Theres all kinds of people in this world who are gay that are in every kind of profession that you can think of, he remembers saying to the boy. You can do anything you want to do if you put your mind to it. The encouragement worked. The teen decided to live.
Maybe the best proof of a documentarys success lies in how it changes the people who watch it. Hurley, directed by Derek Dodge and produced by Greys Anatomy alum and racing enthusiast Patrick Dempsey, has that transformative power. So does Haywoods wisdom. Granted, its easier being out in 2019 than it was in the 1970s and 1980s. Grant also that getting Hurley made even 10 years ago would have posed a greater challenge than getting it made today.
Thats certainly Haywoods thought, and hes the authority: Hes the winner of five Rolex 24 at Daytona endurance races, three 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance races, and two 12 Hours of Sebring endurance races, and he achieved these successes among many others as a gay man working within one of the most macho businesses on the planet.
Not that his sexual orientation ever held him back: I've been racing for over 40 years, says Haywood, speaking about the film as well as his career in a recent interview with Mens Health. Most people in the industry, I mean team owners and co-drivers, have known my sexuality and that's never been necessarily a problem. He cites one unnamed driver out of hundreds who refused to drive with him, but thats it. Maybe hes lucky. Anyone born during or after that time frame might be surprised to learn that the racing world accepted him at all, though perhaps acceptance comes more readily to those gifted enough to rise to the top of the field. LGBTQ acceptance today is a head and shoulders improvement over the acceptance given to LGBTQ communities decades ago, though there's still a ways to go.
Haywood expresses some doubt that making Hurley in 2009 would have been as easy as making it in 2019 (rather 2014, when Dodge approached Dempsey to ask his assistance in getting the film into production). It was difficult for people to come out 10 years ago or 15 years ago, Haywood explains, and it's easier for them to come out now because I think America has sort of grown and has been a much more accepting a country.
The movies, in Haywoods estimation, are a powerful tool for conveying a message and for changing hearts and minds. You might not agree today about the rights of the LGBT community, says Haywood, but maybe after you see the film, you might say, Maybe I misjudged these people and what these people can do. As far as Americas come in the last decade, the country has a ways to go yet; perhaps Hurley can help Americans walk that road. True, Hurley is one movie, and its a bit much to expect one movie to remedy ingrained anti-gay prejudice in the United States. But if the movie changes one persons mind, maybe its done its job.