Original performer Frank Oz has stated that Animal's character can be summed up in five words: sex, sleep, food, drums, and pain.

[3] Animal's vocabulary is generally monosyllabic and limited to guttural shouts and grunts, often repeating a few simple phrases, as well as his trademark gravelly laugh.

[citation needed] Animal's bushy eyebrows and hair, outrageous behavior, and wild drumming has sometimes been compared to several classical hard-partying Id-worshipping rock drummers, such as The Who's Keith Moon,[4] Led Zeppelin's John Bonham,[5] and Cream's Ginger Baker.

[6] Animal is a savant, versatile session drummer, to back Muppet tunes, capable even of finishing a slow song, if the singer is a nice lady.

[7] Animal shows a talent for jazz in a television advert for the Renault Clio car with French footballer Thierry Henry.

In 1981, the aforementioned scene with Buddy Rich ends with the seasoned pro learning Animal's gonzo style, and performing it with twice the speed and proficiency.

When he repeatedly interrupted Rita Moreno's rendition of Fever with loud drumming outbursts, she became annoyed and slammed his head between a pair of cymbals (to which Animal responded by saying "Uh, that's my kinda woman!

In another episode, he chased Mark Hamill and Angus McGonagle the Argyle Gargoyle offstage at Kermit's request after they snuck onstage.

In the film Muppets from Space (1999), Animal meets his match in the form of a security guard played by Kathy Griffin—after chasing her down a hallway with his "Woo-man" call, he later comes running back around the corner, yelling "HELP HELP!"

[citation needed] Ty Pennington commented about the possibility of Animal having ADHD when the character appeared on an episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

John Kennedy also briefly performed Animal in a 2002 commercial for MasterCard, as well as for the 2003 video game Muppets Party Cruise.

[citation needed] In 1993, Animal performed The Surfaris' song "Wipe Out" on the Muppet Beach Party album.

He also made a special appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon as a guest drummer with The Roots house band, and on the eighth UK series of The X Factor in 2011, where he drummed for Olly Murs on his song "Dance with Me Tonight".

His skit prominently centers around his jokes towards video games, such as Elden Ring's infamous Malenia boss battle, Metal Gear Solid, and Animal Crossing, and haste towards the next award's winner, on which he also participates with.

[18][19] On July 28, 2023, Animal made a surprise appearance with My Morning Jacket to close out their headlining set at the Newport Folk Festival.