These Celebrities Adopted Their Animal Co-Stars

Sometimes while working on a film or TV show these stars end up falling in love with the furry costars who play their on screen pets. And when everything is finished, they decide that they’ve become so attached to their animal pals that they have to adopt them and take them home!

Find out how these stars ended up becoming pet parents…

1. Sarah Jessica Parker

Following the wrap of season 2 of And Just Like That…, Sarah Jessica Parker adopted the cat that played Carrie’s feline friend, Shoe, on the show. She later took to Instagram to introduce the newest member of the family.

“His off-camera name is Lotus. He and his siblings were all given botanical names when they were rescued as newborns by the @cthumanesociety,” Sarah wrote. “Adopted officially by the Parker/Broderick family in April 2023. He joins Rémy and Smila who we adopted in May 2022.”

2. Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift is a major cat lover so it only makes sense that she had to adopt the kitten that was featured in the “Me!” music video. During an Instagram Live with Brendon Urie, Taylor explained that the cat, which she named Benjamin Button, was a part of a program that “tries to get cute kittens adopted by putting them in commercials and stuff.”

“He was just a cute kitten who didn’t have a home,” Taylor shared. “[The handler] handed me this tiny cat and he just starts purring and…he looks at me like, ‘You’re my mom, and we’re going to live together.’ I fell in love. I looked at Brendon and he’s like, ‘You’re going to get the cat aren’t you?'”

3. Sophie Turner

During Sophie Turner’s time on Game of Thrones, she fell in love with the dog who played her character Sansa Stark’s direwolf Lady. After the pup was done filming for the series, Sophie’s mom convinced her to adopt the dog.

“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 [on the show] and they wanted to re-home her. My mum persuaded them to let us adopt her,” she told Coventry Live.

4. Chris Evans

While making his movie Gifted, Chris Evans fell in love with a dog he met while filming a scene in a kennel. Chris says he was walking through the aisles and came across a dog that looked like he just didn’t belong there.

“I foolishly walked in and I thought, ‘Are these actor dogs or are these real up for adoption dogs?’ And sure enough they were, so I was walking up and down the aisles and saw this one dude and he didn’t belong there. I snagged him and he’s such a good dog. They aged him at about 1, he acts like a puppy, he’s got the energy of a puppy, he’s just such a sweetheart, he’s such a good boy. He loves dogs, he loves kids, he’s full of love,” he told People.

5. Tiffany Haddish

Tiffany Haddish got the chance to work with a few different felines while filming Keanu, a flick about a cat who gets abducted. Throughout filming, seven kittens played the role of Keanu and Tiffany ended up falling in love with one of them. While she was initially worried about bringing her home to her dogs, the animal trainers helped her figure it out.

“Her name is Catonic. She was a rescue cat that they trained and were looking for a home for. The animal trainer was like, ‘Tiffany, we need to find a home and every time that you hold this cat, she goes to sleep with you and when we take her away, she cries. Maybe you should take this cat home,'” Tiffany told Hollywood Outbreak.

6. Viggo Mortensen

When Viggo Mortensen wrapped filming Lord of the Rings, he bought two of the horses featured in the movies: Eurayus and Kenny. At the time, Viggo said he had a connection with Eurayus and wanted to make sure he had a buddy when he took him home.

“I just developed a real good friendship with [Eurayus]. He kind of came into the movie similar to the way I did. You know, didn’t have much preparation and was just thrown in and had to swim, basically. And it was rough on him and it took a while for us to kind of get in sync and for him to be comfortable around the set. So we got to be close and I wanted to stay in touch with him,” he told IGN.

In addition to Eurayus and Kenny, Viggo also bought T.J., the horse from Hidalgo.

7. Sylvester Stallone

Back in 1976, Sylvester Stallone adopted two turtles from the set of Rocky. Then, years later, he revealed Cuff and Link were still alive and had actually made a cameo in 2018’s Creed II. At the time, they were over 40 years old.

“In CREED 2 with my original buddies from the first Rocky … CUFF and LINK, now about 44 years old!” Sylvester shared on Instagram.

8. Yvette Nicole Brown

Yvette Nicole Brown’s character in the live-action remake of Lady and the Tramp may not have really liked dogs, but that definitely wasn’t true for Yvette in real life. On set, the dogs’ trainer noticed that one pup in particular had a connection with Yvette and recommended that she adopt him.

“[The trainer] didn’t just let people grab a dog. She watched you the entire run of the show and at the end she goes, ‘I think I have your dog.’ I said ‘Oh! Who is it?’ and she says, ‘Harley is your dog.’  She was 100% right. Harley is my dog. I love him. He’s a maniac, but I love him,” she told People.

9. David Dastmalchian

While filming The Suicide Squad in Panama, David Dastmalchian met an adorable cat on set. When the movie wrapped, David was able to bring her home and named her Bubblegum — short for Abner Bubblegum Polka Dot Cat.

“With the help of my @thesuicidesquad family & some generous animal lovers in Panama, I was able to rescue Bubblegum,” he wrote on Instagram. “She has been a blessing to our family & was instrumental in helping us through the pandemic.”