Celebrity Profile: Josh Lucas
By Julia Szabo Everybody knows that shelter-dog adoption is the right thing to do. But leave it to Hollywood heart-throb Josh Lucas to prove that it's also the cool, sexy thing to do! Josh adopted Loki, his beloved black mutt, from his local animal shelter, New York City's Animal Care & Control on 110th Street. Like many shelters around the country, "110" is overcrowded with wonderful, adoptable pets. So the in-demand actor sat down for this exclusive interview, to help spread the word that 110 is the place to go to find your new best friend. What inspired you to name your dog after a figure in Norse mythology? Loki was so shy and scared and sweet when I first got him; his name at 110 was "Hercules," which sure didn't fit. He really was almost too low-key, so I wanted to give him a name that was a play on that, and I had the hope that naming him after the God of Mischief might inspire some attitude. Well it worked, he's a punk now. Loki is not your first adopted dog; please tell us about the others. My first dog Ozzy (named after Ozzy Osbourne) I found when he was a white ball of fluff about 6 weeks old and abandoned in the parking lot of a Washington State Ferry terminal. I was 13 years old and he and I slept outside on my family's porch (even in the pouring rain) every single night for a year. We were under an awning during the rain and snow, but we did 365 days and then we moved back inside! My mother now has the dog I rescued while working on Sweet Home Alabama. Amazingly, this was during the scene in the movie in the Coon Dog Cemetery (a real thing in the South) where Reese Witherspoon and I discuss our characters' old dog "Bear." While filming the scene, a crew member found, hiding under a coon dog gravestone, a very sick Lab mix and her 9 emaciated and equally sick puppies. The entire crew rallied around the dogs, paid for their vet bills, got them healthy, and found homes for all of them. I took the runt and named her Bear; she lives with my mother, and is one of the great dogs of all time. Are rescue dogs extra special in some way? I am totally convinced that all rescue dogs know they have been given a second chance and they seem to have something magical about them ... Every rescue I've had and know seems more connected with their human and brings more joy than I can adequately explain. It feels mystical.
How would you describe Loki's personality? I sometimes wish I were more like Loki. I have friends and ex-girlfriends call me to hang out with Loki and not me. He is a bit of a dog/human whisperer, in that people who don't like dogs love him, and dogs that don't like other dogs seem to be Might Loki ever score a part in one of your films? Yeah, I can't wait to work with him. He's been a bit picky so far about making his debut. Has Loki ever accompanied you to rehearsal/set? He is a total set dog, and particularly loves makeup trailers and all the girls that work in them. I'll head in to shoot leaving him in the trailer and when I come back he'll be gone; then I'll find out the transportation department has taken him on a drive, or the lead actress has taken him on a hike (both true stories). He totally steals all the attention no matter where we are. When I rehearse lines and he's around, he seems to know that I'm acting weird and he gives me these very skeptical looks, like, "Really, you're gonna play it that way?!?" If Loki were a Hollywood legend, who would he be? Loki is smooth. He's got a real Cary Grant essence about him: Loves the ladies but is also a guy's guy. And if need be, he can get tough. But mostly he's just a Lover. For more information: |
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