Before Pluribus, Rhea Seehorn starred in one of Robert Downey Jr.’s most bizarre films.

In 2006, Disney decided to relaunch “The Shaggy Dog” films with Tim Allen in the lead, resulting in one of the most unintentionally disturbing movie posters in history. The promo sheet featured the titular collie but with Allen’s eyes, which may well have something to do with why the film didn’t become the family comedy triumph that Disney had hoped. It did, however, co-star a pre-“Iron Man” Robert Downey Jr. and featured Rhea Seehorn, who long before starring in Apple TV’s “Pluribus” played Allen’s assistant district attorney in “The Shaggy Dog.”

In 1959, Disney launched its first cinematic universe. with Medfield College Films. Alongside the Professor Brainard films and the Dexter Riley features directed by Kurt Russell, the saga also included the “Shaggy Dog” films. In fact, Charles Barton’s “The Shaggy Dog” is the movie that technically started this whole thing. It starred Tommy Kirk as a youth transformed into a large sheepdog by a powerful and mysterious ring. A sequel, “The Shaggy DA,” followed in 1976, with two more made-for-TV films arriving in the late ’80s and ’90s. Once the turn of the century passed, it was time for the saga to make a comeback with the Allen-led reboot.

Unfortunately, the “Home Improvement” star failed to restore greatness to this surprisingly enduring franchise. “The Shaggy Dog” received mostly negative reviews and even earned a few Golden Raspberry nominations (however, the Razzies should have retired long before this). Still, it’s interesting to see Seehorn in a leading role doing his best in a film that otherwise would have wasted his talents.

Rhea Seehorn is proud of the sci-fi special series “More”, which comes from “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul” creator Vince Gilligan. The Apple TV series is the second major collaboration between Seehorn and Gilligan following the former’s starring role as attorney Kim Wexler in “Better Call Saul.” When creating his follow-up show, the creator had envisioned “Pluribus” as revolving around a male lead character, but he was so impressed with Seehorn while filming his prequel series “Breaking Bad” that he cast her as romance author Carol Sturka. Like Gilligan said The Hollywood Reporter“I love Rhea, and I wrote this thing for her. I knew someone else with half a brain was going to get it at the end of ‘Better Call Saul’.”

As of 2006, however, Seehorn had yet to demonstrate this impressive talent, having only been featured in a handful of short films, TV movies and co-starring in the short-lived ABC sitcom “I’m With Her.” She had been part of the main cast of Fox’s legal drama “Head Cases,” but it was even more short-lived than her ABC sitcom and was canceled after only two episodes aired. Being cast in a supporting role for Disney’s Brian Robbins’ “The Shaggy Dog” was certainly not insignificant for the newcomer.

Meanwhile, Robert Downey Jr. was making a comeback following his substance abuse issues and disappearance from the industry. But before becoming Iron Man in the Unlikely Superhero Movie That Changed Hollywood Foreverhe starred in “The Shaggy Dog” where he played Dr. Marcus Kozak, the man responsible for harnessing the DNA of an ancient Bearded Collie who ends up biting Tim Allen’s lawyer, turning him into the titular dog.

In 1994, audiences saw Tim Allen transform into Santa Claus in “The Santa Clause.” A little over a decade later, the actor once again transformed himself into an adorable bearded character, but this time it was a Bearded Collie. In “The Shaggy Dog,” Allen plays Assistant District Attorney Dave Douglas, who was bitten by the holy dog ​​originally stolen by Robert Downey Jr.’s Dr. Marcus Kozak. He then takes the form of the collie at random times, but still has to pursue his cases, making for some awkward moments in the courtroom.

Rhea Seehorn plays Lori, Dave’s assistant, who is constantly baffled by her boss’s erratic behavior but remains diligent in her attempts to please him. The actor seemed to be having fun in the role, and it was surely a welcome addition to his resume at the time, considering his TV projects hadn’t really come to fruition.

Unfortunately, “The Shaggy Dog” didn’t work either, at least for Disney. The film reported $87.1 million compared to its $50 million budget, which wasn’t a complete disaster but probably meant the film didn’t make much in the way of pure profit. It also received some pretty scathing reviews. But Downey Jr. actually thinks ‘The Shaggy Dog’ is one of the most important films of his career (with those of the 2020s Messy, poorly designed “Dolittle”) simply because it showed that Disney was willing to support him after he was at the center of a major controversy. Meanwhile, it seems that Seehorn retains an equally positive memory of the film, although for different reasons. In 2020, she retweeted this poster (still haunting) and said “I had so much fun in this movie.”