Neve Campbell has recounted an on-set incident where she was chased and attacked by a bear, which took place when she was 17 years old.
The actress opened up about the terrifying event during an interview on The Kelly Clarkson Show, while promoting the most recent Scream film.
“I was playing this role where she’s ‘one with the animals,’ and there was a scene where I’m supposed to be getting chased by a bear,” Campbell told host Kelly Clarkson. “They brought this bear on set, and they first gave me a big bottle of Coke to feed it. So now this is like a bear on a sugar rush.”
Campbell didn’t mention the name of the film, but said the incident, which took place in Canada, quickly took a precarious turn.
“They [Producers] said — and I’m 17, so I’m really dumb — they said, ‘Dip your hand in honey and just run, and when you get to the tree over there, turn around and stick your hand out and feed the bear.’ And I, of course, wanting to please everyone was like, ‘Ok.’”
She added: “I turn around and I put my hand out, and the bear is not slowing down and he is not coming for my hand.”
“He grabs me by the leg and he pulls me through the forest, and my mother happens to be visiting set, so she’s screaming. The whole crew is frozen because no one can believe what’s happening.”
“All I could think to say was, ‘He’s biting me,’ like it wasn’t obvious.”
Fortunately, the on-set bear wrangler came to Campbell’s rescue and distracted the bear by throwing rocks. This interruption gave the actress enough time to run for safety behind a rock.
Despite the severity of the situation, Campbell brushed off the close encounter, telling Clarkon, “We [actors] get asked to do really silly things.”
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Watch Neve Campbell speak about the bear attack:
