Top 10 Stars Who Adopted Their Animal Co-Stars

Bagging the role of Deacon Claybourne in ABC’s “Nashville” was life-changing for actor Charles Esten, not least because the show introduced him to his new best friend. In season one, a reluctant Deacon is gifted a puppy by Juliette Barnes. He names him ‘Sue’ - a nod to Country legend Johnny Cash. Deacon never really bonded with the pup, who eventually left Nashville in the arms of Stacey the vet. Esten however, had never had a dog of his own, and he fell in love with this one at first sight. When Sue was written off the series, Esten adopted him, re-christening him Blue.

More than one actor has been known to take home a canine companion from set. For example, after filming the pound scene in “Gifted”, Chris Evans adopted a pup and Orlando Bloom picked up a stray while shooting the movie “Troy.” In the Disney remake of “Lady and the Tramp” all the animal actors are also rescue dogs. Harley, one of the Cocker Spaniels playing Lady, found his forever home when a special scene partner took a shine to him. Yvette Nicole Brown played the dog-hating Aunt Sarah but, in reality, Brown is an animal lover. She told People Magazine, quote: “Every day on set, I had to yell at beautiful, innocent puppies, which was horrible for me as a person.”

From Kirstie Alley’s lemurs to George Clooney’s pot-bellied pig, movie stars have been known to adopt some unusual pets. Audrey Hepburn was filming “Green Mansions” when she fell in love with Pippin, her animal co-star in the movie. Pippin’s trainer suggested that Hepburn take the fawn home so they could bond, and bond they did. She called the deer Ip, for short. They were photographed together at home in Hepburn’s LA mansion as well as out and about. Along with Hepburn’s Yorkshire Terrier, Mr. Famous, Ip became a beloved family pet for the duration of the shoot. Audrey bottle fed the fawn, who would ride home from set, asleep in her lap.

The 2016 action comedy “Keanu” had seven rescue kittens interchangeably playing the title role. They were recruited from shelters all over New Orleans and put through a month-long training programme on how to be stunt cats. They learned to stay calm under pressure, sit on cue and tolerate an ever-changing wardrobe of the most adorable looks. When their work was done, all the kittens all thankfully went to good homes, recruited by cast and crew alike. Tiffany Haddish, who also starred in the film, adopted one and renamed him ‘Catatonic.’ He now lives with “The Secret Life of Pets Star” and her two dogs.

Taylor Swift is a proud cat mom and her Scottish folds, Olivia Benson and Meredith Grey, have traveled the world with her. They made an appearance in the music video for Swift’s feel-good single “ME!”, where they also met their new brother - Benjamin Button. In one scene, the ragdoll kitten is presented to Swift by Panic! at the Disco frontman, Brendan Urie. Benjamin Button was part of a programme that puts cats up for acting roles in videos and commercials, to try and find them potential homes. The strategy worked on Swift like a charm. The singer fell instantly in love and quickly added the pint-sized actor to her growing family of felines.

It seems that very few can resist the power of a kitten without a home, as Sarah Jessica Parker found out on the set of “And Just Like That…” In an episode of season two, Carrie Bradshaw is introduced to her future pet by Che Diaz, who encourages her to adopt the kitten. Carrie soon gives in, naming him “Shoe.” In a case of life imitating art, Parker was won over just like her character. Shoe’s real name is Lotus and he was officially adopted by the Parker/Broderick family in 2023. He joins the household’s other two cats, Rémy and Smila.

Siamese and Bengal cats were very popular with the movie stars of the fifties and sixties. One of the most memorable was the mystical Pyewacket, who made his screen debut in 1958’s “Bell, Book and Candle.” Kim Novak stars as a New York witch, who enchants her neighbor with the help of her feline familiar. In real life, it was Pyewacket who had Novak under his spell. The beautiful Siamese was played by several different doubles in the movie. Although some reports differ about whether Pyewacket was Novak’s cat before or after the start of filming, the two look as if they were absolutely made for each other. Pyewacket even kept his name characters’ name IRL.

“National Velvet” remains one of Elizabeth Taylor’s most beloved film roles. Although just twelve years old during filming, Taylor was already an accomplished rider and picked out her own horse to ride in the movie. She chose a thoroughbred racehorse named King Charles, and would often go into the studios early for extra riding lessons. When the movie wrapped, producer Louis B. Mayer let Taylor keep the horse as a birthday gift. In an interview years later, Taylor admitted “to be given the horse on my thirteenth birthday — well, it was one of the moments of my life.”

Sansa Stark’s Direwolf, Lady, played a brief but memorable role in season one of “Game of Thrones”, alongside a teenaged Sophie Turner. The pair didn’t share much time together onscreen, but the young actress wasn’t ready to say goodbye just yet. Turner had fallen in love with her canine co-star, a Northern Inuit dog, named Zunni. After her alter-ego’s death on the show, Zunni was looking for a new home. Although Turner had always wanted a dog, her parents were reluctant - until they met Zunni on set. And so, Lady got her happy ending after all.

As well as cats and dogs, there are plenty of actors who refuse to be parted from their noble steeds. Like Elizabeth Taylor in “National Velvet”, Robert Redford did his own riding in “The Electric Horseman” and bought his horse afterwards. Brendan Fraser also purchased his horse Pecas, from the set of “Texas Rising.” But the lord of the horses has to be Viggo Mortensen. The “Lord of the Rings” actor developed a real bond with Uraeus, who plays Aragorn’s horse, Brego. After deciding to keep Uraeus, Mortensen then got another stunt horse named Kenny. If that wasn’t enough, the actor also purchased Arwen’s Andalusian stallion, Florian, as a gift for her stunt rider, Jane Abbot.

Which onscreen animal do you wish you could take home with you? Let us know in the comments!