Andrew Simpson, a Scottish animal trainer, was born in 1967 in Inverness, Scottish Highlands. His parents worked for the aluminum maker Alcan, and he grew up on the company estate with his family. At the age of 20, Simpson traveled to Australia and found work as an extra for the 1988 film A Cry in the Dark starring Meryl Streep. He worked with the film's dingo trainer for three weeks, eventually moving to Vancouver, British Columbia, and working for Creative Animal Talent.
Simpson then relocated to Calgary, Alberta in 1994, where he currently resides on a ranch with his American-born wife and fellow trainer, Sally Jo Sousa. The couple runs their own company, Instinct for Film, which specializes in training animals for films and advertisements. Their extensive portfolio includes training birds, bears, leopards, and small animals for various productions.
With over 150 films and numerous television shows under his belt, Simpson has worked on a wide range of projects, including Final Destination (2000),Elf (2003),and Borat (2006). One of his most notable projects was training wolves in Siberia for the French film Loup, which he documented in the documentary Wolves Unleashed. The film screened at several film festivals and showcased Simpson's expertise in animal training.
In recent years, Simpson has trained animals for high-profile productions, such as Game of Thrones, for which he trained a wolf for the character Jon Snow's direwolf Ghost, and The Revenant, for which he trained wolves. His most recent project was Wolf Totem (2015),for which he trained wolves. Simpson has also produced a follow-up documentary, Wolves Unleashed: China, using footage from his three-year experience on Wolf Totem.
Throughout his career, Simpson has demonstrated his exceptional skill and dedication to animal training, earning him a reputation as a leading expert in the field.
