Neve Campbell, known for her work in the Scream horror movies, is no stranger in fighting for her life. However, it turns out that masked serial killers in Woodsboro aren’t the only things out for her blood. During a recent interview on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Campbell revealed a story about surviving a bear attack while filming a project when she was 17-years-old.
The actor didn’t reveal what movie this bear incident took place in but did describe her whole ordeal. “I was playing this role where she’s ‘one with the animals’, and there was a scene where I was getting chased by a bear,” Campbell explained. “They brought this bear on set, and they first gave me this big bottle of Coke to feed it. [After feeding it], they said dip your hand in honey and just run. And when you get to the tree over there, turn your hand out and feed the bear.”
“I dipped my hand in honey, and I run to this rock, and I turn around, and I put my hand out, and the bear is not slowing down, and he’s not coming for my hand,” Campbell continued. “He grabs me by the leg, and he pulls me through the forest.”
“My mother was visiting set, and she’s screaming. The whole crew is frozen because nobody can believe what’s happening,” the actor said. “All I can think to say is, ‘He’s biting me,’ like it’s not obvious.”
Campbell was rescued by the productions ‘bear wrangler’ who reportedly started throwing rocks at the animal to distract it from the actor. Luckily Campbell suffered from no life-threatening injuries either. The star went on to sum up her feelings on the story, saying: “It’s silly. We get asked to do silly things.”
Several years after the bear attack, Campbell starred in Wes Craven’s hit thriller movie Scream as Sidney Prescott. Since then, she has become a full-blown horror icon and one of the most popular ‘Scream Queens’ to grace pop culture. I mean come on, not many actors can say they have survived Ghostface and a bear too, right?
Campbell returns to the Scream franchise in Scream (2022), which is now in theatres.