Piper Perabo: I was really excited because when we were shooting it, we had the dogs there with us. They’re taking their marks and doing their things, but we didn’t have a script. But there’s a big difference between seeing lines on a page and seeing them perform. So, when I saw the movie screened for the first time, it was the first time that I heard all the voices and it was amazing, the difference that different actors bring. And I think Andy Garcia as Delgado is so amazing. He brings this real empathy and kind of tough, macho friendship to his relationship with Chloe that is really incredible.
Q: When you first heard about this project, how did you get involved? Does somebody say, “Hey. We got this thing, Beverly Hills Chihuahua.”
PP: When I first heard about it that wasn’t the original title. Actually, there was a different title. I read it. I always watched Disney movies when I was a kid and this is like, to me, the classic Disney adventure movie. And I had never been to Mexico, either. So, to me, even going and making the movie was sort of this adventure. We traveled all over the country. We had trains and trucks and we were in the jungle and we were on the coast. So, for me, the experience of it also really was very like the story and this kind of exploration of the country. I was really excited. Those Disney films, to me, as a kid, they meant a lot. I got a lot out of them.
Q: The film is shot in Mexico, and the dogs are like, “Ooh, man. It’s dicey. Dangerous.” Yet this seemed very friendly, very cool.
PP: Mexico is so beautiful and the people and the different cultures that are there and all the different landscapes we shot in - the desert and the jungle and the coasts and in the big cities. I don’t know if I would have gone to all those places if I was just visiting on my own. And also to be working with Manolo and the others actors who are Mexican, who knew their country very well. You could meet their families and we had dinner at their homes and these kinds of small, local restaurants. It’s such a beautiful country and it was such an intimate way to see it.
Q: Rusco is the real name of the dog that plays Papi. How does he know he’s taking on another name?
PP: You have to call, if you want him, you have to call Rusco. I never thought about this but for animals who work in movies - you can’t change a dog’s name, like every job they get. You know what I mean? You’re Lassie and then you’re Benji and then...you’re going to be really confusing. You’ve got to stick with the one name.
Q: Did you have a special dog that you worked with?
PP: Well, the dogs that I like… I like Frank, who’s the little pug, who’s a friend of Chloe’s. He’s really famous. He’s from Men in Black. So I had kind of like a star crush on Frank. And then, if I was going to take a dog, I would want El Diablo, the big bad guy, the Doberman. He was my favorite of all. Even more than Frank.
Q: Do you have a dog?
PP: I don’t have a dog right now. I travel so much that I can’t really be responsible for one. If I could have one, I would have stolen El Diablo.
Q: Give me your final impressions about working on Beverly Hills Chihuahua. I’m assuming you haven’t even had the chance to meet all these other tremendous cast members. Have you met Andy or Drew?
PP: Drew is the only one. But I’m really excited to meet the others. I met Plácido when I was with Manolo which was incredible. It’s strange to have done a movie with so many people that you haven’t met yet. And there’s so many talented, incredible actors that I’m a fan of just personally, like Andy Garcia and Luis Guzmán, that I’m dying to meet.
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