All good actors are very bright. You can't be stupid and a good actor. You may be inarticulate, you may not be highly educated, but all good actors are quick-witted, some of them dazzlingly so. All you do is guide them.
It's also a more personal medium. It seems to go directly to one's brain. There are no pictures to distract.
I like animals because they are not consciously cruel and don't betray each other.