Remi the Bernedoodle, who’s 70 lbs of sweetness and teddy bear fluff, and her person Rhonda recently came to my photo studio for a Deluxe Animal Actor session. With her gentle nature, winning personality, and the impressive array of skills and tricks Rhonda has taught her, Remi and the images we made inspired me to post about animal acting.
So what exactly are animal actors? They’re the well-trained and socialized dogs, cats, horses, etc., that are featured in TV shows, commercials, and movies — and they’re often owned by people like you and me. I personally caught the dog-training bug long ago and really enjoy the challenges of teaching my dogs obedience and tricks and achieving consistency. My Belgian and I had a blast appearing on TV shows such as Law & Order: SVU and FBI and I’ve wrangled my border collie Mint on set for commercials for Vital Essentials Dog Food, Conair PROPET, and Spirit Halloween, among others. My standard poodle, Ruse, appeared in the movie Trainwreck in a scene with Daniel Radcliffe.
Not every pet is cut out for work on very crowded sets with cameras hovering over them them and lights flashing, but if your pet is good with people and generally calm under a little pressure, animal acting can be a fun adventure and worthwhile side gig. An Animal Actor Session is a great opportunity to test out your pet’s skills and give them practice for an acting job.
So how do you start getting your trained pet on set? You’ll need an animal agent such as ours here in Philadelphia — Kelly Peterson of Dognerd Animal Talent, Casting, and Training. Your agent can connect you with companies and productions needing animals. The first thing agents need are photographs that capture your pet at their best so they can be presented to clients. Naturally, images from a professional pet photographer can make a big difference in landing acting gigs.
I offer two different Animal Actor packages, a Basic and a Deluxe. The Deluxe package gives you an advantage if your pet knows tricks beyond the basic sit- and stand-stay, and also allows time for capturing images of you with your pet. In any case, your pet will be photographed on a background especially chosen to flatter them and you’ll benefit from my many years of experience capturing pets’ personalities and the bond they share with their people, as well as my experience in front of the camera with my own dogs.
Kudos to Rhonda for doing an amazing job teaching such a wide range of skills to Remi while always keeping it a fun and positive experience for her — I have a feeling we’ll be seeing more of this big, beautiful doodle!
Reach out here to book a session for your superstar: Contact