A Dog's Perfect Christmas star Brooke Lena Johnson talks working with Dennis Quaid, puppies and ice skating stunts

One of the best things about dogs is that they often know exactly how to ground us, pulling us back to what really matters with a gentle nudge or an expectant stare. In Netflix's first holiday film of 2026, A Dog's Perfect Christmas, actress Brooke Lena Johnson captures this dynamic beautifully. Johnson plays teenager Ello Goss, a granddaughter, who navigates a stressful family crisis and then finds an unexpected connection through her bond with a new Corgi puppy, Ruby.

The holiday film brings laughter and tears as Basset Hound Winstead narrates the story and wants his family to come together for the holidays and stop being so cranky. Dennis Quaid and Brooke Lena Johnson shared a delightful grandfather-granddaughter dynamic, and the dogs were irresistible, drawing us back into the present moment.

Here at Netflix Life, we sat down with Brooke to discuss her on-screen chemistry with her human and canine co-stars and how dogs effortlessly weave themselves into our holiday traditions. We even snagged an exclusive scoop on how she dusted off her real-life figure skating skills to perform her own on-ice scenes for the movie.

Your character, Ello, deals with a lot of family strain. Her grandfather Sander has been a grouch since her grandmother died, and then a major family medical emergency threatens to derail Christmas completely. How would you describe Ella's headspace at the beginning of the film?

At the beginning of the film, she's dealing with some usual family drama that many teenagers do. She's trying to navigate becoming more of an adult while still dealing with the stresses of school and all that. So having drama and stuff happen at the house is a lot for her. Over the course of the movie, she has a big arc of growing up and building a new relationship with her grandfather.

Yes, I absolutely love some of the stuff you have with Dennis Quaid. In the trailer, Ello calls him out for not being like "every other grandfather invented." What was it like building that stubborn but eventually more loving grandfather-granddaughter dynamic with an icon like him?

That was one of my favorite lines. Working with Dennis in general was a dream of mine. I've always loved all of his work. I saw a lot of his stuff, like The Parent Trap. It was a journey being able to work with him one-on-one. It was fun watching his character go from a grouchy older man to someone who loved and respected his granddaughter and seeing him show that.

Doing that with Dennis was an adventure of a lifetime. He was fun to work with, so I'd love to work with him again anytime. He would bring his dog, Peaches, on set all the time too, so we had tons of dogs running around, and that was really fun. Peaches is a character too.

I can imagine. The cast list for this is spectacular, including Dennis Quaid, Milo Ventimiglia, and Mary Steenburgen. Because it's a holiday ensemble drama, did the set actually feel like a big family? 

Oh, most definitely. Mary's done a ton of films. She did Elf, which is such an iconic Christmas movie, too. So I think her coming into that was such a joy, and she knew how to do that and convey that Christmas holiday feel. Milo was so respectful and intelligent with everything he did on set, and then you had Dennis's fun energy there, too. He's such a character in real life too.

I think all of that together created a really warm family dynamic. And I think having the kids and the dogs running around, plus all the beautiful set deck our art department and crew made, really gave you the feels on set.

Yes. Let's talk about the dogs. There were so many of them. How did you manage to have a scene without them stealing it?

They stole most of the scenes, which I get. We had three dogs who played Ruby, so each of them had a different personality, and you'd put a different one in different scenes. One really liked to cuddle, another was really good about landing on their mark, and the third knew certain tricks. Then, for the Basset Hound, we had two different dogs. At one point, we had at least five, six, sometimes seven dogs on set at a time, and they were rambunctious.

We also had two sets of twins, so we had four twins on set at all times too. It was fun but challenging because I had never worked with any animals before. I love animals. I grew up with animals. But being able to work with them and share a scene and create that moment, it's like working with an amazingly skilled actor because you never know what they're going to throw at you, and that makes you alive in the scene. So I was very grateful for those little doggy friends.

They were so much fun. Did you have a favorite, or did you love them all?

It's like asking you who your favorite kid is. I had a lot of scenes with Ruby, so I got really close to those dogs because I hold them in almost every scene. The Basset Hounds are very stubborn dogs to work with, but I love it because they have such big personalities. I don't think I could pick a favorite, but they were all unique. 

Your character dealt with so much emotional weight at home. But I noticed Ello's escape was on the ice. We love a behind-the-scenes secret, and I noticed something many outlets may miss: you didn't use a stunt double for those gorgeous ice-skating scenes because you trained as a competitive figure skater.

Yes, I did. When I got this script and went through the audition process, it was such a dream come true because I had always dreamed of being able to combine two of my favorite things, two of my passions in life. Netflix was great about letting me do my own stunts, too. And so we met together, and Ethan Loomis, who plays Sean. who's my romantic interest and my partner on the ice. He was a hockey player, which is how it's written in the role, too. But it was his first time figure skating, so we had about a week of training beforehand, and I helped him learn the difference between the two.

I loved being able to showcase that and create a routine on my own, with help from my stance coaches. It felt so natural, and it really helped the scene because Ello feels so natural and grounded on the ice. All of these scenes came from an authentic physical place. It just felt like this very charming, unique thing that we could have specifically in this movie. I was grateful to be able actually to do that.

What was it like having the On Ice Perspectives doing their camera work? I know they do a lot of work for the actual ice dancers.

So, I knew Jordan from On Ice Perspectives, and he grew up in El Segundo, where he skated and trained in figure skating. I grew up in LA, so I trained in the same area. So I knew of him and had mutual friends. So when we connected in Canada, it was such a happy surprise.

I'm such a fan of Jordan's work and so excited for all the great opportunities that he's been presented with. What a unique thing to film these beautiful programs on ice. He has such a unique perspective—no play on words, but what he does is very special.

Yes, absolutely. Let's talk about Ello's relationship with Sean, played by Ethan Loomis. You guys had such a sweet relationship, which often balanced out the film's more tragic moments.

He was definitely my confidant. Ethan is a lovely human on and off the ice. He brought this grounded character for Ello, someone that she could really rely on. High school battles include trying to find your close-knit friends, and sometimes that changes. Sometimes you might have friends for a while, and as you grow up, things change. She's struggling with that in school. So finding someone like Sean, whom she didn't expect, was a pleasant surprise. That friendship fostered into maybe something more.

So when the movie drops on Netflix on Wednesday, November 4, to kick off the holiday slate, what message do you hope Netflix viewers take away from A Dog's Perfect Christmas while watching it on the couch with their own furry family?

It was adapted from a beautiful book, written by W. Bruce Cameron and directed by Cathryn Michon. I had actually read it before I had even heard of this before the audition came around. I think he's such a fantastic writer, and his characters are so developed; he has such a beautiful perspective on what dogs bring to a family and how a family can get disconnected, but something comes back and brings them together. Sometimes it's that shared bond and love.

From that perspective, it shows both sides because sometimes you forget what you know; with Ello and Sander, you forget his side, and you forget Ello's side. Told through the dog's vision, it shows they're really thinking the same thing, and they end up coming together again. I think the movie is a family-friendly holiday treat and perfect for furry-friend lovers out there too.

I totally agree. And to wrap up, what are a few of your favorite holiday traditions?

I grew up caroling with my dad. My dad is a musician, and we would carol as a family; we all sang in four-part harmony. I ice skated all the time, but most people only ice skated during Christmas. But we would go to all the outdoor ice rinks, which was always really special. We enjoyed a nice hot chocolate at home and watched our favorite Christmas movies. So hopefully, this is one for all of you guys.

A Dog's Perfect Christmas premieres on Netflix on Wednesday, November 4.

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