New acting career for Warwick dog Withnail

Withnail, the Warwick dog turned famous advertising star. (s)

TELEVISION adverts and acting in Keira Knightley films is the glitzy new career for a Warwick pooch.

Withnail, a four-year-old Boston Terrier, is the star of a new advert by camera giant Nikon, in which he posed sitting on a ripped up cushion with the slogan 'I Am Not Guilty'.

It is part of an 'I am Nikon', advertising campaign, in which statements are made over iconic images, such as a peacock with 'I am colourful' and a bird in the sky with 'I am flying'.

Remarkably, Withnail is not the first family dog to have made it big and is following in the paw prints of his more famous companion.

As we reported last year Pablo, an Akita dog, donned armour to become an emperor's pet in on multi-million dollar movie Ronin 47, which stars Keanu Reeves and will be released early next year.

Proud owner and Guy’s Cliffe Terrace resident, Warwick Aldersley Jr, told the Observer: “The company that trained and worked with Pablo wanted to work with Withnail the minute they met him as he's such a character.

“They put him forward and he got the job with Nikon. Hopefully more is to come.

"He also did some acting in a Keira Knightley film 'Anna Karenina' though I’m not sure if he made the film as he snored and passed wind so much on set!”

Mr Aldersley added he had named Withnail after his favourite film Withnail & I, and bizarrely within a week of owning him the pair met the star of the film, Richard E Grant, while walking down Portobello Road in West London.

As a director of sportswear business Akuma, which supplies kits for local and international Rugby and Polo teams, Mr Aldersley had no previous film industry history before Pablo was spotted on Facebook.

But the success of his dogs has rubbed off on their owner with Warwick performing as a dog handler alongside Hollywood A-lister Johnny Depp in Tim Burton film Dark Shadows.

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