French Bulldogs on Screen: Seven Roles Worth Knowing

French Bulldogs photograph well and steal scenes, which is presumably why so many end up on screen. Here are the ones worth knowing, including one whose story is true and was, in the previous version of this article, told slightly wrong.

The Titanic dog was real, not a film character

This article used to open by saying that in James Cameron’s Titanic we meet Gamin de Pycombe, a black French Bulldog. We don’t. Gamin isn’t a character in the 1997 film.

He was, however, a real dog on the real ship, and the true story is the better one. Gamin de Pycombe belonged to Robert Williams Daniel, a 27-year-old American banker. Daniel survived the sinking. Gamin did not.

Twelve dogs sailed on the Titanic. Three survived: two Pomeranians and a Pekingese, all small enough to be carried into a lifeboat (National Museums Liverpool).

That a wealthy American was travelling first class with a French Bulldog in 1912 tells you how fashionable the breed already was barely a generation after it arrived from France. Our guide to what French Bulldogs were bred for covers how they got there.

The older version of this article also said Gamin was insured for $750. The museum’s account doesn’t mention any such sum, so we’ve dropped it.

Due Date (2010)

The best-known Frenchie role in a modern comedy. Robert Downey Jr. plays Peter Highman, trying to get across the country in time for the birth of his child; Zach Galifianakis plays Ethan Tremblay, the aspiring actor he’s stuck with; and Sonny is Ethan’s French Bulldog, along for the whole road trip.

Sonny gets some of the film’s most-quoted moments, including one in a parking garage that people tend to remember whether they want to or not.

Two small corrections: the dog’s name is Sonny, not Sunny, and the film never establishes whether Sonny is male or female, so we’ve stopped guessing.

Modern Family (2009–2020)

Stella, Jay Pritchett’s French Bulldog, is probably the most-watched Frenchie in television history, appearing across the show’s eleven seasons. The running joke is Gloria’s rivalry with her: Jay dotes on the dog, Gloria notices, and the writers got a great deal of mileage out of it.

Stella was played by more than one dog over the years, which is standard for long-running shows.

Bringing Down the House (2003)

The best name on this list belongs to William Shakespeare, the pampered French Bulldog owned by wealthy heiress Mrs. Arness, a prospective client of Steve Martin’s character. The dog was played by a Frenchie called Linus (IMDb).

Shakespeare spends the film snapping at people he disapproves of, which is most of them. The American Humane monitors on set noted the growling and snapping were cued by a trainer standing off camera (American Humane), which is worth knowing if you’ve ever wondered how a dog is directed to be rude on command.

The Rental (2020)

Dave Franco’s thriller, in which two couples rent a remote coastal house and things go badly. Josh brings his French Bulldog, Reggie, in defiance of a clearly stated no-pets rule, and the dog matters more to the plot than a comic-relief pet usually does.

Worth a warning if you’re the kind of viewer who checks first: this is a horror-adjacent film and the dog’s storyline is not a comfortable one.

An American Girl: Grace Stirs Up Success (2015)

A family film in which Grace spends a summer in Paris with her aunt’s bakery and comes home determined to start a business. Her French Bulldog, Bonbon, comes with her. Gentle, and the safest pick on this list for watching with children.

What Happens Next (2011)

A small romantic comedy with a French Bulldog called Bean in a supporting role. Not a major part, but Bean is very much a Frenchie doing Frenchie things.

Will your dog watch with you?

Possibly. Modern televisions refresh fast enough for dogs to see smooth motion rather than a flicker, which wasn’t true of older sets, and plenty of dogs do react to animals on screen, particularly to dogs barking.

Plenty of others could not care less, and that’s normal too. Vision varies between dogs, and screens are silent and scentless, which removes most of what a dog finds interesting about another dog.

What a Frenchie will reliably enjoy is the part where you sit still on the sofa for two hours. If you want something they’ll genuinely engage with, our guide to playing with your French Bulldog covers better options, and one thing to watch on a cosy evening in is the room temperature: flat-faced dogs overheat easily, and a warm room with a dog tucked under a blanket is warmer than you think.

The short version

Stella in Modern Family and Sonny in Due Date are the two most people have seen; William Shakespeare in Bringing Down the House has the best name. And the most famous French Bulldog of all never appeared in a film at all: he sailed on the Titanic with a banker who made it into a lifeboat, and he didn’t.