Alicia Witt has been performing as an actor and musician since she was a child – And continues to be successful at both. Born in 1975, she was discovered by David Lynch in the early 1980s after seeing her recite Romeo and Juliet at age 5. Lynch cast her as the “flame-haired” child in the original Dune, with Witt only 8 years old during filming. Witt was also considered a child musical prodigy and has been a singer-songwriter and pianist since she was young. Most recently, she started alongside Maika Monroe and Nicolas Cage in the horror-thriller Longlegs.
But like many celebrities who are at the top of their game and seemingly overflowing with confidence… Witt can still get stressed out about her work and nervous performing on stage.
But that’s where her muse, Ernest Hemmingway, comes in. And no her muse isn’t the ghost of the legendary American novelist – It’s her Beagle-Cocker Spaniel mix.
Witt spoke with People about Ernest, saying, “I met him at an adoption event in Venice, and I was blown away by how he was a young adult dog at that time, but he was so peaceful and just down for whatever was asked of him.”
“A lot of the time when we have something important in our work, we put a lot of pressure on ourselves. So we’re maybe not as present as we otherwise would’ve been. And that does us a disservice, and it does the people we’re connecting to a disservice. With Ernest around he’s so completely in the moment, and he makes me in the moment too. So any stage fright or sense of artifice I might’ve had through being anxious, that just vanishes.”
Witt shared how Ernest comforts her in between filming, “He’s so peaceful that often on a very dog-friendly set, like Orange Is the New Black, he was permitted to sit right there at Video Village with the producers, and Jenji Kohan, the creator of the show, was just snuggling with him in between takes.”
But Ernest also takes the time to care for his own mental health and relieve some stress.
And promote the importance of being well-rested.
Ernest is always by her side whenever her human is on tour. But might need a lil’ convincing sometimes.
And in case Alicia gets nervous while flying, Ernest can help with that too!