Eric Haywood
Writer. Director.
A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Eric began his career directing and producing music videos featuring such artists as Usher, Cee-Lo Green, Outkast, New Edition, Ice-T, and Tupac Shakur. His video for E-40’s song “Sprinkle Me” was selected by MTV and XXL Magazine as the #10 Greatest West Coast Rap Video of All Time.
Eric went on to write for such shows as ABC’s Private Practice and Showtime’s Soul Food: The Series. Along the way, he wrote and directed three short films (Nick of Time, Intersection, and Staring at the Sun), each of which screened at various film festivals around the country.
Eric also wrote the Hallmark Channel original movie Relative Stranger, starring Eriq LaSalle (E.R.) and directed by Charles Burnett (Killer of Sheep). The film garnered three NAACP Image Award nominations and a Best Supporting Actress Emmy nomination for Cicely Tyson.
Eric wrote and directed the independent feature film Four of Hearts before joining the writing staff of the hit Fox drama Empire. He co-wrote and directed an episode of Empire’s fourth season, then directed the award-winning short film The Last Starship before going on to serve as a co-executive producer for Starz’s Power, ABC's For Life, and NBC's Manifest and Law & Order: Organized Crime. He has developed projects for HBO, ABC, Fox, and Starz, and is currently developing the "Black Wall Street" historical drama Dreamland for Peacock and Universal Television.
Writer.
Empire (FOX)
Soul Food: The Series
(Showtime)
Private Practice (ABC)
Relative Stranger
(Hallmark Channel)
Director.
The Last Starship (short film trailer)
Four of Hearts (feature film)
Empire, "Sweet Sorrow" (promo)
Music Video Sizzle Reel