Actors who adopted animals from set including Brendan Fraser, Sophie Turner and more
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While some actors dream of taking home Oscar’s for their roles, some fall in love with their onscreen pets and make them a permanent part of their family.
It’s no surprise that actors grow attached to their co-stars, they spend so much time together and most of their time together is spent portraying a close relationship. Human or not, it would be hard to say goodbye when filming is wrapped.
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Hide AdOn screen romances moving off screen is not unheard of and is quite common among actors. But some actors have gotten so attached to their onscreen pets they’ve adopted them.
So, which actors have taken their on set pets home? Here’s a PeopleWorld round up.
Sophie Turner
Sophie Turner made her onscreen debut as Sansa Stark at the age of 14 on Game Of Thrones. In the show each of the Stark children get pet Direwolves. Sansa grows very attached to her pet, Lady, before the dog is killed off. However, it seems the relationship transcended the screen and Turner decided to adopt Zunni, who played Lady, in real life.
In a 2013 interview, she told the Coventry Telegraph, "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. We knew Lady died and they wanted to re-home [Zunni]. My mum persuaded them to let us adopt her."
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Hide AdAccording to Turner, not everyone on the set of the hit fantasy series was sad to see Zunni leave the production. She told Harper’s Bazaar in 2019, "Zunni was a terrible actor, really bad on set, she wouldn’t respond to any of my calls and everyone was ready to fire her."
Brendan Fraser
In Fraser’s long career the actor has ridden horses in a number of films, including memorable sequences in the action movie classic "The Mummy" and as the Canadian Mountie hero in the family comedy "Dudley Do-Right."
In the 2015 historical Western drama miniseries "Texas Rising," Fraser, who played Texas Ranger Billy Anderson, developed a deep bond with his trusty steed, Pecas.
He told The Star in a 2015 interview: "Pecas was my acting partner. It wasn’t headed to the glue factory or anything horrible, but I thought, I want to do well by him, too." Fraser purchased the horse for himself when the film was complete and brought him back home where he shares riding Pecas with his three children. Fraser said: "He’s part of our family now."
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Hide AdDavid Dastmalchian
David Dastmalchian stole the show as Polka Dot Man 2021’s "The Suicide Squad.
While filming the James Gunn-directed DC superhero sequel in Panama, Dastmalchian was approached by a stray cat between takes and quickly bonded with the lovable lost feline. He posted pictures of the kitten on his Instagram page with the caption: "with the help of my [film] family and some generous animal lovers in Panama, I was able to rescue Bubblegum."
Dastmalchian named the kitten Abner Bubblegum Polka Dot Cat. Juliana Markovsky, "The Suicide Squad" costume designer, designed a miniature, cat-sized Polka Dot Man superhero suit for Bubblegum. He told Instagram that his new furry friend has helped him through challenging times saying: "She has been a blessing to our family and was instrumental in helping us through the pandemic."
Tiffany Haddish
While working on the 2016 film Kanu actress Tiffany Haddish kept one of the on-screen cats, changing its name from Clementine to Catonic. Before long, Catonic grew into a full-sized tabby. The cat regularly features on Haddish’s Instagram.
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