The High Evolutionary, notorious hater of animals couldn’t be more different when cameras aren’t rolling

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 introduced fans to the most sadistic and evil villain in Marvel history, and the way his malicious intent was interwoven throughout the storyline only added to the fact that it was also one of the hardest movies that we’ve had the pleasure (and emotional devastation) of sitting through.

You see, The High Evolutionary was a man hell-bent on finding perfection in any way possible, including on the experimentation of innocent and vulnerable animals, and as fans of the Guardians know, one of those animals was our beloved Rocket Raccoon. His life was full of pain and turmoil, but there were glimmers of hope throughout — moments when he found joy and happiness in the company of his friends, Floor, Teefs, and Lylla.

His pals, while also hopeful for a better future, were some of the other sweet creatures The High Evolutionary experimented upon, and to be honest, even typing the words brings up a lot of pretty awful scenarios in our minds. You can’t think about our most recently introduced Marvel villain without thinking of torture, but his persona in real life as Chukwudi Iwuji is unlike that of his movie counterpart, and a new snap from James Gunn solidifies that animals really like him, too.

The sweet pup named River senses the goodness in Iwuji’s heart, and no one recognizes a deep sense of goodness in someone more than a dog. They can almost feel when someone around them has good intentions, and it looks like this pup knows that Iwuji is the best.

In fact, he recently spoke with ComicBook.com and said that his own agent couldn’t even look at him for a couple of days after a screening took place.

“My agent couldn’t talk to me properly for like two days after a screening. She went home and hugged her dog and was like, ‘I don’t know how I can talk to you for a while.'”

Iwuji laughed and recognized why she had such a hard time reasoning with separating the terrible actions from him for a moment, and it was a nod to his talent as an actor and the dedication he brought to the role. In fact, he thought of his own dog when he saw sweet Rocket’s little eyes in several scenes, and he said at that moment, he felt like he was “going to hell.”

Luckily, his actions on the screen don’t mirror his own heart, and the actor is as much an animal lover as we hoped he’d be. For as difficult as it was to take on the role of someone who only saw perfection and ignored everything else on his journey to attain it, Iwuji is a lover of books, animals, travel, and finding joy in the small things — and those things are what count.

As we’ve said before, don’t forget your tissues as you head to theaters to see Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 — you won’t want to miss it.