“The Heart of the Beast” Is a Dog Named Odin: Director David Ayer on His Soulful Brad Pitt Reunion

Writer-director David Ayer first teamed up with Brad Pitt in Fury, which followed a contentious tank crew rolling through Nazi Germany surrounded by enemy fire. It’s one of several films, informed by Ayer’s service in the U.S. Navy, that depict tough men operating under extreme duress. Ayer wrote Training Day, which featured a ferocious, Academy Award-winning performance from Denzel Washington as a macho LAPD cop who’s more dangerous than the criminals he uses and abuses. He’s since made the intense L.A. crime story End of Watch, helmed the DC supervillains fight-fest Suicide Squad, and steered Jason Statham in last year’s A Working Man.

Heart of the Beast marks a change of pace. Yes, it’s anchored by a rugged military-trained hero: Pitt’s retired Special Forces officer James Belmont. But his co-star is a soulful German Shepherd named Odin, and their adventures take place not in a corrupt society riddled with bad guys, but amid a pristine landscape of almost unfathomable beauty. “If you look at the film, it’s Brad and a dog and some mountains,” Ayer said, speaking from Chicago. Belmont and his best friend must fend for themselves after their plane crashes in the wilderness, creating a survival story gorgeously rendered by Oscar-winning Avatar cinematographer Mauro Fiore.

During a recent chat with The Credits, Ayer talked about the only screenplay that’s ever made him cry, his bond with Pitt and the quest to find a German Shepherd capable of hitting his mark every single time.

Congratulations on making the beautiful Heart of the Beast.

Thank you.

In some ways, this movie shares common ground with previous work centered on men in dire circumstances, but the premise is different. What was it about Cameron Alexander’s script that made you say, “I want to spend the next year of my life telling this story”?

I started reading, and it was like a tone poem, a very gentle yet fierce character portrait, a story of a love relationship, told in a way I hadn’t seen before. I remember reading it, and I started crying. I had to put the script down. And then, you know, I’d pick it back up and start crying more.

Wow. How often does that happen to you?

I’m not a crier. That was a first. And only. 

The story obviously struck a deep chord.

Well, I connected with something that was very personal. I lost my father when I was young. Something about the script became a mirror for my own grief and my aspiration to have a relationship like James has with Odin. And then when Brad read the script, he also admitted to some crying. So, it just made sense for us to tackle this together.

You two worked together in Fury, which is very claustrophobic—five guys crammed into the tight space of a Sherman tank—whereas Heart of the Beast is all about wide-open spaces. This time around, what did Brad bring to the table?

He brought everything. He really carried the film in a way I think neither of us expected. We went into this and realized he’s never gonna have a day off. He’s gonna be out there cold, wet, tired, miserable. There’s nowhere to hide. If we work late, guess what? You still have to get up early because we gotta meet the sun in the morning. So, the challenges were immense. Brad had to stay in character, manage the dog, and deliver this incredibly intricate performance. It was a journey.

As you’ve said, this movie is essentially about a man, a dog, and mountains, so let’s talk about Odin, the German Shepherd co-star. The camera loves him. Where did you find him?

Our trainer, Andrew Simpson, absolutely one of the premier dog trainers in the world, went to New Zealand and held auditions all over. He went to the North Island, the South Island, and just scoured the place. At a certain point, I think he even went knocking on doors.

And along the way he met Uber, who plays Odin.

Yeah. Andrew came across Uber, who was living with his family. Interestingly enough, Uber was a search-and-rescue dog, so he had a professional life before acting. He’d been in helicopters and had gone through some very intense situations. The combination of this life wisdom plus the talent he had and Uber’s soulful expressions—we got lucky.

Before you chose Uber, did Andrew send you videos of other canine contenders?

I looked at a lot of dog auditions, and they’re not self-taped because I don’t think dogs can operate the recording equipment. So, Andrew took care of that.

Besides being photogenic, Odin is very versatile.

Well, we actually used four dogs. Odin was played by Uber and three of his sons. Each one was trained for very specific things, so we’d have one dog who was great at working at heights on wire. Another dog was great for swimming, and then for running. Uber’s a little bit older, you know, so he had stunt doubles.

And if I understand correctly, Brad carried dog biscuits at all times?

It was boiled chicken.

Very healthy.

Yeah. Boiled chicken. I don’t know if Brad can even handle the smell of it at this point, but during the shoot, his pockets were full of it.

If Uber needed extra motivation, Brad knew he could work the boiled chicken angle.

He really did. Brad got to understand Uber’s rhythms and how he flows through the day and how to get his attention and find that connection. Brad went to the kennel and really bonded with Uber, which I think you can see on the screen.

For sure. In terms of directing Uber, did you have Andrew at your side most of the time to help get what you needed in the scene?

Absolutely. The dog infrastructure was pretty impressive. Uber or one of his sons would come in; the dog would have hair and makeup, he has scars, he has this visual history of the life he’s lived, he has his wardrobe, they’d put a mic on the dog for sound, so he’s running around with a sound pack, just like any other actor. And of course, Andrew and the other trainers helped with eyelines, helped with the blocking, helped with movement. It was a real act of choreography, and somehow, all of that is invisible to the audience.

How rugged did you and your crew need to be off-screen to match what we see on screen?

We shot locations no one had shot before, flew around glaciers, and at one point had Brad walk a ridge by himself. Given the rugged nature of our locations, the crews were up to the challenge. We’d watch electricians haul 18K lights up the hill, in the rain and the mud, all day long. All of that really helped the land itself become another character in the story.

Featured image: Brad Pitt as “James Belmont” and Uber as “Odin” in Heart of the Beast from Paramount Pictures.