Director~Actor~Writer~Musician~Animator

Jimmy Hayward is a writer, director, animator and musician from Vancouver who blends a combination of unique filmmaking skills. A pioneer in digital filmmaking, as a teen he directed several commercials and then was a supervising animator on the first ever CG television show for ABC, called REBOOT! 

He continued on to be the youngest of the original 18 animators at PIXAR on the ground breaking film TOY STORY. Hayward remained at PIXAR for a decade participating in story, animation and development on TOY STORY 2, A BUG’S LIFE, FINDING NEMO, MONSTER’S INC and THE INCREDIBLES. 

Jimmy then moved to Los Angeles after selling his first series to MTV.  While there he met the head of 20th Century Fox, who brought him on as a writer for the 2006 hit picture ROBOTS starring Robin Williams and Mel Brooks which grossed 260 million dollars. After writing several key sequences, Jimmy was brought on as a director for the duration of the film, which led to him developing and directing Dr. Suess’s HORTON HEARS A WHO with Jim Carrey and Steve Carell which earned 346 million at the box office.

Jimmy then directed JONAH HEX at Warner Brothers and although not initially a big success, it went on to earn significantly as a mainstay on streaming services and paid downloads. Jimmy then wrote and directed FREE BIRDS starring Woody Harrelson and Owen Wilson, which earned over 150 million dollars from a budget of 40 million dollars. Hayward has written scripts for Columbia Pictures, 20th century Fox, Warner Bros, Fox TV and many others, as well as consulting on films like Ice Age: The Meltdown and The Simpsons Movie.

In 2015 Jimmy and partners created BABY GIANT, a Berlin and Los Angeles Animation, VFX and Development Studio, who created VFX for live action series and animation production on shows for Disney, Netflix, and many others while developing a diverse slate of original series and features.

Having worked with Composers like John Powell, Marco Beltrami and Dominic Lewis. Jimmy is an avid musician and has participated in scores for his pictures. Jimmy plays in LEGEND OF THE SEAGULLMEN with Danny Carey from TOOL and Brent Hinds from MASTODON, who also scored one of Hayward’s films. Their debut album (which Hayward also produced) hit number thirteen on the Billboard Heatseeker charts. Jimmy has also created videos for and created cinematic visual elements with bands like Queens of The Stone Age, Tool, Primus, Mastodon and collaborated with Jack Black and other comedians for the infamous punk band OFF!

Jimmy lives between Los Angeles and Vancouver with his producer wife Dasha Hayward and their two kids Mila and Grayden. He has several projects in development while continuing to make art every waking moment. After a six year battle with cancer and over 30 surgeries rebuilding his face, Jimmy is cancer free and ready for his second act!