17 Fun Facts About Famous Animal ActorsSkip To ContentHomepageSign InSearch BuzzFeedSearch BuzzFeedlol Badge Feedwin Badge Feedtrending Badge FeedCalifornia residents can opt out of "sales" of personal data.Do Not Sell My Personal Information 2022 BuzzFeed, Inc PressRSSPrivacyConsent PreferencesUser TermsAd ChoicesHelpContactSitemapPosted on 14 Aug 2022 Just 17 Facts About Famous Animal Actors That Surprised That Heck Out Of Me "He got the job and he was just terrible on set." by Victoria HonoréBuzzFeed StaffFacebookPinterestTwitterMailLink There s never a dull moment on set if there s a professional pet around From luxurious accommodation to a ~surprising~ amount of stand-ins these facts about notable animal actors are a real hoot or howl or meow Tap to play GIF Tap to play GIF Giphy / Via giphy.com 1 The Dalmatians from 101 Dalmatians were actually a family of over 200 Tap to play GIF Tap to play GIF Buena Vista Pictures Distribution / Via giphy.com How many pupperoonies does it take to play 101 Dalmatians? Well, 230 Dalmatian puppies and 20 adult Dalmatians, apparently. Considering the fact that there were also other breeds of dog, barn animals, rodents, and birds on set, I think it's safe to say there were no dull moments for anyone during filming. 2 Marcel the Monkey from Friends was actually not a boy Tap to play GIF Tap to play GIF NBC Ross's beloved monkey was actually played by a female capuchin named Katie. Despite only being in her mid-20s – side note, now I know what it's like to be the same age as a monkey who's more successful than you — Katie has a career that spans decades. Since Friends, she's appeared on shows like 30 Rock, Sam & Cat, and most recently Y: The Last Man. Capuchins generally live to 40 years, so we have many years left of Katie! 3 Salem from Sabrina The Teenage Witch wasn t always an animatronic sometimes he was even stuffed Tap to play GIF Tap to play GIF ABC/The WB / Via giphy.com I think most of us remember Salem as an animatronic cat with ultimate sass; in fact, many black cats roamed the set of Sabrina the Teenage Witch as kitty stand-ins for every single episode. To name a few, there was Witch, Elvis, Salem, and a stuffed feline used for scene-blocking aptly named "Stuffy". According to Melissa Joan-Hart's book, Melissa Explains It All, this led to A LOT of cat food being scattered about the set: "the set was covered in cat food... so yeah, I can't do cats anymore." 4 Bruiser from Legally Blonde has been played by the same dog in each film Tap to play GIF Tap to play GIF 20th Century Fox/MGM Distribution Co. / Via giphy.com The adorable chihuahua who was "pretty in pink" was actually named Moonie, and appeared in every one of the Reese Witherspoon Legally Blonde films – not many animal celebs can say that! Reese formed an adorable companionship with the chihuahua, even to the point where Moonie accompanied her to her Hollywood Walk of Fame Star ceremony. During his life, Moonie was besties and roommates with another well-known star chihuahua — Gidget from the old Taco Bell adverts. 5 Hedwig from The Wizarding World was seven owls in one Tap to play GIF Tap to play GIF Warner Bros. Pictures / Via giphy.com Everyone's favourite snowy owl was actually played by seven (!!!) wise and wintry birds! Their names were Kasper, Oops, Swoops, Oh Oh, Elmo, Bandit, and Gizmo who had the most screen time. Each owl lived a life of luxury with their own perches, comfortable flying spaces, fully equipped bathing facilities, and temperature controlled rooms! 6 Fat Louie from The Princess Diaries literally belonged to Anne Hathaway Tap to play GIF Tap to play GIF Buena Vista Pictures / Via giphy.com It took four cats with very specific roles to play Mia's cat in The Princess Diaries. One of the kitties could sit still, one was good at jumping, one was fine with being carried by strangers, and one was just ~super~ good at sitting on the envelope seen at the end of the film. Here's the twist — one of those four cats was actually Anne Hathaway's real life pet! I'd love to know which one... Probably the master envelope sitter! 7 Max from How the Grinch Stole Christmas didn t actually have cute floppy ears Tap to play GIF Tap to play GIF Universal Pictures / Via giphy.com The loyal doggo was played by six mixed-breed rescues (sensing a pattern here) who all sported long-eared headpieces and antlers to look like the Seuss-esque pup. I want to give a big thanks to Kelly, Chip, Topsy, Stella, Zelda, and Bo for working so hard and being a part of my Christmas every year! Shout out to Kelly who was the main stunt dog in the production. She performed believable falling scenes and that sleigh ride scene while attached to harnesses and cables. That's hard enough for a human to do, let alone a pupper! 8 The squirrels from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory were all real Tap to play GIF Tap to play GIF Warner Bros. Pictures / Via giphy.com To my surprise, and slight terror, the nut-cracking squirrels seen in Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory were ~not~ the work of animation. After originally requesting a modest 100 squirrels, the rational Mr. Timothy received 40 squirrels ready to sit and crack nuts onto a conveyor belt after 19 weeks of being trained to do so. I can't imagine getting just one squirrel to sit still let alone forty??? Crack on, I guess. 9 Fang from Harry Potter was a loveable re-trained rescue Tap to play GIF Tap to play GIF Warner Bros. Pictures / Via giphy.com Of course the lovable half-giant Hagrid would have to own a pretty large dog. The most notable version of the half-giant's best friend was actually a rescued Neapolitan Mastiff named Hugo. The top animal trainer for the franchise, Julie Tottman, thankfully looked past the supposed "aggressive" nature of Hugo that led to his abandonment (apparently Mastiff's are really hard to handle). She rescued him and trained him to be the movie star we loved in the first two films! 10 Mr Bigglesworth from Austin Powers has one of the most creative names ever Tap to play GIF Tap to play GIF New Line Cinema / Via giphy.com The villainous yet adorable hairless Sphynx's real name is Ted Nudegent. Moreover, Ted's feline body double is named, Mel Gibskin. I honestly had no idea what else to do with information other than share it. Like, those names are AMAZING, right? 11 Brego and Hasufel from The Lord of the Rings got the happiest of endings with Viggo Mortensen Tap to play GIF Tap to play GIF New Line Cinema / Via giphy.com These two mighty steeds formed a bond with the character of Aragorn and also the actor who plays him, Viggo Mortensen. After filming, Viggo adopted both horses — Uraeus, who played Brego, and Kenny, who played Hasufel. He even adopted a third horse – the white stallion ridden by Arwen – and gifted them to the stunt woman who rode the horse and formed a bond with him. 12 Lassie the dog from Lassie the show was never played by a female pup Tap to play GIF Tap to play GIF CBS / Via giphy.com Despite being known as a problem-solving ~female~ dog, every pup to ever play the iconic Lassie was actually male! This is because before spaying was a common practice, female Collies went through an intense shedding process during a heat cycle, and, well, that can lead to a bit of a hairy situation on set. However, out of the nine dogs that played the role, let's give it up for Pal, the original dog that played Lassie. Pal was known as the best-trained canine in showbiz, and earned Lassie a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 13 The horses in Downton Abbey the movie are actually pretty regal British Army @BritishArmy #SpoilerAlert The Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery @KingsTroopRHA are playing a part in the new @DowntonAbbey movie. In the film ride through Lacock in Wiltshire. The horses and troops towed their field guns through the streets. The movie at the cinema now. #DowntonAbbey 07:30 AM - 26 Sep 2019 Reply Retweet Favorite British Army / Via Twitter: @britisharmy So these horses may not be trained acting horses, but they do have another form of training. The horses of the aristocracy seen in the 2019 film version of Downton Abbey feature The King's Troop, AKA Buckingham Palace's ~actual~ ceremonial horse team. Their scenes also feature 68 soldiers and 86 horses. What a royal surprise! 14 Lady the Direwolf in Game of Thrones was a bit of a nightmare on set Tap to play GIF Tap to play GIF HBO / Via giphy.com Although the Direwolf gifted to Sansa Stark was sweet and loyal, the Northern Inuit dog that played her was...less sweet. "Zunni was a terrible actor, really bad on set", Sophie recalled in a 2019 interview. "She wouldn't respond to any of my calls, and everyone was ready to fire her, so we took her on when I was 14." It's nice to know Zunni had a much happier ending than Lady did! :( 15 Another doggie that wouldn t listen is Newton from the second season of Bridgerton Tap to play GIF Tap to play GIF Netflix He was a breakout star of season two of Bridgerton, but Kate Sharma's corgi Newton – played by Austin the corgi – was actually more of a doggie diva than the sweet fluffy "excellent judge of character" we saw on screen. According to Simone Ashley, "Newton would listen to me but nobody else... Not only was he a total diva on set, he also kept eating all of the pebbles on the floor in one of the scenes we were shooting outside." She went on in another interview to say, he "wasn't an actor dog. I think he just fit the aesthetic that they wanted of Newton. So he got the job and he was just terrible on set." 16 The tiger in The Hangover was real Tap to play GIF Tap to play GIF Warner Bros. Pictures / Via giphy.com I'm as shocked as you are, but it's true! There was a real tiger on the set of The Hangover. The scenes with the tiger behaving aggressively were filmed with the tiger leashed to a bolt on the floor and in multiple shots – one with the big cat where no actors were present, and one with the actors ~acting~ like a tiger was really clawing at them. The only real victim of the on-set tiger was the interior of a car in a scene where the destruction was intentional. 17 Lastly Crystal the monkey is rich AF like absurdly rich AF Tap to play GIF Tap to play GIF 20th Century Studios / Via giphy.com It's safe to say that Crystal is the most famous capuchin in the world! With a filmography including George of the Jungle, Night at the Museum, The Big Bang Theory, and Community — she's definitely forever famous. Not only that, but Crystal gets ~paid~. In 2012, she was listed as the fifth highest paid actor in Hollywood, getting paid more than her human co-stars. She raked in $108,000 USD that year. Honestly? Good for her! What s an animal actor fact you find interesting Let us know in the comments Share This ArticleFacebook PinterestTwitterMailLink TV and MoviesGet all the best moments in pop culture & entertainment delivered to your inbox.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.