Dog days on the court By LOUIS B. HOBSON
Calgary Sun
Boy does Kevin Zegers have a shaggy dog story or two to tell.
Last fall, the 13-year-old Ontario boy filmed the family comedy Air Bud.
His co-star was a golden retriever named Buddy who is such a incredible basketball star that
he's gone one-on-one with Kareem Abdul Jabbar.
Buddy is also a regular on Late Night With David Letterman.
In Air Bud, Buddy plays an abandoned dog who bonds with Zegers' lonely, fatherless boy. The
two eventually lead the school basketball team to victory.
"When Buddy is playing basketball, he's not like a dog at all. He's super focused on the ball. He
loves shooting baskets," explains Zegers in a phone interview.
"The very first time I met Buddy, his trainer threw him the ball and he sunk it in the basket. I was
amazed."
After a little gentle prodding, Zegers reveals the truth about Buddy's skills.
"What Buddy is really trying to do is bite the ball. He loves popping basketballs.
"The trainers grease up the ball so that he can't get a real grip on it. They throw the ball to him.
He snaps it and it flies out of his mouth."
Zegers says to listen carefully each time Buddy makes a basket.
"You can hear an audible snap. That's his teeth hitting when the ball flies out of his mouth."
Even Buddy doesn't sink a basket every time out: "Some times it took 20 tries for Buddy to get
the ball in the basket. It's more the trainers' faults than Buddy's.
"They have to throw the ball right to the centre of his mouth. If they toss it off centre, Buddy
shoots it off centre."
Buddy only plays with the best basketballs so it caused quite a bit of pandemonium after every
shot.
"The balls cost about $300 each so the movie company wanted to save as many of them as
possible.
"Buddy would chase after the balls to pop them and the cast and crew would chase after Buddy
to prevent him from getting the balls.
"We've got about three hours of hilarious outtakes of all of us chasing Buddy and the
basketballs."
Air Bud is Zegers' first starring role. However, he has had cameos and supporting roles in
Thicker Than Blood with Peter Strauss, In The Mouth of Madness with Sam Neill and Life With
Mikey with Michael J. Fox.
Zegers leaves for England next week to begin filming Great Expectations. He'll be playing Jim
Hawkins to Jack Palance's Long John Silver.
Zegers feels he owes his busy film career to an episode of The X-Files in which he plays a young
boy who manifests the wounds of Christ.
"It's a really popular episode that has been rebroadcast each Christmas since we made it. That's
what gave me my biggest exposure."
