Actress Jennifer Holland isn’t just celebrating the upcoming release of “Supergirl” with her partnership with Milk-Bone, she’s also celebrating the furry friend who helped inspire one of the film’s most lovable characters.

Holland shared exclusively with The Blast that her real-life dog helped inspire aspects of Krypto’s on-screen personality, making the experience of seeing the character come to life especially meaningful. Holland describes it as “heartwarming,” noting how closely the filmmakers captured her dog’s expressions and behavior, even incorporating real moments between her pets as reference for the CGI.

Jennifer Holland Teamed Up With Milk-Bone Ahead Of The Release Of ‘Supergirl’

For Holland, partnering with Milk-Bone wasn’t just another campaign, it was a chance to celebrate something she’s genuinely passionate about. A devoted pet parent to two dogs and a cat, she said the collaboration felt like a perfect match.

“I’m so excited to be able to have a partnership with Milk-Bone because I’m such a fan of animals in general,” she told The Blast. “The partnership between Milk-Bone and ‘Supergirl’ is perfect because I am a part of this universe, and the heart of the film is really the relationship between Kara, Supergirl, and her dog Krypto and the depth of love that she has and the lengths that she would go to keep Krypto in her life.” 

Jennifer Holland’s Pup Was The Inspiration For Supergirl’s Dog Krypto

When asked how it feels to watch “Supergirl” and see how much Krypto resembles her own dog, Ozu, Holland said it’s “so heartwarming.” 

“I love it so much. I love to get to share that with other people, to share such a wonderful part of our lives with other people,” she shared. “Obviously, he is white, he is a different color than he is in real life, but it still looks so much like him. Even the one little ear that sticks up and a lot of his emotions. The CGI artists did such a great job of really taking our dog and putting him on the screen.” 

Holland also shared that there’s a video of Ozu playing with the cat and an identical video of Krypto playing with the cat that she called “mind blowing.” 

“I love to get to see it. It’s just heartwarming,” she continued. “I think it’s such a great way into getting other people to connect with the stories through animals.” 

More About ‘Supergirl’

When asked what fans can expect from “Supergirl” and how this film fits into the broader “Supergirl” universe, Holland said it’s the “relationship between Supergirl and her dog driving the force of the film.” 

“I think that people can expect to definitely have that way in whether you are a fan of the superhero genre, whether you are connected already to the story of Supergirl or not,” she said. “You have a way into the story just through understanding the relationship between a person and their companion, their best friend, their animal. So I think that’s one of the easiest ways into the story for most people.” 

She also shared that there’s a “ton of action” and the vibe is “different from ‘Superman.’” Holland said that her husband, filmmaker James Gunn, and his longtime producer Peter Safran, wanted the DC universe to “allow filmmakers to come in and put their flavor on something and have something feel like a different thing, rather than everything feel like the exact same feeling, the exact same vibe.” 

Jennifer Holland Is Married To James Gunn

Holland shared some insight into what it’s like being married to Gunn and how that’s influenced her approach in her own career, especially when it comes to collaborating and maintaining her own individual identity as an actress.

“It’s a blessing and a curse in a lot of ways. It’s amazing because James has been an incredible support. He loves me, he cares about my career, he wants to see me succeed, he wants to give me opportunities in whatever way he can and that makes sense, but at the same time, even though I’ve had an incredible, successful career prior to working with James, people are only away of the last thing you’ve done,” she said. “You’re only as good as the last thing you’ve done.” 

Holland said it can be difficult to sometimes separate herself from her husband, but called it a “small price to pay at the end of the day.” 

What’s Next For The Actress?

Holland has been booked and busy. She recently filmed an independent horror flick called “Brine” that takes place in the 1800s during the height of the Civil War. 

As for what she hopes to do in the future, there are many things on her list. 

“There are so many things I would love to do. I would love to do a straight action film. That would be pretty amazing, like a ‘John Wick.’ I love getting to work with the stunts teams and fight choreographers,” she told The Blast. “I would love to do a rom-com, even though they don’t really exist anymore. That was the original reason I got into the industry.”