Captain Marvel flew into theaters this week, releasing to rave reviews and
smashing box office expectations. But for all the praise Brie Larson and Samuel L. Jackson have received for their roles as Carol Danvers and Nick Fury, there's another
who stole the spotlight — Goose the Cat.
Known as Chewie in the comic books, Goose is Carol Danvers' faithful feline companion. Goose has become a media darling and a fan-favorite, but as adorable as a cat may be, working with animals on-set isn't always easy. Especially, if you're allergic (like Brie Larson) or just don't like cats (like Samuel L. Jackson).
“No, I am not a cat person,” Jackson revealed to Marvel.com during the
Captain Marvel media junket.
“But I’m also not a dog, bird, or a fish person either. So I just don’t…I don’t engage pets.”
Despite his mixed feelings towards pets, Jackson admitted that Reggie (the cat who mostly portrayed Goose on screen) was
"great to be around." He also praised Reggie's professional demeanor on-set.
"Reggie is like most animals that people bring to set that have been trained to do this, that or the other—he’s snack-oriented," said Jackson.
"You give him something to eat, he shows up. You give him something to eat, you talk softly and nice to him, give him something to eat again. They love you. So, it works out.”
Speaking of being professional on set, Brie Larson shared one particularly funny moment where she actually got in trouble for her behavior around Reggie.
“I got in trouble because I ran screaming, ‘Shake Shack!’ right next to cat," Larson revealed.
"And they’re like, 'The cat’s working right now.’ That was my one very unprofessional moment.”
Captain Marvel director Anna Boden further explained what it was like to give direction to a pet.
“There’s something about getting a cat to just do what he normally does. It was part of the struggle actually, of having a very well-trained, very directable cat on-screen...Sometimes we just wanted him to do the random thing that a cat’s going to do, like lick his paw or go rub up against somebody. We sometimes had to kind of suggest to the trainer, maybe we should just let him do his thing for a little while, because there’s something about the spontaneity of what an animal can do, and I feel like it was worth it.”
Captain Marvel is now playing in theaters.