#20. Brendan Fraser
On the 2015 TV series Texas Rising, Brendan Fraser had to shoot several scenes with a beautiful silver horse named Pecas. But poor little Pecas was bullied by the rest of the horses, so Fraser decided to adopt him.
“He looked like he needed help. Like, ‘Get me out of here, man,’” Brendan told GQ.
But there was another reason why Fraser decided to adopt Pecan. It turns out that he had an autistic son, and he was hoping that the two of them would bond together. And good news! According to the actor, the two of them developed a loving bond.
#19. Sophie Turner
The American fantasy drama TV show Game of Thrones is famous, amongst many other things, for the violent scenes that it features. But not only people are victims of violence, but animals as well! In the first season, Lady, the “direwolf” that belonged to character Sansa Stark (played by Sophie Turner), is ruthlessly assassinated.
But in real life, Lady, who is actually a Mahlek Northern Inuit named Zunni, had a much different fate. Luckily for her, Turner decided to adopt her.
“Growing up I always wanted a dog, but my parents never wanted one. We kind of fell in love with my character’s direwolf, Lady, on set”, Turner told the Coventry Telegraph.
#18. Ed O-Neil
This cute little bulldog is named Brigitte, and though she’s now a TV actress, she actually had a tough life. She was born in the street and was abandoned by her adoptive family. But one lucky day, the animal acting agency Good Dog Animals found her in a street corner and decided to take her in. Does her face sound familiar? If it does, that’s probably because you’ve seen her in the famous TV comedy Modern Family, where she plays the role of Stella.
It turns out that the Modern Family actor Ed O’Neil loved this little bulldog and spent hours playing with her. As Brigitte’s trainer Guin Dil said in an interview:
“He and Brigitte love each other. He is very concerned about her all the time and he looks out for her. She’s really Ed’s dog. I couldn’t have asked for a better actor to work with”.
#17. Quvenzhané Wallis
All the films and TV shows on this list feature animals and humans working together… but this is the only case in which a kid and an animal work together! In 2014, 11-year-old Quvenzhané Wallis and the rescued puppy named Marti co-starred in the family comedy film Annie.
A couple of years following the release of the film, Marti’s trainer Bill Berloni told us the reason why she was given the role. On the day of the audition, the moment Marti saw Wallis, she ran towards her and started licking her face, and the casting director realized that they were right for each other.
“So we continued to facilitate Quvenzhané’s natural instincts with Marti and they just became friends… And even a year later, whenever Quvenzhané comes to New York, we’ll bring Marti over to her hotel room and they’ll play”, Berloni told Vet Street.
#16. Tiffany Haddish
The 2016 comedy film Keanu follows the lives of two friends who infiltrate a gang to get back their stolen kitten. The role of the cat was played by 7 different felines, but one of them was adopted by the lead actress Tiffany Haddish. How lucky was this furry little fellow?
Haddish renamed the kitten Catatonic, and she often uploads pictures of them both on Instagram. But let’s not feel sorry for the six other cats, cause they all had happy endings! Two of them were sent to a ranch and the other four were adopted by the film’s animal trainers Larry Paine and April Mackin.
#15. Kim Novak
In 1958, Kim Novak and James Stewart co-starred the romantic comedy Bell Book and Candle. Novak took the role of a witch who was always accompanied by her Siamese cat, Pyewacket. In the film, Pyewacket and the witch are eventually separated, but can you guess what happened in real life?
After the film was shot, Novak decided to adopt Pyewacket, and some of their pictures together became quite famous. Once, the poor little cat almost died in a fire while the actress was not home, but you know what they say, cats have nine lives to spare!
#14. Tom Hardy
Did any of you know that Tom Hardy is a major dog fan? In fact, his passion for dogs was the main reason why he took a role in the action film The Drop. In this movie, his character adopts an abandoned puppy named Rocco.
After the release of the film, Hardy adopted little Rocco, and he took the dog everywhere with him. Sometimes, he even let the dog sit in his jacket hood. Isn’t that the cutest thing ever? Rocco, you should know that millions of girls and boys envy you… a lot!
#13. Vigo Mortensen
Everyone knows that Hollywood star Vigo Mortensen is a football lover, but did you know that he’s an animal lover as well? And during the filming of The Lord of the Rings, he just loved working with so many horses! In fact, he formed a special bond with one of them named Eurayus. And guess what? He kept him as a pet!
But Mortensen wanted Eurayus to have a buddy, so after the filming of The Two Towers, he befriended and adopted a second horse named Kenny. And guess what!? A couple of years later, he bought and kept the horse he rode in the film Hidalgo.
#12. Elizabeth Taylor
In the 1944 film National Velvet, Elizabeth Taylor plays the role of a young girl who must train a wild horse for England’s Grand National Sweepstakes. But guess what? The horse who starred in the movie, whose real-life name was King Charles, lived in the country club which Taylor belonged to. In fact, Taylor herself suggested the director for King Charles to star in the film.
However, King Charles had never been trained for acting, and his trainers had quite a difficult time making him respond to their commands. In fact, he even injured a couple of crew members. In spite of this, King Charles and Taylor got along just fine, and when the shooting of the film ended, the studio gifted her the horse.
#11. Robert Redford
In 1979, Robert Redford starred in the comedy film The Electric Horseman, where he plays the role of a rodeo star who steals his company’s horse and rides into the desert. Redford fell loved the horse so much that once the movie was finished, he took him to his ranch.
But this wasn’t the only time Redford adopted a horse. During the filming of the film Pete’s Dragon (2016), he found an abandoned horse tied up to a post right outside the movie set. He just couldn’t stand seeing the horse like that, so he rescued him and took him to his ranch, just like he had done 37 years ago.
#10. Robert Downey Jr.
In the 2010 film Due Date, famous Hollywood actor Robert Downey Jr. plays the role of a soon-to-be father who must hitchhike across the country to make it on time for his children’s birth. But the best part is that one of his co-stars was this adorable dog named Sunny!
Even though these two don’t get along too well in the film, in real life it was the exact opposite. In fact, Downey Jr. was so fond of her that he tried to adopt her, but unfortunately for him, the dog’s breeder was not willing to give her up.
#9. Chris Evans
In the 2017 drama film Gifted, American actor Chris Evans plays the role of Frank, a single man who is drawn into a custody battle over his niece. During the filming of the movie, he made friends with a dog named Dodger, who he met while filming a scene in a pound.
Evans and Dodger formed a close bond, and the actor uploaded pictures of them both on social media on several opportunities. In 2017, he posted this picture, with the caption "Really missing this guy right now". Isn't that the sweetest?
#8. The Cast Of “The Transformers: The Last Knight”
Some dog actors had really humble starts, and this was definitely the case for Freya. This pit bull was rescued from the streets by the volunteers of an animal shelter, but months passed and nobody wanted to adopt her. Several months later, the staff of the animal shelter published a post on Facebook labeling Freya as “the loneliest dog in the world“, begging for someone to adopt her. You’ll never believe what happened next!
The Transformers director Michael Bay saw this Facebook post and decided to cast Freya in Transformers: The Last Knight. I bet the workers at the animal rescue center never expected such a plot twist! In the movie, Freya played the role of the dog of Sir Edmund Burton, the character played by Anthony Hopkins. According to the director, both Hopkins and the dog got along perfectly well.
#7. Ewan McGregor
In the 2010 comedy Beginners, Ewan McGregor plays the role of Mike, a man whose life is shaken by two unexpected announcements: that his father has cancer and that he has a young male lover. And in this same movie, Mcgregor’s character makes friends with a dog named Arthur.
During the shooting of the film, McGregor fell in love with this pooch, whose real-life name was Cosmo. But the problem was that his wife is allergic to dogs, so adopting Cosmo was unfortunately out of the table.
“I fell for Cosmo and so loved being around him and working with him that it was hard to know I’d have to say goodbye to him,” McGregor told The Bark.
#6. Judy Garland
One of the most famous human and dog co-stars in history is, without a doubt, the characters of Dorothy and Toto from the 1937 film The Wizard of Oz. And you know what? It is said that Judy Garland got along quite well with that furry little fellow.
Did you know that Toto – whose real name was Terry – nearly died during the shooting of one of the scenes? And Garland let the dog recover at her own home. During those days, they grew quite fond of each other, and she even asked the dog’s trainer if she could adopt him. Unfortunately, the trainer said no.
#5. Will Smith
Dystopian thriller I Am Legend tells the story of Robert (played by Will Smith), the only survivor in New York City of a deadly plague. Well, the only human survivor, actually, because he’s accompanied by a German Shepherd named Sam. Sam’s real-life name is Abbey, and the two of them formed a deep bond during the shooting of the movie.
Smith loved Abbey so much that he asked her trainer, Steve Berens, if he could keep her as a pet. Sadly, Berens said no. Smith himself admitted this when interviewed by Access Hollywood:
“I was like, ‘Please let me have Abbey. Please, please, please let me have her (…) But you know, she has her own family now so it was just another one of those fleeting Hollywood romances.”
#4. Bradley Cooper
You’ve all seen Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper‘s hit film A Star Is Born, right? And do you remember the cute fluffy dog that Cooper’s character Jackson decides to buy as a present to her wife, Ally? Well, here’s a fun fact you didn’t know: that pooch happens to be Cooper’s dog in real life!
As Cooper told People in an interview: “[Jackson and Ally] don’t have a child together but they have a dog together and I wanted it to be part of their story. I love dogs”. This little doggo is just as cute as his owner, isn’t he?
#3. Reese Witherspoon
American actress Reese Witherspoon starred in dozens of Hollywood classics, but we’ll always remember the time she played the sorority queen and law school student Elle Woods in Legally Blonde. And, of course, we’ll never forget about Elle’s pet chihuahua, Bruiser.
Sadly, Bruiser, whose real-life name is Moonie, passed away on March 2016. But let’s take a look at the bright side: Moonie lived a long and happy life, and passed away at the age of 16, which is like 90 in human years! Witherspoon herself was very touched by the news:
“He was a sweet little Chihuahua who was very loved. I will never forget all the days we spent together… I’m sure his tail is wagging in the sky”, Witherspoon wrote on Instagram.
#2. The Guardians Of The Galaxy Cast
Marvel’s classic Guardians of the Galaxy will always be remembered both for its amazing visual effects as well as for its hilarious and peculiar characters. One of the audience’s favorite characters was Rocket the raccoon. But although Rocket was created through motion capture, he was actually based on a real-life raccoon named Oreo.
And you know what? Oreo was allowed to visit the movie set and all of the cast just loved him! And what’s even funnier is that director James Gunn took little Oreo to the film’s premiere! Sadly, Oreo passed away in 2019 at the age of 10, but he’ll always be remembered by all of the film’s crew!
#1. Jennifer Aniston
Marley & Me is one of the most famous – and possibly the saddest – dog movies ever made. We’ll never forget the moment in which – spoilers alert!!! – Marley becomes too sick and has to be sacrificed. And you know what? Jennifer Aniston cried during that scene in real-life!
Many dogs played the role of Marley, and Aniston grew quite close to several of them. In fact, she once confessed that she almost adopted one of the puppies.
“Clyde was the main one and he was there a lot, so we became very close to him. He was at the premiere in Amsterdam“, Anniston told Indie London.