Ben Stiller has revealed he was scared for his safety while working with pigs on a new film project.
The 58-year-old comedy star features in the upcoming film Nutcrackers alongside Linda Cardellini, 49, as well as some other co-stars with cloven hooves.
Speaking to Variety, the actor shared his unexpected fear over working with live swine, explaining, “I’ve never worked with a hog before. So when they started making crazy sounds, I’m like, ‘Wait a minute! Am I safe?'”
Nutcrackers, which was directed by Pineapple Express filmmaker David Gordon Green, 49, and was filmed on a rural Ohio farm, is set to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival this month with the hope of landing a distribution deal.
Speaking about the project, David said, “When I called Ben, I said, ‘I hope you don’t have any allergies, because there’s every imaginable animal running around here’.”
But Ben, who also had to navigate working with chickens and goats as well as the excitable hogs, said he most enjoyed working alongside the four young Janson family brothers who make their acting debut in the project.
He said, “I wanted to have a good relationship with the kids,” before going on to emphasise the importance of creating a positive environment on the set of the film.
The 2024 Toronto International Film Festival will commence on Friday 6 September and conclude on Sunday 15.
