( CNN ) -- For the past 49 years French animal trainer , Thierry Le Portier , 63 , has been a calm handler of wild felines . Growing up he had originally wanted to be a gym teacher , but after catching a glimpse of a lion tamer during a trip to the zoo in Marseille , Le Portier decided to give up his hobbies -- rugby and judo -- to spend every free afternoon watching the tamer at work . On his 17th birthday , Le Portier was finally given the opportunity he had patiently been waiting for when before the show began , as the lights dimmed , the trainer surprised the teenager by forcing him on to center stage . `` He grabbed me by the shoulders , pushed me in the cage just before a show with a lioness and said , `` go ! '' And I did the whole show , '' he said . The show was so successful that Le Portier was confident he had found his vocation and was soon touring Europe with his act . So remarkable was his skill that Italian director Pier Paolo Pasolini called on the talented young tamer for a scene involving a lion in his 1974 film `` Arabian Nights . '' Le Portier quickly became a specialist of big-cat scenes and after Pasolini came other famous screen directors such as Jean-Jacques Annaud with `` Two Brothers , '' Ridley Scott with `` Gladiator , '' and more recently Ang Lee with `` Life of Pi , '' which stars a digital tiger . The trainer -- along with his three tigers -- was flown out to Taiwan for four months and filmed extensively for reference . During this time he developed a close bond with the film 's director . `` Every time we went somewhere [ film producer ] David Womack called me the quality control and Ang Lee would say 'and inspiration , ' '' Le Portier said . Read more : Director finished film using phone . Le Portier believes he and Lee struck up a close friendship because of a shared work ethic . `` I work with tigers for the same reason Ang Lee is in the movie business : because we ca n't do anything else . '' It 's this passion for taming which makes Le Portier arguably the best animal trainer in the world . When talking about his work , his whole body becomes animated . `` Training is an art ; it takes time and an understanding of the animal you are with . '' Read more : 'Life of Pi ' is bold and wondrous . Le Portier does n't use food as a means of enticing the animal , or a whip to control it . He simply uses his brain . `` You do n't train with physical abuse because he 's so strong , it 's a mental arm-wrestle , '' he explained . `` It 's a real psychology , mental manipulation . '' In fact , Le Portier said he was only scared of one type of animal , the kind which has been raised by humans as an exotic `` pet , '' the one that `` looks dead behind the eyes . '' Le Portier believes these are prowling `` time bombs . '' He warns that one day their natural instincts flood back and without warning they turn aggressive -- these wild animals were never made to be patted . `` I 'm not meant to be his friend ; you are never his real friend . You have to intimidate him , '' Le Portier said . Read more : What 's the buzz on 'Life of Pi ' ? In the cage Le Portier is the boss . But even just a few lapses of concentration in the past have cost him dearly , and he has the scars to prove it . Director Jean-Jacques Annaud believes Le Portier 's job could one day cost him his life . `` Whenever Thierry confronts a wild animal , he risks his life . I think he secretly hopes to die taming , as MoliÃ¨re died acting , in the exercise of his art . ''
Frenchman Thierry Le Portier has been training big cats for the past 49 years . Three of his tigers were used as references for the Oscar-nominated film `` Life of Pi '' Le Portier says training is `` an art '' that takes time and an understanding of the animals . He says the only animals that scare him are those that have been made `` exotic pets ''