Checking in with LYNDSY FONSECA

W.C. Fields famously said that performers should never work with children or animals. Nearly a century later, it’s safe to say Lyndsy Fonseca would disagree.

In her role as single mom and veterinary assistant Laura Turner in the currently streaming Disney+ family comedy “Turner & Hooch,” the 34-year-old actress is surrounded by a full complement of beasties, among them cats, turtles, birds and rabbits, plus the five Dogues de Bordeaux who play massive police dog Hooch.

Each of the canines has a special skill, be it wildness, friendliness or calmness, utilized for whatever the scene demands. But that also brings an element of unpredictability as the canine actors can get tired and bored easily. So scenes must be completed in as few takes as possible and the human thesps have to be ready for anything.

“It’s kind of like working with a really famous actor who only comes in at the very last second and leaves first,” Fonseca says with a laugh. “I remember talking to (executive producer) McG and being like, ‘But what’s the dog going to do? Why are we going to rehearse without the dog?’ And he was like, ‘No, no. The dog comes like last second.’ ... So then you think you know what you’re doing but then when the dog comes in, probably everything’s going to change anyway. So there’s a lot of elements of improvisation and going with the flow and using whatever dog is there, their talents to best facilitate the scene.

“In all honesty I loved it,” she continues, “because you can’t fake it with a dog. Like they know when you’re honest or not and it’s kind of like working with horses, like you just have to really be in the moment. So it’s a nice challenge.”

Full name: Lyndsy Marie Fonseca

Birth date: Jan. 7, 1987

Birthplace: Oakland, Calif.

Family: Married to her former “Nikita” co-star Noah Bean, with whom she has a 4-year-old daughter

TV credits include: “Boston Public,” “Malcolm in the Middle,” “NYPD Blue,” “The Young and the Restless,” “Waterfront,” “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” “House,” “Heroes,” “Big Love,” “Desperate Housewives,” “Nikita,” “How I Met Your Mother,” “Agent Carter,” “RePlay,” “9-1-1: Lone Star”

Movie credits include: “Dark Mind” (2006), “Remember the Daze” (2007), “Hot Tub

Time Machine” (2010), “Kick-Ass” (2010), “The Ward” (2010), “Five” (2011, TV), “Fort McCoy” (2011), “Kick-Ass 2” (2013), “The Escort” (2015), “Moments of Clarity” (2016), “Curvature” (2017), “Spinning Gold” (forthcoming)

Other talents: Is a dancer

Favorite book: “I can’t pick one but I’ll say ‘Eating Animals’ was a book that forever changed my life – by Jonathan Safran Foer. And right now, my bible is definitely Glennon Doyle’s ‘Untamed.’ And I have to say I’m about to read for the second time Brit Bennett’s ‘Vanishing Half’ because I just love that story so much.”

Favorite movie: “I think of movies like ‘Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion,’ which just seems to like sum up my youth. And I really love – I guess ‘The Big Lebowski’ has probably got to be one of my favorite go-to, just like feel-good movies ... . It’s just a classic.”

Favorite musical artist: “It’s a real toss-up between Joni Mitchell and Fiona Apple.”