The visionary director opens up about leading with love, directing across three networks, and creating stories that heal and empower communities.
Anthony Hemingway is a Golden Globe, Emmy, and NAACP Award-winning director and producer who has become one of television’s most sought-after visionaries. Known for his work on The Wire, Power, The People vs. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story, and Genius: Aretha, Hemingway directs with purpose, creating stories that bring healing and humanity to underrepresented communities. Currently, he’s directing across three major networks: Hulu’s All’s Fair, CBS’s Boston Blue, and Starz’s Power Book IV: Force.
How did you get to where you are today, working across Hulu, Starz, and CBS?
My journey is an absolute joy. I am thankful and grateful for every opportunity, every high and every low. My journey started with a dream from a very young age where I grew up around mortality. My sister died when she was 7, I was 4, and that landed heavily on me. I wanted to heal and save the world, so I pursued being a doctor.
My senior year in high school, I completely had a change of heart. I am second generation in this industry. I was a child actor, extra. I started PAing when I was 13 years old. My mother was a production coordinator. Bruce Paltrow became my North Star. He helped me see how healing and impactful the art of storytelling can be. I became the youngest person to join the DGA at 19 years old as a second assistant director.
I became a first assistant director at 22, and 8 years later, on The Wire, I directed at 30. . It’s so purposeful for me. I am on a mission to serve him, and I give him all the glory because I am just a vessel to tell stories, to allow people to be seen and heard.
You’re one of the few openly gay Black male directors flourishing at the highest levels of Hollywood. How has your identity shaped the emotional truth that you bring to your work?
I always lead with love. I love fostering environments where people feel safe and can be comfortable and strong in their truth. I want to show that representation, that it can happen. We are faced too many times with so many issues or reasons that try to defy what’s possible, and I’m standing here, a living truth and testimony that it is possible. I lead with love in everything that I do. To me, that is the greatest defense mechanism that I have.
What do you consider your personal signature as a director?
As an artist, my style is authenticity. I enjoy observing and paying attention to behavior and life, and I just try to capture the nuances and things that really are a part of helping contribute to the experience that you should feel. If I had a way, it’s just authentically impactful. It’s about impact at the end of the day, and I love to be authentic about the work.
You’re directing across three networks. How do you maintain that creative stamina?
I have a loving husband and a loving partner. We both respect each other so fully and completely. We support each other. The drive and determination is because I love it. I go to sleep ready, waiting to wake up the next day to figure out what that day is gonna hold. It’s exciting, being able to navigate these different networks and platforms and be supported by them all.
Let’s talk about All’s Fair. Episode 108 has been described as a major turning point. What new emotional terrain were you most excited to bring to this episode?
As we get into 8, you start to see deeper inside of Carr, played by Sarah Paulson. First of all, Sarah Paulson is a genius. She’s an amazing actor. God broke the mold when he made her. You get to really see more of the trauma that’s really been festering underneath all of her actions and the dynamic of where she stands with her family. There’s a lot of fun, a lot of sexy time going on in the episode.
How do you approach shaping performances for actors like Naomi Watts, Sarah Paulson, Niecy Nash-Betts, Teyana Taylor, and Kim Kardashian?
I approach each one of them individually with the same basis of recognition, support, insulation to protect them, to be safe, to be vulnerable as they need to in these characters. I’m letting them know that I’m always with them. It was awesome to work with them all, because they all got along, it was such a great set. They all supported each other, they really liked each other.
What resonates most with audiences as it pertains to All’s Fair?
It’s a show that’s an escapism that allows you to have some wish fulfillment, have some fantasy, see yourself. Single moms raising kids, someone going through relationship challenges. You see all these connectors through the show, but it’s done in such a beautiful tone and balance where it’s enjoyable. That’s the beauty of Ryan Murphy. He has been afforded the opportunity that not all people get to be as truthful as you should be in storytelling.
In Power Book IV: Force episode 302, Tommy Egan is navigating lethal alliances. What visual language did you lean into?
I did the pilot to Power, and I was there helping establish and create these characters. What I was excited to bring back into Force is that influence and heartbeat of Power. Joe and I love collaborating with each other. That’s how I approach all my work, with intentionality.
Tommy is one of our favorite characters. What makes him such a lovable character?
Tommy, Joe, is sexy. He’s charismatic, he’s got swag. He’s from Chicago, so he knows the essence of the grit of an inner city. The greatest thing that I could have ever done was trust him. He doesn’t get the credit or recognition that he deserves, and he’s such an artist and a talent. I really love working with him.
Your pilot, Boston Blue. What was your North Star when crafting this new universe?
I’m gonna bring it back to love. When I saw the opportunity to show the intersection of two faiths, seeing Judaism and Christianity come together, thrive, love each other, respect each other, and can still be our individual selves, being a family of law enforcement. The challenge was making sure that the legacy and love of Blue Bloods was still going to be delivered. It just got renewed for season 2.
When you look at the body of work that you’ve built, what do you want your legacy to be?
I want people to remember that I cared. That I love life, and that I just wanted to give every bit of me and everything that I do where they can either be seen, heard, or felt. That’s it.