Getting Ready to Work With Some Real Animals? These 8 Actors Share Their Experiences

Article Image
Photo Source: romul 014/Shutterstock

“Never work with children or animals,” the Hollywood Golden Age actor and comedian W.C. Fields famously said. His reasoning? They’re too unpredictable and difficult. But also—they’re known to be scene-stealers, upstagers, and sometimes just too charming (we’re looking at you, Babe) to share billing with. Here, eight actors fondly—or not—recall their experiences working with fauna.

Matt Damon, “We Bought a Zoo” (2011)

It’s just a slight exaggeration [that I cried like a baby when the snakes came out]. I was not excited to be working with the snakes…. I kind of got through it, because there were so many of them. There was one scene where these snakes escape from their crate, and there’s, like, hundreds of them. I’ve never been a snake guy, and [costar Scarlett Johansson] was totally cool with it. The second she sensed some trepidation, she was wrapping them around her and putting them on the kids. And the kids were laughing at me, and so I had to kind of man up and pick up the snakes.”

James Cromwell, “Babe” (1995)

When ‘Babe’ came, we would work with the animals, and the animals were trained and they were extraordinary. So I just watched these extraordinary animals do the things that they did—and then I would go to lunch. And, bless their hearts, the Australians like to kill whatever moves and eat it. And so on the lunch table would be all the animals that I had just worked with. There was duck and there would be lamb. I thought, Oh, man, this is really horrible. I have to go vegan.”

Channing Tatum, “Dog” (2022)

Zuza almost bit my face off, but I think it was a training thing—it wasn’t that she was trying to bite it. But during the fight scene, she was such a good actress that she literally just jumped up and clapped her teeth almost inches from my face. And I was like, ‘Alright, we got that shot! Let’s move on; let’s go.’ These dogs are incredible and their control is so incredible, and the trainers that we worked with were just beyond anything I could have expected.”

David Schwimmer, “Friends” (1994–2004)

I love animals. I love primates. I have nothing against animals…. However, here was my problem: The monkey—obviously, it was trained, and it had to hit its mark and do its thing right at the perfect time—but what inevitably began to happen was, we would all have choreographed bits kind of timed out, and it would get messed up because the monkey didn’t do its job right. So, we’d have to reset; we’d have to go again because the monkey didn’t get it right.”

Melissa McCarthy, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” (2018)

The first time I take [the cat] to the vet, while we are at the counter, he sneezed. And I look at him and literally thought, ‘Are you kidding me? Are you pretending to be sick?’ Then [director] Marielle [Heller] cuts, and I looked to the camera and said to myself, ‘This cat is out-acting me.’ ”

Sofía Vergara, “Modern Family” (2009–2020)

It’s not that I hate the dog; it’s that I’m not used to having a little dog on top of me and licking. I grew up in Colombia, where, you know, you have big dogs in your yard and the dogs sleep outside in their houses. They don’t come to your bed like you’re Paris Hilton. It’s a different thing. It’s not that I have anything really personal with her. And she’s very heavy, to carry her…. They give her a million of those little foods so that she does the acting, so she smells like that food.”

Russell Crowe, “Gladiator” (2000)

There’s a horse, George, who I gave the speech in the forest in ‘Gladiator’ on. Years later, he was on the set of ‘Robin Hood,’ and we would have a chat every day. Same with the horse Rusty in ‘Robin Hood.’ We chatted again on ‘Les Mis.’ Lifelong friends.”

Justin Edwards, original Broadway production of “The Ferryman” (2018)

We have rabbits and a goose. They’re real, yes. I get to play with all the animals. I bring the goose [onstage]. They’re very well-trained. We have Bill [Berloni], who is one of the foremost animal trainers; and they train the goose up from birth to be happy around humans. We had a slightly less compliant goose in the London run. [Geese] are quite fierce…. But she’s very well-trained. I can just pick her up, tuck her under my arm—and she attacks my face, but she’s pretty good.”