Getting attached to your costars is common in Hollywood — even if they’re not human. Throughout the years, many stars have grown so close to the animals that they share the screen with that they want to take them home, and sometimes they do just that. In other instances — we’re looking at you, Bradley Cooper — stars bring their pets along to join them in front of the camera.
Sophie Turner is among the many celebs who fell in love with their canine costars. After direwolf Lady’s untimely death on Game of Thrones, the Mahlek Northern Inuit dog named Zunni was left unemployed and homeless. However, Turner had bonded with her so much on set that she jumped at the opportunity to adopt her.
“Growing up I always wanted a dog, but my parents never wanted one,” she revealed to Coventry Telegraph in 2013. “We kind of fell in love with my character’s direwolf, Lady, on set. … We knew Lady died and they wanted to rehome her. My mum persuaded them to let us adopt her.”
Meanwhile, after Justin Theroux rescued pit bull Kuma, he was determined to get her onscreen. He did just that in Disney+’s remake of Lady and the Tramp. “You blink, you might miss her, but she’s in the pound scene,” he said on Good Morning America in October 2019. The activist also shared his dog’s “thoughts” on the role on his Instagram account.
“Hey guys, it’s me Kuma… Soooo… it’s me and my Dad’s LAST day working on @ladyandthetramp … this project and this Part (Pound dog #1, which is temporary bc @disneyplus promised me a real character name) anyway, this part rrrrealllly took it out of me (I’m method, which I know has been tough on everyone, so thank you) but I am VERY excited to show you all of my hard work,” Theroux captioned a photo of Kuma in the recording studio. “I’m gonna take a week off to reconnect with myself before i start the Oscar slash awards push or whatever blah blah… so may not be posting much. Peace and Love to all my fans, without you i would be nothing.”
Lily Collins, for her part, relocated to Paris to film Netflix’s Emily in Paris and was able to bring her faithful pup, Redford, for the duration of filming.
“You know what’s funny, France is so welcoming with dogs in that you can bring them everywhere [to] restaurants, anywhere,” the To the Bone star revealed during a January 2022 appearance on the Kelly Clarkson Show. “I mean, he’s a human, let’s be real. So, Charlie [McDowell, her husband] brought him over on his first international flight.”
Scroll through the gallery below for more stars who tried to keep their costars — or who brought their own to work with them!