Last night marked the 9th annual Astra Film Awards, as the Hollywood Creative Alliance got together to hand out statues to any number of 2025’s biggest movie hits—including a notable, possibly prescient 11-win sweep for Ryan Coogler’s Sinners. Oh, and also, Ethan Hawke, Alison Brie, and several other actual human beings, with hand and faces and everything, got beaten in an acting category by a dog.
Now, to be fair, Indy—the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever who starred in Ben Leonberg’s 2025 horror film Good Boy, in addition to being Leonberg’s own personal dog—gave an extremely affecting performance in the film, single-pawedly selling much of the horror of watching a creature who cannot understand the situation it’s stuck in attempt to protect the human it desperately loves. Still, you have to look at Hawke, Brie, Alfie Williams, Sally Hawkins, and Sophie Thatcher—the pooch’s competition in the Astra’s “Best Performance In A Horror Or Thriller” category—and imagine, somewhere in the back of their brains, a little voice whispering: “Did I just lose an acting contest to a fucking dog?”
Leonberg sent a video to the awards show accepting the award on Indy’s behalf, on account of Indy being a dog, who historically have a pretty poor grasp on the Hollywood awards show calendar. The writer-director was clearly happy to poke a little fun at the situation, while also acknowledging that the win was really a testament to the enormous amounts of work that the various trainers and other professionals that worked with the (undeniably adorable) dog put in to make Good Boy work. “Indy is honored to accept this award,” Leonberg jokes, “Especially knowing that he’s standing alongside performers who didn’t even have to be bribed with treats to hit their marks.”
Good Boy is currently streaming on Shudder, and available for VOD.
Keep scrolling for more great stories.