Iowa dog stars with Naomi Watts, Bill Murray in ‘The Friend,’ based on acclaimed novel

An Iowa dog is the latest canine to make it to the big screen.

Bing, a six-year-old Great Dane from Newton, made his film debut last August when “The Friend” premiered at the Telluride Film Festival. The movie stars Naomi Watts as Iris, a writer in New York City who cares for Apollo, the dog of her recently deceased friend and mentor Walter, played by Bill Murray.

The Scott McGehee and David Siegel-directed adaptation of Sigrid Nunez’s 2018 novel was released nationwide in theaters on March 28.

Beverly Klingensmith, Bing’s owner and trainer and president of the Great Dane Club of Des Moines, has owned and bred Great Danes for nearly three decades.

The Register had a chance to sit down with Klingensmith after the film’s release. The following is a Q&A from that interview. Answers are edited for length and clarity.

The Des Moines Register: Now that audiences are starting to see the movie, what has been your reaction to people’s responses to Bing? I’ve seen that he’s gotten some positive reviews for his performance.

Beverly Klingensmith: It’s so wild. All of us love our pets so incredibly, and it’s just amazing and surreal to have so many other people develop a connection to my dog and appreciate him. It’s been really awesome to see people respond and react to him in a positive way.

DMR: Where would you rank Bing’s performance compared to other famous pet actors, like Lassie or Air Bud?

Klingensmith: It’s hard because I am biased, but I thought he was fantastic. It should be noted that in a lot of movies featuring dogs, they don’t use the same dog for all the scenes. Like in “Beethoven,” they used multiple dogs to perform and act out different behaviors. It’s all Bing on screen in the movie, and I can’t speak to all movie productions, but it’s very uncommon from what I was told.

Bing, an Iowa Great Dane lands role on ‘The Friend’

DMR: How did you first get connected with the makers of “The Friend”?

Klingensmith: Mike Spreter, one of the producers, sent me an email outlining what they were looking for in the project, and initially, I deleted it only because they were talking about filming in New York, and I live in Iowa, and it didn’t seem realistic for me. But I eventually reached back out and started talking to the animal trainer for the film, Bill Berloni, and he was talking about the basis of the film, and I thought it sounded like a good project, and I finally agreed to send Bing’s photos in for consideration.

Berloni and the directors, Scott and David, flew out to Iowa to meet us in January 2020, and I didn’t know for a few weeks, but they told me after they met Bing, they knew instantly that they had the right dog. So after delays stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic and the actors’ and writers’ strike, we drove to New York City in January 2024 and were there for three months for filming.

DMR: Has Bing appeared in other movies?

Klingensmith: No. His grandma, great grandma and one of my other dogs have done some local commercials, but they were nothing compared to a movie of this magnitude. It wasn’t even on my radar to have Bing do something like this. Typically, if you want your dog to be in a movie or something, you live in New York or Los Angeles or somewhere like that, it’s very uncommon to bring a dog in from such a far distance away.

DMR: What made Bing the perfect dog for this role?

Klingensmith: He exemplifies everything you would want in a Great Dane regarding his temperament and training. I started training him at 8 weeks old and he’s been in tons of obedience classes and is an American Kennel Club champion. This is why he is so unfazed being around these cameras and all these different people and noises that filming a movie entails. He’s handled everything like a pro, which makes me incredibly proud as his owner.

Bing, the Great Dane heads to New York City

DMR: How was filming and living in New York City for three months?

Klingensmith: The first several weeks were spent working with Naomi Watts in her home. We spent a lot of time helping Bing get comfortable with her, but also letting her feel comfortable with him because he weighs more than she does, so it was important she felt comfortable taking him on walks. Then, we were put up in a home in Staten Island where Bing got to work with Berloni and other members of the dog team. But I loved being in New York. There’s just so much to see and do, and I met so many new friends I got to reconnect with when the movie premiered that now it feels like a second home.

DMR: How was Bing in New York?

Klingensmith: He and I had traveled a lot before for dog shows, so he was pretty used to that side of things. I think the schedule and the life of being on set during the filming were probably the biggest adjustments. And there was some craziness in New York City. We would be filming at times, and there would be protests somewhere else nearby, and you know, all the people and all the commotion, and [Bing] was pretty unfazed.

Bing the Great Dane forms lasting connection with actress Naomi Watts

DMR: What was your experience working with Naomi Watts and Bill Murray?

Klingensmith: I can’t sing Naomi’s praises enough. We spent so much time with her, and she’s just so warmhearted and thoughtful. She still texts me to check on Bing and to ask how he’s doing. And that truly goes for everyone we worked with.

We didn’t spend as much time filming with Bill Murray, but we have gotten to spend more time with him promoting the movie and going to all the film festivals. He’s a character, that’s for sure. Sometimes, I was a little worried when I first met him because you read some things, and you’re like, I don’t know, is he going to be a jerk? But he wasn’t at all.  He’s very kind and extremely sharp, and he’s what you’d expect Bill Murray to be — hilarious, too.

But we’ve met so many celebrities at this point, it’s wild: Angelina Jolie, Selena Gomez, Mark Hamill, I mean, the list goes on and on. Mark Ruffalo was at the premiere and congratulated me on my dog’s performance [laughs]. It’s been very surreal. 

DMR: Are there any plans for Bing to appear in more movies?

Klingensmith: We’re keeping an open mind to things. Bing will be 7 in May, so I didn’t know if he could handle another full-length movie. But he’s in wonderful health and is still very active, so we might entertain future offers. It all depends on his safety and well-being because he is my personal pet, so my job is to ensure he is happy and that being on camera doesn’t put any undue stress on him.

Cooper Worth is a service/trending reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at cworth@gannett.com or follow him on X @CooperAWorth.

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