Sixteen 2005 Emmy® Nominations Warm Springs  

Animal Actors Credits  Animal Talent Agency, Animal Rentals,  Animal Stars animalagency@msn.com

On Set - Lights, Camera, Action  All the Kings Men starring

 Sean Penn, Jude Law, James Gandolfini, Kate Winslet

 Animal Actors on set for new commercials for Animal Planet’s “ Who Gets the Dog”

The animal acting business is booming, with nonhumans in one out of three commercials, three out of four movies and once again starring in their own films,

Twentieth Century Fox, for example, is betting on "Benji"-esque appeal to power its new film “Because of Winn-Dixie.” The movie, based on an award-winning book, stars a lovable mutt that a girl finds at a grocery store.

Just like human actors, their four-legged colleagues have to pass through a gauntlet to get on stage. There are acting classes for dogs, screen tests, auditions and, of course, talent agencies.

 “It’s almost as if you don’t have a mascot, some kind of animal in your film, your film is not going to be successful,"

Hollywood is following a path being forged by dog owners across the country. Sixty-two percent of American households have a pet, more than have a child, and last year Americans spent $23 billion on their pets. This year, the Westminster dog show in New York City sold out for the first time in its 129-year history.

In 1985, animal entertainment was a $21 million a year business with five families controlling virtually the entire industry-—Toto from “The Wizard of Oz” and Lassie were both owned by the same family.

While most pet owners are only hoping for a supporting role, some make a tidy profit. At $200 to $300 a day for a camera-ready dog, man’s best friend can also be man’s best source of income. More exotic animals, like an elephant, cost $5,000 a day. But grizzly bears are the top of the animal-payment pyramid and cost up to $20,000 a day.

With lucrative pay and growing demand, amateurs, too, are getting involved. Every day pet owners hoping for a slice of the entertainment pie contact Gloria Winship, trainer, agent and the owner of Animal Actors /Sweet Sunshine. But Winship said only one out of 1,000 would even send her the audition tape she requires before recommending the pet to a producer.

Winship owns and trains her own animals: 10 dogs, 12 cats, 12 chickens, 12 ducks, two sheep, two goats and five horses. Quackers, a duck of Winship’s that knew stage right from stage left, starred in one of the first Aflac commercials, and Tiki, her 7-year-old golden retriever, has done 10 movies, 30 commercials and four Animal Planet Shows. Actors represents and works with the top trainers and animal actors in the country. Representing Lions, Tigers, Bears, Chimps, all exotics, farm animals including ducks, chickens, pigs, horses. Of course, Winship also represents and works with the top trained dogs and Cats in the Country.

Many of the rules for human actors hold for their furry counterparts. In both cases being easy to work with makes an actor more popular with directors. The better the animal actor is the better the directors like it.

Behind the Commercial: The Secrets of Animal Actors

They may be famous, but they don't let it go to their head. They may have an extravagant lifestyle, but that's not why they do what they do, and do it so well.
Like all skilled actors, they make their craft look easy and natural. But unlike their human counterparts they're a smidgen more complicated (albeit endearing) and their motivation isn't fame and fortune.
Who are these renowned performers?
They're the furry and feathered brand of actors you see in commercials every day. But what you see and the reality behind what you see are distinctly different, and there are tricks to the trade, so to speak.
Will Work for Food
The No. 1 secret in successful animal acting is extensive training using positive reinforcement...mostly praise and food reward. And the experts say the results are "amazing."
Ginger, an Australian Shepherd who's been featured in commercials for AT&T, GM Trucks, Friskies and Outback Steakhouse as well as episodes of Seinfeld and Murphy Brown, is so well trained she's able to put a quarter in a piggy bank with her teeth. Her owner/trainer, Michele Boardman, explains that in order to teach her this very difficult trick she used repetition and basic commands like "pick it up" "hold it" and "drop it" with a food reward. She started asking Ginger to put the quarter in a large bucket to get her used to the idea. Then Boardman asked her to drop the quarter into a much smaller opening — an antique milk bottle and from there progressed to the piggy bank.
Ginger is motivated first with kibble but when that starts to lose its flavor, she will advance to smoked turkey and eventually, the ultimate treat...cheese.
Food is the consummate motivator even with wild animals who act in commercials. "We just did a commercial for ABC Sports with Tiger Woods, so we used tigers...they love giant milk bottles along with a side of steak or chicken," says Gloria Winship Ayon, owner of Animal Actors/Sweet Sunshine in Atlanta, who's worked with nearly every kind of creature in her 20 years of animal training.
On the opposite end of the animal kingdom, it's hard to imagine that your typical barnyard animals can be anything more than that. Oh contraire, says Ayon. At any given time, she can call to her side roughly 30 chickens and 20 ducks that live on her farm. And her feathered friends allow her to pick them up at will, which makes them perfect for acting. "I had a duck once who even knew 'camera left', 'camera right', 'scootch backward' and 'scootch sideways,'" she says, chuckling. "Any animal can be trained with repetition and reward."
However, she emphasizes that you can't expect miracles, nor can you expect tricks to happen over night. It takes lots of patience and practice and more patience and practice.

Working Like a Dog
In fact, some animal actors even work long hours on the set. For example, in an Outback Steakhouse commercial, what the viewer sees is Ginger sitting in an antique motorcycle sidecar looking up at flying steaks in the sky. Sounds like a simple sequence, right? Well, it was actually the result of hard work for both Ginger and her trainer. "It was 30 degree weather. And I was in the dirt on my back for 12 hours trying to get Ginger to look up at the sky...such is the life of a trainer," Boardman jokes, adding that not only was Ginger warm enough with her thick coat of fur, but she loved every minute of it.
 
"I did a commercial once and the director told me it was going to be really easy and short and that my cat just had to be held. So I got my best 'hold' cat and that eight-second commercial took three to four hours because the actresses couldn't get their lines right," says Ayon. "My cat kept falling asleep and the producer had to ask me "Do you mind waking up your cat?"
It's also frustrating when directors tell animal trainers what they want from the animal beforehand, then once the trainer "preps" the animal (directed training based on what behaviors are expected in the commercial), the director changes his or her mind. Or the director really has no idea what an animal is capable of and makes ridiculous requests. "One man asked me to get my dog to smile," Ayon said.
So it helps to have an animal that can adapt to changes at the last minute and that usually requires an animal actor who is friendly, thus easy-going. In fact, friendliness cannot be underestimated as a quality that makes for an excellent animal actor. "In almost every case, the good animal [actors] are friendly and raised [with their trainers] from birth, and they're treated as part of the family," said Ayon.

So whether it be chimpanzees or chickens, the next time you see an animal in a commercial you might realize that although they don't have lines to remember, they can work as hard as any human...as long as there's food around. By Christine R. McLaughlin

Animal Actor, Animal Agency, Animal Rentals Home Page

1981-2003

Beginning the year with an Afghan Hound in Indianapolis for Citizens Gas.

"It's a Miracle" TV Series worked with Animal Actors on 3 different episodes in Nashville and Birmingham, AL including "Elmo the Wonder Dog" and " The Angel Dog"

Then to New York and Detroit  for 3 weeks with Bulldogresearch.com with Harry the Bull Dog.  (Harry is presently negotiating a  two year exclusive contract with Bulldogresearch.com.)

Neiman Marcus kept Animal Actors busy with Liz Von Hoene Photographer for their upcoming Catalog.   Some of the animals used have been seen in Ace Ventura Pet Detective, Dr. Dolittle and Jungle Book.   Working with Bubbles the Elephant was a thrill for everyone. Other animal actors that were photographed were a lion, zebra, lizard, miniature horse, goat, mice,  Irish Wolfhound, cat and a rabbit. 

Bush Beans worked with Taco the Golden Retriever for their next advertising campaign.

Valencia Town Center in Valencia, CA hired Animal Actors, Angel(Miniature Horse) and Hannah(Jack Russell Terrier for their advertising campaign for the year.

Eckerds and Comotion Films used a Yellow Labrador from Animal Actors  for a National Commercial

Daisy the Grey Cat of Gloria's,  credits including Arm and Hammer (Print and Commercial), Kentucky Humane Society Commercial, "The Gingerbread Man" Feature Film, worked for Alabama Power in a Commercial as a lazy cat.

                    Animal Actors/ Sweet Sunshine Animal Talent Agency is getting calls from producers from all over the world. Some of these Projects include  a Venezuelan Production Company using one of Animal Actors Chimps for a commercial in the Jungle of Venezuela the last week of March.   A Production Company in California  is presently working with Animal Actors for a live appearance   of Animal Actors in China.  

                    The Orlando office of Animal Actors is getting busy too.  With calls for Great Danes for a Honda Commercial,  Jack Russell's for print.  Tikki Gloria's Golden Retriever received a part in the feature film "Florida City" filmed in Orlando.   Animal Planet has  contacted Animal Actors to feature Gloria and Tikki in an episode for "Wild on the Set".   They will use footage of the film of Tikki and interview Gloria on training techniques.

              Shane Ayon will be staring in a Commercial for The Atlanta Film Festival.  Playing the Outlaw on horseback and Gloria (usually  behind the scene)will  be in the Commercial also.

In April, Gloria and Shane went to  New York for a live performance  in Central Park for    Frontline Products.  Working with World Champion Frisbee Disc Dogs

Have you been to the Taterhole?

APC Studios recently completed development of the "Taterhole" web site for Cartoon Network Development. "Taterhole" is the home of "The Rudy & GoGo World Famous Cartoon Show." Go Go is trained and owned by Animal Actors/Sweet Sunshine Animal Talent Agency
Maria Boltze, APC's Producer on the project brainstormed with TNT Programming's Jeff Stafford and APC Animator Darrell Weldon to produce the site. A visitor must access the site several times before they see or hear the same thing twice. 

 Animal Actors

is now an International Animal Talent Agency

              Animal Actors/ Sweet Sunshine Animal Talent Agency is getting calls from producers from all over the world. Projects including a movie with a Tiger . and an Italian Production Company is presently working with Animal Actors for a live appearance in Milan, Italy "I Love Animals" Television Show.  An Argentina Production Company has contacted Animal Actors for a dog for a future project.

         Animal Actors is also staying busy here with Commercials in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, First Flight Productions with Penguins, Servals (exotic cats) in a shoot for Dillards in Dallas, Texas for Omega Films, Tikki,(Golden Retriever) Tiger(Cat) and Daisy(Cat) did 3 commercials for the Humane Society in Louisville, Kentucky, Videobread Productions.  Animal Actors recently worked with Norfolk Southern Railway with Rowan the Black Horse and a Golden Retriever for Bush Beans.   Liz Von Hoene Photography worked with Doves for Neiman Marcus, a Hawk and an Owl for Scene Magazine in London.    Gloria Winship recently spent a week on set in Alabama working with Tony Scott (Director) on a Philip Morris Film Project.  And just this week Gloria worked with Bull Frogs (BBDO South)and Pigs for "Mission 2000" an independent film.

ANIMALS MUGGIN' FOR THE CAMERA