By Cynthia Chris, City University of New York
There is a long and storied history of nonhuman actors, from Luke, the dog of silent star Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle, to the collies cast in the role of Lassie in film and on television. Bart the Bear racked up over 20 film and TV credits in the 1980s and 1990s, while countless horses have supported period dramas that now saturate streaming services.
