Trivia / The Power of the Dog

• California Doubling: The film was shot in New Zealand.
• Fake American: The English Benedict Cumberbatch and Australian Kodi Smit-McPhee both put on American accents. The Kiwi Thomasin McKenzie puts on some sort of accent.
• Method Acting:
  • Jane Campion had the cast go out and spend time at ranches while in character, even having the actors sit in silence together while inhabiting the people they were supposed to portray. She also had Benedict Cumberbatch write letters in character as Phil to Bronco Henry and then write back responses in character as Bronco Henry. Plus, Cumberbatch didn't bathe during rehearsals.
  • To mirror their hostile dynamic, Cumberbatch and Kirsten Dunst did not interact at all on the set (though they socialized on weekends).
• Playing with Character Type: Benedict Cumberbatch, best known for playing arrogant and socially isolated geniuses, plays an exceptionally dark twist on the Insufferable Genius trope: Phil is highly cultured but despises the trappings of upper-class life, and uses a macho, bullying facade to obscure his deep insecurity and loneliness.
• Real-Life Relative: Jesse Plemons and Kirsten Dunst have been partners since 2016.
• What Could Have Been: Campion initially cast Elisabeth Moss as Rose, but she was forced to drop out due to obligations for filming The Handmaid's Tale. Paul Dano was also initially cast as George, but dropped out to film The Batman (2022).