Although he wouldn't admit it, Tanner Foust has led a Hollywood life. From his stunt acting in Ford v Ferrari, The Bourne Ultimatum and The Fast & The Furious to drifting with Colin McRae and Hulk Hogan, there's very little that our Extreme E star hasn't experienced.

A session spent getting to know the American was like unlocking a treasure chest stuffed full of golden nuggets, with stories about his time on various film sets and Top Gear USA to the reason why he loves broccoli. Settle in and get comfortable as we get to know the real Tanner Foust…

Where did you grow up?

I was a military brat, so I moved around a lot. I mostly lived in Northern California and, for four years, Northern Scotland.

Who was your favourite athlete growing up?

One of the few driving heroes I had growing up was Colin McRae, and I was fortunate enough to be teammates with him at the X-Games in 2006. Strangely, I took him drifting with Hulk Hogan. Drifting with Colin McRae and Hulk Hogan in Los Angeles was a unique experience I'll never forget.

Wait, what?

I was doing a show with Nick Hogan, Hulk's son. I was bringing a drift car out to train Nick Hogan how to drift, and Colin was in town for the X-Games, and I invited him along. Before you knew it, we were ripping around with Hulk Hogan.

The biggest problem for Colin was that he didn't know what to call him. He was asking, 'do I call him Mr Hogan? Do I call him Terry, which is his real name? Do I call him Hulk?' He was completely perplexed about how he was going to greet Terry. Honestly, I still don't know what to call him, but obviously, Colin jumped in the drift car and was amazing. I don't think Nick knew who Colin was at the time, but he certainly knew after that experience.

How do you relax away from racing?

Outside of racing, I do a lot of stunt driving, which is strangely relaxing. Directly from Sardinia, I went to shoot a movie called The Old Guard 2, which was for Netflix. There are a lot of movies filming in Europe right now that I have been involved in. For example, I trained Keanu Reeves to do most of his own driving in John Wick: Chapter 4, and I also doubled for him for part of it. 

At home, I like to get on the water. I live near the water in Newport Beach, and I like to get on the water with my daughter and family, and we go and chase dolphins and swim in the ocean.

What is at the top of your bucket list?

I have recently driven a McLaren at Laguna Seca. I grew up with a poster of that car on my wall, and saw it as an unattainable hero machine, so that was a big deal. Now I've got to come up with another bucket list item.

What is your favourite food?

Broccoli. It's like eating little trees - maybe it's a short man complex, but I like being a giant.

If you could go back to any moment in history, what would it be?

It's tough because I don't know the exact moment, but I love the era of the transition from buggies to cars. In an era where you still went to a coachbuilder to get your car, they would say, 'We have a Rolls Royce engine, we have a Mercedes, a Duesenberg', And you could choose any one of those from the same 'dealership'.

When they were racing these cars, proving their engines' reliability, and doing 100 miles an hour, I would've liked to have been there the first time any car broke 100 miles an hour. I can imagine it was one of the most death-defying sights ever because everybody still had it in their minds that they were at horse speeds. For me, that seems like it was a really big turning point in the mobility of humans.

If you weren't a driver, what would you be?

I graduated with a degree in biology, and I was studying to be a doctor, but even before I graduated, I thought I'd more likely want to be an architect than a doctor. I was looking into architecture, but then I was bitten by the driving bug, and thankfully that path has lasted for 25 years. But if I had to answer, I think probably an architect, or potentially a pilot.

What is the best thing about being a racing driver?

Winning. It's a bizarre balance of relief and accomplishment and reward for doing your job and winning for a whole team.

A quote to live by?

This applies to Rallycross and certainly to Extreme E, it's a quote from Mike Tyson: "Everybody's got a plan until they get punched in the face."

What is your greatest professional achievement?

Converting an interest and a passion into a profession. It's something that I talk to people about all the time. They have interests and passions but don't know how to make a living at it - making that transition is probably my greatest professional accomplishment.

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