Naomi Watts Invites Jimmy to Perform a Song with Her 150lb Great Dane Co-star Bing (Extended)

Welcome back. Hi, Jimmy. Gosh, they love you. We love you. You look stunning. Welcome back. Thanks for being here. Thanks for having me. Since you've been here last, you are now Emmy-nominated and a best-selling author. So, congratulations. Thank you. Let me treat you differently. How's it gone to your head now, best-selling author? No, it's not going to go to my head. It took a long time for me to reach any signs of success. I know who I am, and I don't take it for granted. Oh, you're the best. We love you. Congrats on everything. I've been thinking about you because I know David Lynch was a dear friend of yours who passed away not too long ago, and I'm very sorry to hear that. He was such an incredible human being, a mentor, a friend. He changed my life. He did. Mulholland Drive was your first big break, right? First. I mean, I had been acting for many, many years, but living very much under the radar and hadn't reached anything that sort of, yeah, changed anything. And he saw something in me. He took a big chance on me, and the way he casts is very different. I guess I'd seen this casting director a bunch of times, and she called me in, but I never had quite got the job. And in this case, he wanted to see people, and he looks in the books that Joanna Ray, the casting lady, provides him, and she shows maybe five to ten pictures. And if you're girl number three, and he meets you, and he loves you, then he can just offer you the job because he has his vision, and he can direct anyone. So he kind of cast you off your headshot? Yeah, off my headshot. We actually have a headshot. Oh, there it is. Is this the headshot? Yeah, that's... My brother took that, actually. Yeah, and it's not an embarrassing headshot even today. No, I love this headshot, yeah. I'm not embarrassed about that. You know, the hair is actually okay, you know, and it's at least probably from the 90s or, you know... Your brother took this? Yeah. He's talented. Yeah, he's a very successful photographer to this day, but we did it in my bedroom. I just put up a sheet and did my own hair and makeup. Isn't that the best? You put a sheet up, and that's it? Yeah. Yeah, I think I had full makeup on in my headshot, my first headshot. Do you have it here? Eyeliner? No, thank goodness. How is the hair? It's removed from the internet. Oh, it's terrible. You paid lots of money. It's so bad. So he looks at this and goes, that's it, great. This is the girl. And you start filming the movie right there. Well, actually, it was a TV series. Really? Yeah, for ABC, and we shot a pilot, and it was supposed to, yeah, be a regular series like Twin Peaks. No way. And they rejected it because it was too weird. David Lynch. Mohan Drive. No way. Yes, yes. Wow. And then it sat on the shelf, and I thought, oh, my dumb luck again. You know, just. That's my break. Yeah. You're missing your big break. I thought I had the biggest break, and there it went again. And it sat on the shelf for a good year and a half, and then his French producers said, hey, what about that? Let's get that back, and can you come up with an ending? And so he came up with, you know, went into a deep meditation, and he had some ideas percolate, and then he wrote another 20 pages, and we shot it, and it was a movie that premiered at Cannes, and then that changed my life from there on. Now, here you are. Now. Oh, we miss him. I want to talk about your new movie, okay, The Friend. Can we set up what this movie's about? Yes. The Friend, it's an adaptation, a wonderful adaptation of a book written by Sigbritt Nunes, and it's a very unlikely story about a friendship. This woman is in the middle of her life and stuck in her writer's block, and her best friend and mentor suddenly passes. It was played by Bill Murray. Played by the fabulous Bill Murray. Yeah, he's the best. He really is. I love Bill Murray. I know. Who doesn't? And he, she's mad about it, and not only, because it was so sudden, and, you know, he took his own life, very sadly, but he lumbers her with this dog, this gigantic, majestic beast of a dog. Giant Grey Dane dog. 150 pounds. She lives, and if anyone's from New York here. Yeah. Yeah, she lives in a rent-control apartment in the West Village, and it's a studio apartment, and there are no pets allowed. You actually brought the dog that's with you tonight. We might just have a special visitor. We don't have Bill Murray, but we do have a four-legged special creature. Can we bring him out? He travels with a very fancy bed. Yeah. Very cute. Oh, hi. What is the dog's name? Bing. That's his real name. Hi, Bing. And his name in the movie is Apollo. Wow. And, anyway, we fall in love, basically, in this movie. A friendship, a new friendship is formed, and you can see why. He melts your heart. I mean, oh my gosh, and what is it like acting with a Grey Dane? Well, look at those ears. He listens and hears everything. He absorbs all vibrations, all inconsistencies, all, you know, he's just alert all the time. And so, actually, exchanging feelings with him is very easy. Wow. And he knows how to act. I'm not kidding you. You have a dog in real life. I have a dog, yes. What is the name of your dog? Izzy. She's quite different. Here's a picture of Bing and Izzy. Yeah, they became mates. You can see the scale. Izzy can fit in Bing's mouth. Correct. A little snack, an hors d'oeuvre. Yes, exactly. An hors d'oeuvre. Did they get along? They did, because he's a gentle giant. I know his size looks daunting, but he's so gentle. What's it like walking him through the streets of New York? Well, this is the thing. In New York, there's many unpredictable things that can take place. It's not just traffic or bikers, but you've got people who are obsessed with him and just want to come straight up and say, Oh my God, let me say hi! Yeah, who wouldn't? Right in the middle of a scene. And then there's dogs, other dogs, who are like, I can stride down the pathway, too. And he's still intact, by the way. Also, what do you do? Because you're very petite. Yeah, you have to do a lot of training so he trusts you and listens to you. It's a dominance thing. You have to make sure he knows you're in charge. Does he do any... I know he's an actor, sorry. Disrespect, Bing, but does he do any tricks besides acting in films? Oh yeah, he can do some tricks. He definitely looks tired, but do you like to sing, Jimmy? I think you do. Yeah. Would you like to sing a song with me? Yes! And Bing? Well, we could get Bing to join in. Oh, this is exciting. Yeah, a song without words. Let's just do some... Wait, what do we do? Oh, that's amazing! I want to show everyone a clip. Here's Naomi Watts in The Friend. Take a look at this. I have an appointment, so can you just help me? I have an appointment, can you let me in? I can't, I'm sorry. Sir, can you call your... Okay, right, I'll sit here, too. Naomi Watts, everybody! The Friend is in select theaters this Friday and opens nationwide on April 4th. More Tonight Show after the break. Stick around, everybody.