If you passed Andrew Comrie-Picard on the road in his home city of Los Angeles, you’d never guess his odometer frequently tips above 100 mph. “I drive really slow on normal roads,” says the rally racer turned stunt driver, “and I’m always the person to let someone else merge in. I don’t have to drive fast because I get my stimulation elsewhere.”
By elsewhere, Comrie-Picard is referring to the places his career as a professional driver has taken him — speed competitions, off-road driving, sets for big action films, and even the North Pole. We chatted with Comrie-Picard to learn more about how he made a name for himself in the world of stunt driving and racing.
A Day in the Driver’s Seat
A self-described cognitive load junkie, Comrie-Picard loves showing up to a job where every day is different. “I like challenges, and I love performing in the moment,” he says. “That’s exactly what I get from racing and stunts.”
When he shows up to set, Comrie-Picard rarely knows what to expect. “My life is governed by the call sheet, which often doesn’t get circulated until the night before the shoot,” he says. “So I show up and the producers say, ‘Oh you’re playing cop number three or bad guy number one.’” Hours later, Comrie-Picard walks out of hair and makeup after trading his beard for fake tattoos.
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Surprisingly, many stunt scenes are created similarly. “Most of the creative process happens in the moment with the stunt coordinator,” says Comrie-Picard. “We work out a scene with Hot Wheels cars and some chalk on set.” A couple of hours and a slow-speed drive through or two later, the director calls “action,” and Comrie-Picard hits the gas.
Between scenes, Comrie-Picard admits, there’s a lot of waiting. “It’s like hours of boredom punctuated by moments of terror,” he laughs. “I’d imagine it’s what an Olympic athlete feels like before the 100-meter dash. You’re waiting, sometimes for days, and then you perform for 15 seconds.”
But the thrill of those 15 seconds keeps Comrie-Picard hooked — like when he drove on the set of Atomic Blonde. “We had a dual-control car, so I’m in the back seat dressed like a ninja driving the car while Charlize Theron is driving on camera,” he recalls. “She’s a badass and just rolled with it, while I’m doing 180s and J-turns and telling her when to turn the steering wheel to make it look realistic. Those are the best days in my office.”
Building an Epic Career Path
So, exactly how does one become a backseat stunt driver for Charlize Theron? For Comrie-Picard, his professional driving career started with racing. “The core of my work has been in car racing, especially rally and off-road,” he says.
After 20 years as a professional rally racer, with some big wins under his belt, Comrie-Picard landed a gig hosting TV shows about cars. “I could drive, and I have a technical automotive background, so I was the perfect fit,” he says.
Once he relocated to Los Angeles to immerse himself in the entertainment industry, Comrie-Picard began picking up gigs as a stunt driver, and those opportunities continued to build on each other. Comrie-Picard has worked on big-name film franchises, including Deadpool and Fast and Furious, as well as American Ninja Warrior. “Because I followed my passions, I’ve ended up with a portfolio of activities that I really love,” says Comrie-Picard.
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The Next Big Stunt
In recent years, Comrie-Picard has focused less on racing in favor of spending time on his latest pursuit — the Transglobal Car Expedition. “About 14 or 15 years ago, I started thinking, ‘What’s the hardest thing I could do with a vehicle?’” says Comrie-Picard. “Now we’ve nearly completed a multi-stage circumnavigation of the globe by car.”
The journey kicked off in New York in January 2024. From there, Comrie-Picard and his team pioneered a route a wheeled vehicle had never driven before — heading north into Canada, across the Arctic Tundra, traversing the coastal shelf of North America, and driving over ocean ice to the North Pole. After navigating across Europe, Africa, and South America, the crew completed their journey, returning to New York in April.
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“What I’ve been loving about this expedition is that you must have broad skills,” Comrie-Picard says. “On a big film set, different crews are responsible for every aspect, but on an expedition, it’s all hands on deck, and everybody does every job.”
Even amid all the hard work, Comrie-Picard says he still has moments of awe at the things he and his crew have accomplished.
“I’ll never forget a conversation I had when I first decided to commit myself to racing full-time,” he says. “When I told my buddy, he said, ‘Well, that’s great news,’ and I said, ‘How is it great news? There’s only one other guy who makes money doing this,’ and he replied, ‘Why wouldn’t it be you?’”
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