After watching the live action Lady and the Tramp during The Geekly Retreat, we got to chat with some of the amazing cast! I already shared with you how Yvette Nicole Brown humanized her villain character, Aunt Sarah. And now I am going to tell you about the insight that Adrian Martinez, who plays the dog catcher, brought to our interview. He made me a cry a few times — just saying.
Diversity Should Be The New Normal
Something that Adrian said that brought tears to my eyes was when asked about the diversity and inclusion in this re-imagined Lady and the Tramp. He said that he wants there to be a time when a question like that wouldn’t even exist. When diversity will not be a big deal — it will be a new normal.
“It’s terrific because the goal is to get to the point where no one even has to say those words – diversity and inclusion – because it’s just the new normal. I think this movie is one small step towards that direction. To be a part of that is a big responsibility that I take seriously and I’m proud of it.”
His Character Is Just Misunderstood
Adrian Martinez plays the dog catcher in Lady and the Tramp — so clearly a villain of the film. He is chasing after Tramp the entire film, and also catches Lady and throws her in the pound. And do we even have to talk about the fact that he drags a poor dog off too its’ death through the “one way door”? However, Adrian believes that his character is just misunderstood. And I tend to agree with him.
“He’s a misunderstood dedicated public servant. At the end of the day, he’s just trying to maintain the order. I always pictured him going home, opening the door, and there’s nothing but cats.”
Adrian also told us that his favorite scene of Lady and the Tramp is the ending scene. Where he is trying to take Tramp away, and Darling and Jim Dear say that he has a home, and they adopt him. Adrian says this allows his character to come full circle. “He starts out very cold, and at the end he realizes it is about family and connection.”
Showing The Dogs He Wasn’t A Bad Guy
This is a live action movie, so those dogs are not CGI — they are real dogs. It was important to Adrian, and the rest of the crew, that the dogs know he wasn’t a mean guy, he was just doing his job as an actor. The trainer on set, Matilda, always made sure Adrian Martinez and Yvette Nicole Brown had time with the dogs before and after they had to be horrible to them.
“They had a camp near one of the sets in Savannah where all the dogs stayed and lived. I went one weekend and we blocked all the scenes. I gave them a ton of treats. Just so they understood this person is actually a person. And it worked.”
About Lady and the Tramp on Disney+
In Disney+’s “Lady and the Tramp,” a timeless retelling of the 1955 animated classic, a pampered house dog and a tough but lovable stray embark on an unexpected adventure and, despite their differences, grow closer and come to understand the value of home.
Watch Lady and the Tramp only on Disney+!
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. On Camera personality and TV / Film Critic with 10+ years of experience in video editing, writing, editing, moderating, and hosting.