David Tennant reunites with Michael Sheen during BAFTA monologue to find a dog sitter for Bark Ruffalo

Spoiler alert: The part of Bark was, of course, played by Andy Serkis.

David Tennant kicked off his BAFTA hosting debut with a dog, a roster of celebrity guests, and an argument with Michael Sheen.

The 2024 award show started with Tennant and Sheen reuniting in a Zoom sketch inspired by their pandemic sitcom Staged. This week's absurd premise? Sheen reminds his Good Omens costar that he promised to dog sit his new puppy, Bark Ruffalo, on Sunday night — which happens to be when Tennant is slated to host Britain’s biggest night in cinema.

So naturally, he runs down his star-studded contact list looking for someone to take care of the dog. Weirdly enough, nobody thinks to call upon Mark Ruffalo to look after his own namesake. Instead, Tennant turns to his Inside Man costar Stanley Tucci, who initially seemed happy to help. 

“I would love to do that for you, David,” Tucci said, before taking a sharp turn towards sarcasm. “Is there anything else I could do for you? I could wash your car or the windows in your home?”

After that letdown, Tennant called Himesh Patel, who pretends that his video has frozen. Unfortunately, someone walking by gives him away.

“I know you’re just calling because you want something from me,” he complained, and when Tennant laid out the request, pretended to be frozen once more. When the Tennant tried roping Tom Hiddleston into dog sitting, the Loki star assumed he was pitching a concept for a new movie, leading to one last call: Dame Judi Dench, who was less than happy to see his face.

“I thought you were going to be that beautiful Michael Sheen,” she sighed. “What do you want?”

When asked to look after Bark, she turned him down: “He pees everywhere. And anyway, I should be watching the BAFTA film awards with a big glass of champagne.”

Left without options, Tennant donned his kilt and bedazzled blazer, heading to the BAFTAs stage with the puppy in hand. Thankfully, he spots Sheen sitting in the front row and hands Bark off before taking his place at the podium.

"Never work with animals or Michael Sheen," Tennant joked when he made it to the stage.

After an opening monologue that poked fun at nominees including Saltburn, Barbie and Oppenheimer, Tennant introduced the first presenter of the night: “You've already seen him once before, tonight. It’s the real Bark Ruffalo — it’s Andy Serkis.”

Serkis was more than ready to keep the bit going.

"Playing Bark Ruffalo was, for me, a career highlight,” he said, earning laughter from the audience. “Many of you already will know him from the Dogfather trilogy, less so for his powerful performances in Bone of Interest and Paw Things. But more importantly, fearlessly, he took on the studios when they tried to scan him and use his likeness and his voice in perpetuity for a one-off doggy treat.”

After that brief dogression, the BAFTAs got back to their true purpose of handing out awards. Check out the full list of 2024 BAFTA winners.

Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more.Related content:

• BAFTA Awards 2024: See the full list of winners (updating live)

• Awards season calendar 2024: See key show dates for Oscars, Emmys, Golden Globes

• See top 2024 Oscars contenders for Best Picture, Actor, Actress, and more

• See where 18 Academy Award winners keep their Oscars

• The most shocking snubs and surprises of the 2024 Oscar nominations
  

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.