Andrew Simpson (animal trainer)
Andrew Simpson (born 1966/1967) is a Scottish animal trainer who runs the company Instinct for Film with his partner and fellow trainer Sally Jo Sousa. Simpson was born in Inverness in the Scottish Highlands.[1] His parents worked for the aluminum maker Alcan, and he grew up with his family on the company estate in the Highlands. When he was 20 years old, he traveled to Australia and found work as an extra for the 1988 film A Cry in the Dark that starred Meryl Streep. Simpson worked with the film's dingo trainer for three weeks and continued working as an extra and as an animal training assistant. He eventually moved to Vancouver in Canada and worked for Creative Animal Talent.[2] He moved to Calgary in Canada in 1994 and currently lives there on a ranch with Sousa. Their company Instinct for Film has trained "birds, bears, leopards and small animals" for films and advertisements.[1]
Simpson has trained animals over numerous television shows and over 150 films,[2] including Final Destination (2000), Elf (2003), and Borat (2006).[1] When Simpson and his company were hired to train wolves in Siberia for a French film called Loup (French for "Wolf"),[3] the trainer decided to film the training process. Using the footage, he produced the documentary Wolves Unleashed, which screened at several film festivals.[4] His biggest project to date was Wolf Totem (2015), for which he trained wolves.[2]
References
- 1 2 3 Thorniley, Tessa (June 25, 2012). "Andrew Simpson: the wolf whisperer". The Telegraph.
- 1 2 3 Davis, Anthony A. (February 8, 2012). "Alberta ranch is home to lupine stars". Maclean's.
- ↑ "Wolves Unleashed". calgaryfilm.com. Calgary International Film Festival. Retrieved July 3, 2013.
- ↑ Staff (March 16, 2012). "BILF: Andrew Simpson Talks Wolves". City Weekend.
External links
- Andrew Simpson at the Internet Movie Database
- Instinct Animals For Film, Simpson's company