Evan Hayes - Award-Winning Producer and Director

Evan Hayes has spent his career bringing ambitious stories to life, even when the odds of getting them made seemed impossibly long. An Academy Award, BAFTA, and Emmy Award-winning producer and director, Evan has worked on everything from Love Actually and Les Misérables to Everest and the Oscar-winning documentary Free Solo. Now, as Head of Film & Television and Executive Director at Unreasonable Studios, he's exploring new ways to bring Hollywood, brands, and audiences together. In this conversation with Ryan, Evan takes us behind the scenes of Free Solo, including the difficult ethical questions surrounding Alex Honnold's historic climb and the terrifying responsibility of preparing for what could go wrong. He also opens up about why hearing “no” never gets easier, what 25 years in an ever-changing entertainment industry have taught him about persistence, and why he believes the future of storytelling lies in unexpected collaborations between creators, studios, and brands