a dog's journey cast henry

Screen Rant

Kathryn prescott & henry lau interview: a dog's journey.

We interview A Dog's Journey stars Kathryn Prescott and Henry Lau about portraying their characters in the sequel and music training.

In the movie A Dog’s Journey , we meet CJ and Trent. Childhood friends who reconnect as adults, the film experiences their lives as 11 years to adulthood through the eyes of the dog Bailey. Bailey is a special dog as he gets to live the lives of multiple dogs..and through each life, he finds a way to reconnect with CJ.

Playing the teenage versions and the adult versions of CJ and Trent are actors Kathryn Prescott and Henry Lau. We got the chance to talk to them about the making of the film, learning to sing and play for the movie and more.

Screen Rant: Also no dogs in this interview. I’ve seen dogs in all the other interviews  and I’m not meeting one yet.

Henry Lau: Well actually….(pretends there's a dog behind the chair.) Kathryn Prescott: There are puppies within the vicinity though.

Screen Rant: I saw them.

Kathryn Prescott: You might see one. Henry Lau: Dogs everywhere.

Screen Rant: Yeah, kind of hard not to catch them in this press junket. First I wanna point out that was the goal to have more people crying in the audience for this film than in Endgame because I feel like that’s the edge this film is gonna have.

Kathryn Prescott: Is Endgame sad?

Screen Rant: It gets pretty sad.

Henry Lau: Have you watched it yet? Kathryn Prescott: No I haven’t seen it...

Screen Rant: It gets pretty emotional, so I think you guys are gonna beat them in the crying per capita.

Kathryn Prescott: Oh WOW, that’s something.

Screen Rant: We go through quite a bit of your characters lives in this film, how did you find the way to track the performances when you were playing the performances as teenagers till when they were living in New York?

Henry Lau: Actually that was one of the challenges of this role because we played the characters when they were young in high school and then they get reunited years later when they're much older. So what I actually did was met with Ian Chen (who plays Trent age 11), I gotta see how he acts. He’s adorable so I constantly try to talk to him to see how he acted, I tried to mimic that in the scenes when they were together in high school.

Screen Rant: I definitely saw that. Ian to your teenage character, I saw the connection very quickly. “Oh yeah, there’s a little bit of similarities.” Did you (to Kathryn) do something very similar to Abby (Abby Ryder Fortson who plays CJ age 11) did you get to talk to her beforehand?

Kathryn Prescott: I met her beforehand. Yeah and was keeping in mind..as soon as we met I felt we actually had a lot in common in terms of who we were. That was lucky.

Screen Rant: So you took two months of what, guitar training and vocal training…

Kathryn Prescott: I think it was two months, yeah…

Screen Rant: ...did you actually have any music experience before…?

Kathryn Prescott: No.

Screen Rant: Zero?!

Screen Rant: So you went from zero to like…

Henry Lau: Hard to believe, she was amazing.

Screen Rant: No, you were great! Especially when we did hear you sing.

Kathryn Prescott: Thank you.

Screen Rant: Did you give points (to Henry) I know you have some backstory…

Kathryn Prescott: Some. Some.

Screen Rant: A little bit of history.

Henry Lau: So I’m a musician, but it’s funny on this set SHE was the musician, but our trailers were right next to each other. And all I would hear is just guitar playing. I didn’t let her know but I could hear everything. But yeah, she just kept working on it and then one day I was like, I gotta go in there. Not that she was bad or anything! I thought she was amazing it’s just that one chord that she couldn’t get… Kathryn Prescott: Messing up on the same chord. Henry Lau: The same chord so I was...hmmm...give her some pointers. But she was amazing.

Screen Rant: So I have one more thing...I’m gonna pitch you guys an idea. I talked about this to Gail and she seems into this…

Kathryn Prescott: Ok. Henry Lau: What’s the idea?

Screen Rant: Third film. A Dog’s Purpose . A Dog’s Journey . A Dog’s Vengeance . (Shows picture of fake poster)

Henry Lau: A Dog’s Vengeance?! Kathryn Prescott: (Laughs)

Screen Rant: Bailey comes back as a cop dog.

Henry Lau: As a cop dog. Kathryn Prescott: I think you got a real…idea going here. Henry Lau: What she call it, Mission CJ.

Screen Rant: Yep.

Kathryn Prescott: I think what’s his name will be number one on that list. What’s the...ugh...the boyfriend...

Screen Rant: Oh yeah definitely.

Kathryn Prescott: Oh god I’m blanking out on his name, that’s really bad. Henry Lau: Jake! Kathryn Prescott: Jake’s character.

Screen Rant: Oh he’s definitely on top of that list. Thank you so much.

Kathryn Prescott: Thank you so much!

More: Gail Mancuso Interview for A Dog's Journey

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A Dog's Journey - Full Cast & Crew

• 43   Metascore
• 1 hr 49 mins
• Drama, Fantasy, Family, Comedy
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Bailey is a dog that has grown old through the years who makes a promise to his owner that he will find and protect his granddaughter no matter what. As Bailey's soul jumps through multiple lives, he always finds his way to her as she goes through the highs and lows of life.

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Executive producer, cinematographer, production company, art director, set decorator, costumes supervisor, sound effects editor, sound mixer, sound/sound designer, makeup special effects, special effects coordinator, visual effects supervisor, production manager, unit production manager, exec. in charge of production, production coordinator, production supervisor, second assistant director, production designer, re-recording mixer.

A Dog's Journey (2019) Cast and Crew

A dog's purpose collection.

A dog goes on quest to discover his purpose in life over the course of several lifetimes with multiple owners.

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A Dog's Journey

• A dog finds the meaning of his own existence through the lives of the humans he meets.
• After fulfilling his purpose of taking care of Ethan, Bailey must do the same thing for Ethan's granddaughter, CJ. As CJ does everything that she can do to achieve her goal to become a musician, Bailey is able to find her again through multiple lifetimes. — RECB3
• I. Bailey Bailey, an elderly St. Bernard/Australian shepherd mix, lives happily with his owner Ethan (Quaid) and his wife Hannah (Helgenberger), and their two year-old granddaughter Clarity June "CJ" (Emma Volk) and her mother Gloria (Giplin). Bailey, communicating with the audience via his thoughts, has a fondness for CJ. Gloria is shown to be an incompetent mother and have a hatred for dogs, as well as a dysfunctional relationship with her dead boyfriend, Henry's, parents (Hannah and Ethan), all leading her to eventually move out with CJ. Soon thereafter, Ethan discovers a lump in Bailey's stomach, and a veterinarian clinic deems he must be euthanized. Ethan holds Bailey lovingly and tells him to take care of CJ, before he is lethally injected. Bailey, now dead, is then seen running through a grassy field towards young CJ. II. Molly Bailey, who has been reincarnated as a female beagle named Molly, lives at an animal shelter. He sees a young boy named Trent (Ian Chen) and his family adopt his brother, Rocky. He also sees a young girl with him, who he recognizes is CJ, now nine years-old (Abby Ryder Forston). Bailey, remembering his promise to Ethan, runs outside to her. CJ, now living in an apartment with Gloria, takes Molly home with her and hides her from her mother. Gloria eventually sees Molly and reprimands CJ for getting a dog behind her back, but CJ persuades her mother to let her keep the dog given how neglected she feels. Over time, CJ and Molly grow increasingly close, along with Trent and Rocky. CJ, now a teenager (Prescott), reveals to Trent that she wants to drop out of high school and move to New York with her father's insurance settlement to pursue a career in music. While CJ is busy, Hannah and Ethan visit Gloria's home with a box of Henry's old belongings, wanting to see CJ. However, Gloria, still angry over their discord, closes the door on them, but not before Molly takes a liking to Ethan, and he recognizes her as Bailey and reminds him of his request to protect CJ. CJ befriends a bad boy named Shane, who Molly tries to protect her from. Shane invites her to a party, which gets busted by police for underage drinking; CJ is then sentenced to community service at a facility that teaches dogs how to diagnose cancer with their sense of smell, and Molly learns how to do this. Shane is revealed to be abusive towards CJ, and Gloria's nonchalant response and revelation that she has spent Henry's insurance settlement provokes her to leave with Molly. While driving, she discovers Shane is following her, and, in trying to avoid him, gets in an accident that kills Molly. Molly is then shown running through the same grassy field that Bailey was when he died. III. Big Dog Bailey, again reincarnated, this time as a mastiff named Big Dog, lives with his new owner, Joe, and is a guard dog at his gas station. Although he enjoys his new life, he misses CJ. One day, CJ, now a young adult, visits the convenience store, and Big Dog recognizes and engages with her. After she leaves, Big Dog lives the rest of his life missing Molly, and eventually dies. He is then shown running through the grassy field again. IV. Max Bailey, once again reincarnated, this time as a Yorkshire terrier named Max, is up for adoption during a public showing. He bites every person who shows interest in adopting him, until he sees CJ and chases her all the way to her apartment complex. CJ is reluctant to keep Max, but she learns that if Max isn't adopted by the next day, he will be sent to a pound. CJ, living with her boyfriend and working as a dog walker while building her music career on the side, adopts Max, who befriends her boyfriend's dog. Max eventually discovers that Trent, now a young adult (Lau), has moved into their apartment complex with his girlfriend (he also realizes that Rocky has since died). Max, sensing that CJ and Trent have feelings for each other, destroys CJ's relationship with her boyfriend, causing them to break up and for her to move out of his apartment and in with Trent. Soon after, Max remembers what he learned as Molly and informs CJ that he smells cancer on Trent. Max is revealed to be right, and Trent begins chemotherapy. His girlfriend eventually leaves him, leaving CJ as his primary caretaker. Eventually, Trent's doctor calls him and informs him that he is cancer-free, and CJ is visited by Gloria after not having seen her in years. She has warmed up to dogs and gives CJ some of the contents that were in Henry's box that Hannah and Ethan brought to her house during Molly's life, which are revealed to be letters that Henry wrote to Gloria while she was pregnant with CJ. These notes inspire CJ to write more songs and perform them in front of an audience, thus finally kicking off her musical career. CJ and Trent, now financially stable, travel with Max to Hannah and Ethan's farm, where they reunite for the first time since Gloria left during Bailey's life. Ethan realizes that Max is Bailey, as was Molly, and informs CJ that Bailey kept his promise and protected her. CJ realizes that Bailey has also brought her and Trent together and saved Trent's life, leading her to finally understand that Bailey, Molly, Big Dog, and Max are all the same dog. CJ and Trent embrace their love for each other, and eventually marry and have a child. Gloria also patches up her relationship with CJ, Hannah and Ethan, and Ethan dies with Max at his side. The movie ends with CJ praising Max, and all four lives Bailey has lived are seen running through the grassy field again, this time towards Ethan, and they run away into the grassy field of Heaven, departing this life as old friends.

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The full cast of A Dog's Journey

Here you will find an overview of the cast of the movie A Dog's Journey from the year 2019, including all the actors, actresses and the director. When you click on the name of an actor, actress or director from the movie A Dog's Journey-cast you can watch more movies and/or series by him or her. Click here for more infomation about the movie.

We have made an overview that includes: actors , directors , the production team , the camera team , writers and other crew members .

Gail Mancuso

W. Bruce Cameron

Wallace Wolodarsky

Maya Forbes

Cathryn Michon

Actors & actresses.

Kathryn Prescott

Dennis Quaid

Marg Helgenberger

Betty Gilpin

Abby Ryder Fortson

Jake Manley

Johnny Galecki

Tyler Asher Xin-Qin

Beckett Richard Pin

Daniela Barbosa

Kevin Claydon

Arlene Duncan

Cherissa Richards

Kenneth Liu

Stefanie Wiens

Angela Narth

Sally Shepard

Conrad Coates

Artistic design.

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Eric Fraser

Rogier Stoffers

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Patricia J. Henderson

Todd Tucker

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Holly Bario

Chrussy Byrd

Gavin Polone

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A Dog's Journey

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A Dog's Journey is a 2019 American comedy-drama adventure film directed by Gail Mancuso . The cast of the film consists of Marg Helgenberger , Betty Gilpin , Henry Lau , Kathryn Prescott , Dennis Quaid , and Josh Gad .

The film was released in the United States on August 30, 2019 by Universal Pictures .

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• Marg Helgenberger as Hannah Montgomery
• Betty Gilpin as Gloria
• Ian Chen as Young Trent
• Abby Ryder Fortson as Young CJ
• Dennis Quaid as Ethan Montgomery
• Josh Gad as the voice of Bailey

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A Dog's Journey - Official Trailer (HD)

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Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, a dog's journey.

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Is “A Dog’s Journey” one of the sweetest canine films out there, or one of the meanest? While I generally favor the latter reading, the gentle sniffling mixed with occasional awws and chuckles that broke out during my screening suggests the majority of the audiences will understandably lean otherwise, as they did with the film’s 2017 predecessor, “A Dog’s Purpose.” In theory, this unconditional affection seems mighty unjust for a shameless family franchise that kills an average of four to five dogs per movie, sometimes, in unspeakably wretched fashions—seriously, where is John Wick when you need him? And yet, as visually uninspired and ideologically conservative as it may be, there seems to be something beguiling about the series that keeps one (including myself, admittedly) on a short leash. Turns out, very few are immune to the sneaky suggestion that certain dogs and humans are meant for each other for life.   

This is indeed the philosophy behind TV veteran Gail Mancuso ’s “A Dog’s Journey,” which follows in the paw prints of its Lasse Hallström-directed ancestor with its assembly line of doggie fatalities. (Every dog-loving cinephile’s most cherished website “DoesTheDogDie.com” must be having a field trip with these films.) And before you cry out “spoiler alert,” know that spelling out the mounting corpses of our four-legged furry pals in these tearjerkers is not exactly a wrongdoing. Adapted from W. Bruce Cameron’s best-selling novels, the pair of syrupy films follows a Buddhist philosophy, imagining a world in which a dog’s spirit reincarnates in the body of a new adorable puppy (somehow, voiced by Josh Gad even when it’s a female) and pursues its original human to eternity.

“Journey” picks up where “Purpose” had left off, dropping us on a tranquil Midwestern farm ran by the impossibly wholesome couple Ethan ( Dennis Quaid ) and his wife Hannah ( Marg Helgenberger ). Their carefree “Boss Dog” Bailey, a handsome Great Pyrenees Bernese Mountain Dog, runs around the picturesque fields and happily chases his own tail, while keeping a watchful eye on Ethan and Hannah’s baby granddaughter CJ (affably played by Abby Ryder and Kathryn Presscott in later ages), parented by the couple’s heavy-drinking widowed daughter-in-law Gloria ( Betty Gilpin ). Bailey exits the picture soon enough—poor Boss Dog has a cancerous lump—but returns promptly in the body of Molly the mischievous Beagle, reuniting with the 11-year-old CJ to keep a promise he’s made to Ethan. Now living away from her grandparents with the negligent Gloria, CJ finds the kind of comfort and support every child needs in Molly.

Our determined pooch returns again and again as Bailey drops dead in a continuous loop: once, as the African Boerboel Big Dog living on a roadside convenience store (or, “a house made of snacks,” as he calls it), and then as the snippy Terrier Max. Meanwhile, CJ goes through her own transformation and finds herself in the unforgiving streets of New York City as a budding musician with a severe case of stage fright. A series of mean boyfriends—one, a dangerous stalker responsible for Molly’s horrific death—doesn’t help with her insecurity, until she stumbles upon her beloved childhood friend Trent ( Henry Lau ) and falls in love. (Guess what wet-nosed character masterminds the reunion with a paw shake and tail wag?)

Rest assured, there is sufficient amount of cuteness to go around in “Journey,” complete with dutiful canine humor around pooping, face licking, and the perpetual pursuit of food. But while the film engages with the sadness and despair of certain life crises head-on—an unexpected case of terminal illness is especially well-conceived in that regard—it strangely falls short of treating others with the empathy and seriousness they deserve. Written by Cameron, Maya Forbes , Cathryn Michon and Wallace Wolodarsky , the story is outright hostile to Gloria, a paper-thin character whose mourning and alcoholism receives a cruel one-dimensional treatment. A gold-digging ex-girlfriend of Trent suffers in the hands of a similar caricaturized vision. And yet, no one comes to a film like this, where the world is divided into absolute goods and evils, for nuance or subtlety. If you can look behind the flat visuals and prescriptive pleasantries of “Journey,” you might just get on board with its compelling-enough tale of lost souls, found and lifted up by their forever-loyal pooches. On this earth and beyond.

Tomris Laffly

Tomris Laffly is a freelance film writer and critic based in New York. A member of the New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC), she regularly contributes to  RogerEbert.com , Variety and Time Out New York, with bylines in Filmmaker Magazine, Film Journal International, Vulture, The Playlist and The Wrap, among other outlets.

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Film credits.

A Dog's Journey (2019)

Rated PG for thematic content, some peril and rude humor.

120 minutes

Dennis Quaid as Ethan

Betty Gilpin as Gloria

Josh Gad as Bailey (voice)

Abby Ryder Fortson as Young CJ

Marg Helgenberger as Hannah

Kathryn Prescott as CJ

Ian Chen as Young Trent

Daniela Barbosa as Liesl

Jake Manley as Shane

• Gail Mancuso

Writer (book)

• W. Bruce Cameron
• Maya Forbes
• Cathryn Michon
• Wallace Wolodarsky

Cinematographer

• Rogier Stoffers
• Robert Komatsu

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A Dog's Journey

Where to watch.

Rent A Dog's Journey on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video.

What to Know

A Dog's Journey is as sentimental as one might expect, but even cynical viewers may find their ability to resist shedding a tear stretched to the puppermost limit.

Audience Reviews

Cast & crew.

Gail Mancuso

Kathryn Prescott

Betty Gilpin

Dennis Quaid

Marg Helgenberger

Movie Clips

More like this, movie news & guides, this movie is featured in the following articles., critics reviews.

‘A Dog’s Journey’ Adds China Interest With Henry Lau, Marg Helgenberger, Betty Gilpin

By Dave McNary

Dave McNary

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Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners has begun principal photography on the sequel “A Dog’s Journey.” Tailored for the Chinese market, the film sees Henry Lau, Marg Helgenberger, Betty Gilpin, and Kathryn Prescott join Dennis Quaid in the cast.

“A Dog’s Journey” is the follow-up to 2017’s “A Dog’s Purpose,” which portrayed a single dog’s spirit incarnated through the lives of four separate canines. Both films are based on the inspirational novels by W. Bruce Cameron. The film is co-financed and co-produced by Walden Media and Alibaba Pictures with Quaid reprising his role as the owner of the dog Bailey, voiced again by Josh Gad.

“A Dog’s Purpose” was a surprise hit in China, where Alibaba was a marketing and distribution partner. China delivered $88 million of the film’s $196 million global cumulative, compared with $65 million from North America.

Gail Mancuso is directing from a screenplay by the writing teams of W. Bruce Cameron & Cathryn Michon and Wally Wolodarsky & Maya Forbes. Gavin Polone is producing the film. “A Dog’s Journey” will be distributed by Universal Pictures in the U.S., with a May 19 opening, and select international territories.

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Despite controversy over one of the dogs in “A Dog’s Purpose” being allegedly mistreated, the film performed solidly at the box office with $188 million worldwide. The announcement was made Sunday, which is National Dog Day in the United States.

Amblin said China’s pet industry has recently seen tremendous growth and noted that earlier this year, the China Pet Products Association reported a total of 50 million registered dogs in the country, with pet ownership growing at 15% a year.

Alibaba Pictures and Amblin signed a strategic alliance to co-produce and finance films in October 2016. Alibaba also backed Paramount’s “Mission: Impossible – Fallout” and the upcoming Chinese movie based on the U.K.’s Peppa Pig cartoon series, “Peppa Celebrates Chinese New Year.”

“Our mission is to be a gateway for Hollywood into China and help great universal stories with positive energy maximize their potential with audiences in China and around the world,” said Alibaba Pictures President Zhang Wei. “‘A Dog’s Purpose’ was embraced by audiences globally with great storytelling and a heartwarming message. We are excited to build upon the success of that film by working with our partners at Amblin and Walden to bring the next chapter of this film to audiences around the world.”

Toronto-born Lau is a Hong Kong-Canadian singer-actor who has become a major youth icon in both China and South Korea. He got his breakthrough in 2008 as the Chinese-speaking member of SM Entertainment’s Super Junior M pop act. He began a solo music career in 2013 with “Trap.” At that point he started to build a TV career in both Korea and China, with shows including MBC’s “We Got Married” and Hunan TV’s “Happy Life.” In 2014 he appeared with “Crazy Rich Asians” star Michelle Yeoh in pan-Asia drama film “Final Recipe.”

Helgenberger is best known for starring in “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.” Gilpin stars in Netflix’s “GLOW.” Prescott’s credits include “Skins” and “Finding Carter.”

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Produced by Warren Derosa and Zsofi Kendel, "Desperate Journey" is based on the true story of Freddie Knoller (played by Tønnesen), a young man forced to flee Vienna as Nazi hysteria takes hold. Knoller's captivating story has been widely recognized around the world and he was honored by the late Queen Elizabeth.

Rounding out the supporting cast of the film are Sienna Guillory ("Meg 2: The Trench," "Clifford the Big Red Dog"), Steven Berkoff ("Octopussy," A Clockwork Orange"), Fernando Guallar ("Love Divided"), Hugo Spears ("The Full Monty"), George Sear ("Love Victor"), Barney Harris ("The Wheel of Time"), Niamh Cusack ("Macbeth," "In the Land of Saints and Sinners"), Ed Stoppard ("The Pianist," "Golda") Nathaniel Parker ("The Last Duel") and Louis Ashbourne Serkis ("The Kid Who Would Be King," "Allelujah").

"It was a tremendous journey of personal growth for me, working with the extraordinarily talented and creative cast and crew in Budapest," Jankel said. "Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen excited us daily with his performance as he grew into and fully embodied the unique character that was Freddie Knoller."

Added producer Derosa: "Freddie faced extreme situations and emerged with an understanding of life that could benefit us all. He was an exceptional man, and I am deeply grateful to the large crew and cast who worked tirelessly to portray this remarkable story."

"Desperate Journey" is the first of three planned productions from Emblem Pictures. 

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