Here's some heart-warming news that is strangely unsurprising: while filming his part for the upcoming Cohen brothers movie The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, actor Liam Neeson reportedly encountered a horse who remembers him from their work together on a previous film.
Neeson told the story at the New York Film Festival, according to Page Six's Cindy Adams:
I play a traveling impresario. We filmed in New Mexico. The odd thing is the horse who pulls my wagon knew me. You won't believe it. I'm saying this horse knew me. He actually remembered me from another Western we made a while back.
[Liam Neeson walks onto set] horse: there he is https://t.co/iAnb9S69bv— boo pearer (@boo pearer)1539072285.0
Though Neeson didn't identify the previous film he was in with the horse, many suspect 2014's A Million Ways to Die in the West as the most likely contender.
You may be wondering how Neeson even knew the horse recognized him. Well, he explained:
He whinnied when he saw me, and pawed the ground.
i love liam neeson and his friend the horse https://t.co/Eq05dkovXi— karen han (@karen han)1539049353.0
Sounds legit! But still, some wondered why this particular horse and Neeson would have such a strong bond that the horse would remember the actor years later.
It turns out, however, Neeson is a friend to all horses:
I love animals. When we worked together before I took special care of him. I fed him treats. Gave him apples.
I know Liam Neeson means from a film-set they were both on, but I choose to believe the horse recognised him from a… https://t.co/wZv2HQb1TH— Seamas It Ever Was (@Seamas It Ever Was)1539073061.0
Fans online were delighted by the story (though not particularly surprised):
when a horse sees liam neeson https://t.co/AiwM8P3AqJ— spoopy josh (@spoopy josh)1539104292.0
Pictured: Horse recognizing Liam Neeson https://t.co/076qtNxHwj— Rob Wesley (@Rob Wesley)1539055109.0
When Liam Neeson gets a phone call from one of his horse co-stars https://t.co/ZNEsV7koej— LightsCameraJackson (@LightsCameraJackson)1539120902.0
Even Russell Crowe chimed in, telling a similar horse story!
This is absolutely true . There’s a horse George who I gave the speech in the forest in Gladiator on. Years later h… https://t.co/F61BN8JmrG— Russell Crowe (@Russell Crowe)1539067287.0
@russellcrowe Hope you and other actors can buy your equine friend and retire him to gentle pastures .— Rose Hodge (@Rose Hodge)1539067706.0
@crrosehodge You know Rose, I’ve fallen in love with most of the horses I’ve ever worked with. It takes a certain t… https://t.co/FPUvrlLKS0— Russell Crowe (@Russell Crowe)1539068563.0
Actors and their animal co-stars often become the best of friends!
@russellcrowe Viggo Mortensen bonded so closely with his horse in LOTR that he adopted him; I believe he did the sa… https://t.co/Cl9OuSO77D— Angela Rynan Durrell (@Angela Rynan Durrell)1539068576.0
Look, Ted Danson made a film with Whoopi Goldberg and an elephant in the 1990s and that same elephant remembered hi… https://t.co/CCnqkI9gko— Aristotlé (@Aristotlé)1539109933.0
New rule: From now on, all news must concern Liam Neeson and the horses that recognize him.
"Yes, the horse knew me. All horses know me, the actor, Liam Neeson. Next question." https://t.co/BFwoyMwt1c— Rob Wesley (@Rob Wesley)1539055298.0
Don’t believe everything a horse tells you. That’s Farming 101. https://t.co/QNp3sWw12m— tom morgan (@tom morgan)1539109596.0
Liam Neeson is Hollywood’s truest horse girl https://t.co/nQzkUEAsCU— VANITY FAIR (@VANITY FAIR)1539092408.0
H/T - Vulture, The Guardian
