"Black Phillip" Hospitalized Ralph Inerson on the Set of THE WITCH
Turns out Black Phillip wasn't just a terror on camera! THR reports that The Witch mascot, who is actually named Charlie, was by far the most difficult actor to deal with on the set of the film. When he was needed to attack he slept, when he needed to sleep he attacked! A lot of this comes from the fact that Charlie was not a trained goat, so he just basically did goat stuff the entirety of filming. Since he wasn't trained, a lot of the footage you saw was typically on the fly and in the moment. It seems to have worked out well, as the character has become the official icon of the franchise!
One person who is not happy about this is actor Ralph Inerson (he plays the father), who was hospitalized by the goat! From Inerson...
"He was horrible. Really, really horrible. From the moment we set eyes on each other it was just kind of hate at first sight. He had two modes: chilling out and doing nothing, or attacking me."
On the fourth day of filming Inerson was blindsided by the goat during a scene (no spoilers but if you've seen the film you'll probably guess which) and was rammed so hard in the ribs it separated his tendon! Inerson went to the hospital and was on painkillers the next five weeks of filming.
Pretty awesome story! I mean, sad for Inerson, but he shouldn't complain. The Witch will be making money well past the healing time it took for his rib!