about the difference in filming animation versus live action film and there being a certain freedom to express yourself. “That’s the great thing about animation. There’s a freedom to fail. At least there’s only like 4 people there to watch me fall on my face. There’s freedom to be exploratory. It’s exhilarating. It’s super fun.”
Take a look at a sneak peak of the film. The Secret Life of Pets is in theaters July 8.
