There’s a lot of star power and cameos in Wolverine & Deadpool, but one of the more popular ones has been the introduction of Dogpool, the canine version of Deadpool from Marvel’s multiverse. While Dogpool does exist in the comic books, the appearance of Dogpool has been greatly altered for the film. This is because Ryan Reynolds insisted on casting Peggy, winner of the “Britain’s Ugliest Dog” competition, as the titular canine.
Peggy, born in 2018, was adopted by owner Holly Middleton at six months old, who then named her after he great-grandmother. (One has to wonder if that grandmother would have been flattered by the comparison.) She’s a mix between a Pug and a Chinese Crested Dog, known as a Pugese. She won “Britain’s Ugliest Dog” in 2023, a competition run by a photo printing company called ParrotPrint, which made her an instant internet sensation.
The new fame led to an appearance on the morning show BBC Breakfast and the eventual casting as Dogpool in the film Wolverine & Deadpool. Though she had no prior training, Peggy learned tricks, such as how to jump into Ryan Reynold’s arms and lick cheese off his face, like a true movie star. She even got to walk the red carpet with Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman at the London premier of the film.
According to executive producer Wendy Johnson, Peggy started off as very shy and not that social. However, after going through her movie star training bootcamp, she loved being on set. Director Shawn Levy says she’s a born star with a “tongue that looks like CGI”.
It seems this may just be the beginning of a long career in show business.
