Who’s a good boy? Why, you are, Indy! In a monumental achievement, Indy the dog’s performance in Good Boy earned him the Astra Award for Best Performance in a Horror or Thriller, beating out his esteemed human competition. In a year that has started off with so much social friction, it is amazing news like this that gives us hope. This win is for the underdog. How did Indy do it? Listen to my interview with director Ben Leonberg about how they pulled off this miraculous feat.
The Astra Awards are presented by the Hollywood Creative Alliance, a collective group of movie industry professionals, and this was their ninth annual awards ceremony. The Astra Awards expand the genres eligible for awards. Like the Golden Globes, they award separate categories for dramas and comedies/musicals. In a laudable move, they also have awards for best horror or thriller. So, this is not a genre awards festival; they have set these awards to align with the end of the year and the lead-up to the Oscars.
Indy’s competition this year was strong:
- Alfie Williams for 28 Years Later
- Alison Brie for Together
- Ethan Hawke for The Black Phone 2
- Sally Hawkins for Bring Her Back
- Sophie Thatcher for Companion
- Indy the Dog for Good Boy
Curiously, no acting nominations for Sinners or Weapons. I’m actually pleased that these other performances got rewarded. No worries. There will almost certainly be Oscar noms for Amy Madigan and Michael B. Jordan. This may be a first: a non-human acting award over human competition. I think the Astra Awards just made some waves.
For those of you who fall in love with Indy and want a dog like him, he is a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. It’s an uncommon breed, but I’d expect this movie to make the breed a lot more popular! The AKC describes this breed as “lovey dovey”, pretty good with other dogs, and very good with children. Moreover, they are super cute.
How Did They Pull This Off?
First and foremost, it helps that Indy is director Ben Leonberg’s pet. Secondly, it took a very long time, over three years from start to release. Hundreds of hours of footage had to be shot to capture the perfect reaction for Indy, and the shooting schedule was limited to three-hour sessions with him to avoid wearing him out. For anyone worried about harming the dog, worry not! All the acting was done with positive reinforcement and treats, and a stunt dog was used for any truly perilous scenes.
Harm to dogs is a trigger for many viewers, particularly in horror movies. People who willingly put good money to see teenagers get slaughtered by the dozen will nope out with violence to a dog. So, many people have asked me, “Does Indy make it?” I can’t say that without spoiling the movie, since it’s all about him. However, if it means the difference between seeing the movie and not, I suggest you go to the site Does the Dog Die trigger warning database to get the spoilers.
Good Boy is going to go down as the little Indie Horror film that could for 2025. On a reported budget of only $70,000, the movie to date, with a limited release, has a worldwide gross of over $8,700,000… plus whatever they were able to receive as their Shudder contract. That’s over a 100:1 ratio of profitability! Congratulations to Indy and Ben for their wonderful movie. This will be a cult film favorite. It lands at #4 on my Horror Movies for 2025, and I know I am not alone in my admiration for this movie.
The Interview:
For deeper insight into the movie’s production and how Ben got such a wonderful performance out of Indy, here is my interview with Leonberg at the Overlook Film Festival in April 2025. I’ve been doing industry interviews for going on nine years, and this is one of my absolute favorite discussions. Check it out!
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