In “Blood and Cheese,” the first episode of season 2 of HBO’s House of the Dragon, a canine actor appears during the climax. The rat-catcher character named “Cheese” is accompanied by his scraggly dog assistant, as they navigate the dark sewers below the castle. While it’s just a quick but significant cameo for bobby the dog, he’s actually an accomplished canine actor who was previously a stray.
by the end of the episode, it’s clear Cheese is a brutal, evil person. But to top it off, he kicks the poor doggo and sends him scampering into the darkness with a welp!
While it was an incredibly acted scene on Bobby’s part – Fans were extremely displeased with the treatment of his canine character. And with plenty of terrible people in House of the Dragon, Wiki of Thrones has already declared Cheese “one of the most hated characters,” and rounded up plenty of tweets that agree.
Blood and Cheese was actually kind of worse in the book…but then again, they did kick a dog in this one, so…F*CK those guys!! #HouseoftheDragon
— Rachel Cushing Levine (@RachelCLevine) June 17, 2024
Blood and Cheese only took the dog to kick him a minute later! Like what was the point of that #HouseoftheDragon
— Patrønus [lll] (@FerPafri) June 17, 2024
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Bobby the canine actor – From stray dog to Disney star
Following the Game of Thrones tradition of “night scenes being so dark you can barely tell what’s going on,” even fans of Bobby could have easily not recognized him (I cranked up the brightness in the screenshot above). In Disney’s Cruella, he played Emma Stone’s dog, Buddy. His performance was so beloved, many who watched the movie considered him the breakout star, on top of outshining the Dalmatians.
This scruffy but handsome boy was found on the streets of Cyprus by a rescue, before being adopted by Hollywood animal trainer Julie Tottman. Only three days after being adopted, he auditioned for the role of Buddy in Cruella – And his natural acting talent and street dog vibes made him the perfect contrast to the Dalmatians.
Bobby is one of the easiest rescue animals I have worked with. He’s so natural, he picks the acting up and he thrives doing it. You get a bit more on set from a rescue animal because it’s like they have seen the bad and are so grateful, and they love and adore you for saving them. I always cry, it’s lovely when they do their first scene knowing where they have come from. The world writes them off but I know from experience that rescues are often the hardest working, most loyal and loving animals.
Julie Tottman, Bobby’s trainer, Mirror, May 2021
Emma Stone also gave high praise to her canine costar, which you can watch below.
For more acclaimed canine actors, check out The Fido Awards 2024: The Oscars for dog actors.
