Van Hayden has worked in film and television production for the past 33 years, primarily as a 1st Assistant Director, on shows including: I Wanna Dance With Somebody, The Wonder Years (2021), Kenan; Respect; American Skin, Hustle & Flow, Almost Christmas, Barbershop 3, Night School, All Eyes on Me; Real Husbands of Hollywood (5 Seasons), Kids, Oprah Winfrey Presents: Their Eyes Were Watching God, The Assassination of Richard Nixon, Let’s Go to Prison, Stonewall, Stranger Inside, But, I’m A Cheerleader, Whitney, and Project Greenlight.
Hayden began his production career in the Fall of 1989, when he drove from his native Minneapolis to Brooklyn, New York, to intern on the set of Spike Lee’s fourth feature film Mo’ Better Blues. After production ended on the film, Lee hired Hayden to work at the prolific filmmaker’s Brooklyn-based production headquarters, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, where Hayden assisted with the sales and promotion of Lee’s prodigious line of film merchandise, traveled with Lee to more than 20 college speaking engagements across North America and worked as a Production Assistant on Lee’s fifth and sixth feature films Jungle Fever and Malcolm X, respectively. During the five years that followed, Hayden continued to gain invaluable experience, working as Lee’s Assistant Director on national commercials for Nike, featuring Michael Jordan, Little Richard, and Marv Albert; Diet Coke; Levis Button-fly Jeans; The Emmy-Award winning HBO Documentary Brooklyn’s Own, Iron Mike Tyson; and music videos for artists including Prince, Arrested Development and Fishbone.
In 2000, Hayden joined the Directors Guild of America, where he was elected and re-elected to serve as a Co-Chair of The Guild’s African American Steering Committee; The Guild’s A.D./UPM Council; A founding member of The Guild’s 1st A.D. Committee; And named three times to The Guild’s National Negotiating Committee. Hayden worked as the First Assistant Director on Oprah Winfrey Presents Their Eyes Were Watching God; And the Whitney Houston biopic Whitney. Both films were nominated for the prestigious Directors Guild of America’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in a Television Drama. In 2018 Hayden was honored with the Third Annual Baron Jay Foundation, Trailblazer Award, for his outreach, development of and commitment to supporting the next generation of filmmakers and story-tellers from under-represented communities.
Prior to his career in film and television production, Hayden attended The University of Minnesota, majoring in Journalism and Political Science; Worked as a summer intern at The Philadelphia Daily News, New York Newsday, and The Associated Press. While attending The University of Minnesota, Hayden wrote for The Minnesota Daily, where he covered environmental issues and the Minneapolis City Council, before being named News Editor and Associate Managing Editor. While interning at The Daily News in 1985, Hayden won a Regional Spot News Reporting Award from Sigma Delta Chi, The Society of Professional Journalists, for his story chronicling the successful search for a Massachusetts man, in need of a life-saving kidney transplant, amid the crowd of 100,000 revelers, attending the legendary LIVE AID, Concert For African Famine Relief, at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia.
For the past decade, Hayden has served as a judge for the annual Pan-African Film Festival in Los Angeles. In 2018, He relocated from Los Angeles to his hometown Minneapolis, where for the past three years, he has served as a member of the Minnesota Film & Television Board of Directors.