Meet Jellybean, the Deaf Dog Star of “Pet Sematary: Bloodlines” (Exclusive)

The "Brad Pitt of dogs" is a 7-year-old red heeler who was "perfect for a zombie dog" in the new Stephen King prequel film

The biggest scene-stealer in the new movie Pet Sematary: Bloodlines isn't David Duchovny, Pam Grier, or Henry Thomas. It's Jellybean, a 7-year-old Red Heeler who "was born to play" the role of an unearthed zombie canine, says his owner and trainer Melissa Millett.

And the fact that he's completely deaf is part of the reason why.

"In a creepy movie, we're looking for long stares and quiet and focus, and that's things that are easier to get with a deaf dog," says Millett, who trained Jellybean via hand signals to drop his chin and keep his movements eerily slow while filming Bloodlines, streaming on Paramount+ Oct. 6. The movie a prequel to 2019's Pet Sematary adaptation of the classic Stephen King novel.

Bloodlines director and cowriter Lindsey Anderson Beer says Jellybean had an "amazing slow walk that I thought was just so perfect for a zombie dog."

She also "loved his look," which — thanks to makeup, dirt, and "Hollywood magic" — made the dog fit right into a creepy story about humans and animals coming back from the dead.

"The first time that Jellybean stepped out of the trailer with his hair all mucked up and standing on end and just didn't even look like himself, it was so delightful," Beer tells PEOPLE.

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Overall, the filmmaker considers Jellybean's disability hearing loss to be an asset — and not just because he wasn't startled by loud noises on set.

"I liked that he was deaf and being able to show that differently-abled animals can also act and can serve a purpose," she tells PEOPLE.

Before finding Millett and fame, Jellybean was born to a breeder, who elected to drive the deaf puppy 10 hours from his birthplace in Reno to California's Deaf Dog Rescue of America. Millett considers Jellybean lucky to have a breeder who surrendered the dog instead of abandoning the pup or euthanizing him. Millett adopted Jellybean from the rescue and began training him for on-camera work.

"Here's this dog that was considered untrainable, and now he's playing a major character in a highly anticipated Paramount+ movie," she marvels. The pooch also has appeared in a handful of commercials and multiple film and TV projects (including the Sam Worthington thriller Fractured and the upcoming series Orphan Black: Echoes), earning him the nickname "the Brad Pitt of dogs."

"Just because there's one thing that he can't do doesn't mean there's a million things that he can't do," adds Millett, who has guided Jellybean to two Guinness World Records for canine basketball tricks.

Related: Deaf Dog at Austin Shelter Learns Commands Through Hand Signals, Finds Home After 240 Days

How did the pooch get to be such a budding star? Jellybean is deeply serious and "lives to work," says Millett. Case in point: on Bloodlines, another dog, named Rugby, was on hand to be Jellybean's body double.

"I said to Rugby's owners, 'You have a phenomenal dog but one who's probably going to be a bench warmer. Jellybean's never going to call it quits, never,'" recalls Millett.

Beer calls the pup "the sweetest dog and really easy to work with." But then, when the cameras are rolling, "he puts on that acting face and goes into a different mode." (Millett admits Jellybean "has been typecast as a villain." When he smiles, she says, "his facial expression can look like the Joker.”)

Related: Meet Wisp, the ‘Scrungly’ Persian Kitten Who's Made TikTok Fall in Love (Exclusive)

Both Millett and Beer hope that Jellybean's star-making turn in a major movie can make inroads for other actors with disabilities, both canine and human.

"We need to always widen our nets in terms of thinking about what diverse casting means, and that extends to animals," says Beer.

"And to any other directors out there, if you're looking for a brilliant dog actor, I would highly recommend Jellybean."

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