In the film industry, your face is your fortune. So in Hollywood, those faces are often augmented, nipped, tucked and otherwise surgically rejuvenated to look as good as possible on film.

And so it was with great alarm when the owner of Feznick, a 75-pound gray kangaroo, found his fledging marsupial star had been bitten in the left lip, leaving a less than dazzling smile. You see, Feznick resides at a farm for Hollywood animal-actors and was injured when he stuck his snout under a fence where a neighbor, a wolf that appears in commercials and films, took exception to the intrusion, chomped onto Feznick’s snout and took off a bit of his lip, leaving him with a toothy sneer.

You probably won’t see Feznick’s name in lights any time soon but he does have an interesting resume. In addition to hopping around as featured performer on opening night of the movie, “Kangroo Jack,” Feznick often presses the flesh, working at corporate events.

In February, 2006, Veterinarian Peregrine Wolff (really!) offered the use of her facility so a plastic surgeon could repair Feznick’s lip. “It looks like people surgery in a way, except the patient is a little hairier,” said a surgical nurse.

According to the plastic surgeon, the lip was a bit more difficult than a human lip area because a Kangaroo has a natural cleft that runs up into the nose. But the surgeon made do and closed the gap with 25 stitches.

Of course, the whole episode had a made-in-Hollywood ending with Feznick’s grin being fully restored after his surgery healed.

It wasn’t the first time Dr. Wolff (who was born with that name) hosted an animal actor in need of rejuvenation surgery. A trained Grizzly Bear that appeared in a widely seen Super Bowl beer commercial once suffered a fractured canine tooth and needed his own smile buffed up.

And, yes, both will be ready for their close-ups, whenever Mr. DeMille wishes.

-Charlene