[This interview was conducted prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike authorization.]
Amazon Freevee is embracing Puppy Love for its new original rom-com film starring Lucy Hale and Grant Gustin who play polar opposites in this surprisingly sweet story.
Hale takes on the role of Nicole, a go-getter wild child with a strong work ethic and a lot of chaos in her personal life. Meanwhile, Gustin’s Max is a socially anxious guy trying to overcome those challenges in his life, one of which involves adopting a sweet dog. As Nicole finds herself swiping on a dating app, she’s lured in by Max and his pup, agreeing to give it a try, but their first date goes awry, and the duo vows never to see each other again.
The promise is broken not long after, though after Max discovers his pup is pregnant after a surprise encounter with Nicole’s mutt during their disastrous park date. Forced together by the impending arrival of puppies, Nicole and Max find that opposites may actually attract. Below, Hale opens up about being in her rom-com era, working with Gustin, and laughing on set.
(Credit: Paulina Stevens/Freevee)
What drew you to your character Nicole and the film itself? Are rom-coms an easy yes?
Lucy Hale: I fully feel like I’m in my rom-com era, so I love them. I love being in them. I always love the challenge as an actor of [taking] the story [and asking] how can I make it uniquely mine. So when I first was approached about this project, the appeal for me was the animal aspect. I was really surprised when I read the script at how raunchy and edgy it was because I heard the title, and you think it’s a certain thing, and it’s really a little different than that. I also just liked Nicole. I liked that she was kind of a mess. She’s chaotic and she is brash, and she speaks her mind. And then Grant got attached, and I always thought he was really talented, and we got to spend the summer in Canada working with dogs. It was just very fun.
That must be like living in a dream, or is it difficult acting with dogs?
These dogs are so well-trained. It’s pretty crazy, actually. Specifically, Nicole’s dog is [played onscreen by] Fancypants, and Fancypants is a star within the canine film world. Fancy’s been in commercials and movies, is smart, and has actual human expressions. So, they were very well-behaved. Some of the animals kind of marched to the beat of their own drum, but it’s super fun filming with animals because when you’re in the scene, you have to be really present ’cause you don’t know what the animal’s gonna do. And what you also don’t see behind the cameras are the dog trainers yelling and making noises. So it really was a test of staying focused and not laughing and paying attention to the dog while also trying to be the character.
(Credit: Paulina Stevens/Freevee)
How much training did you have with Fancypants and the other dogs on set?
So we met the dogs about a week before and had an hour hang sesh of them getting to know our scents. And it was a lot of training with treats. With these movies, we were moving so fast anyway that we didn’t get a lot of time to prep with them, but the dogs are pros. It was just another day on set for them. And I really bonded with [Fancypants], who played Nicole’s dog, Channing Tatum. Not to be confused with the real Channing Tatum [Laughs]. I’ve had some friends message me ’cause in the release, it said, Fancypants plays Channing Tatum. And a couple of my friends were freaking out. But it’s not the Channing Tatum you’re thinking of.
You’re also working with Grant Gustin, who plays Max in the series. What was it like working with him, and what can you tease about your characters’ connection?
Basically, my character Nicole and Grant’s character Max are polar opposites. Nicole’s a mess. She’s chaotic; she’s rough around the edges. She’s an artist, a free spirit who probably needs more order in her life. And then Grant’s character is a worrier, very anxious. Things need to be put in their place. And so they actually need a little bit of each other. Nicole needs a little bit of what Max has, and Max needs a little bit of what Nicole has. They’re initially bonded by their dogs having more of a love match than they did on their disastrous date. I think they realize that they might bring out the best in each other, and sometimes opposites really do attract, but yeah, it doesn’t start out so smoothly. I’d say it starts out pretty terribly. I’ll say there is vomit; there’s a porta-potty; there is Ghost Pepper, losing the dog, dog humping, there’s yelling. It’s a chaotic scene. What’s funny is that Nicole swipes right on Max because she’s like, “Oh, your dog’s a 10.” So that’s initially why she was drawn to him.
How did you land on the name Channing Tatum for Nicole’s dog? Were there other ideas?
So we had a lot of names that we went through, but there were a couple of scenes that unfortunately didn’t make the cut of the movie that fill in that blank. But it’s kind of funny that the first time you hear, it is Grant saying, “Oh, this must be Channing Tatum,” when we meet. And you’re like, “Wait, what?” But some of the other ones ranged from Mark Ruffalo to Mutt Damon. Mutt Damon is really good. I don’t know who eventually decided on Channing Tatum, but it’s pretty funny. There are a lot of one-liners with the name that makes it hysterical.
This is a romantic comedy; what kind of laughs are in store for viewers, and were there any moments where it was hard to keep composure?
This movie, out of any movie I’ve done, I broke character the most. The amount of outtakes we have… I’m like, “How did they even cut this together?” We were laughing so much. Michael Hitchcock, who plays the vet, is an improv; he’s a comedic genius. Once again, I don’t know how they found any footage that was usable of me because I couldn’t stop laughing. The vet scenes are really funny, in particular.
Puppy Love, Premieres Friday, August 18, Amazon Freevee
