The First Black Director to Direct a Big-Budget Animated Film

Peter Ramsey is a Director, Producer, and Storyboard Artist known as the first black director to direct a big budget animated film with Dreamworks’ Rise of the Guardians and the first black director to win the Academy Award in animation for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. But what is even more inspiring than Peter’s career achievements, however, is that he’s simultaneously working at the top levels of the industry while also maintaining the reputation of being “a nice guy,” proving that you can become successful BECAUSE you treat people with respect, not despite doing so.

In this conversation Peter and I discuss his circuitous route from being a storyboard artist to becoming an Oscar-winning director. Despite growing up in South Central Los Angeles, Peter felt like he was a million miles from Hollywood and never even considered it a realistic career path. Yet with the proper beginner’s mindset (which he maintains to this day), a blue collar work ethic, and the uncanny ability to surround himself with mentors such as Steven Spielberg, John Singleton, Ron Howard, Robert Zemeckis, and Francis Ford Coppola, (just to name a small few), Peter was able to carve his own unique path while providing value to others along the way.

No matter your creative career ambitions and the obstacles standing between you and your goals, Peter’s inspiring story and infectious optimism will motivate you to push past your own limits and design your dream career. Beyond game-changing (yet practical) advice on how to get out of your own way on your path towards success, Peter also shares outstanding advice about how we can further diversify Hollywood and allow anyone regardless of race, gender, or disability to have their voices and life experiences heard.

Want to Hear More Episodes Like This One?

» Click here to subscribe and never miss another episode

Here's What You'll Learn:

• How you can stand out in the industry and get great jobs without having to know it all - or even pretend like you do
• How you can build authentic relationships with top tier mentors (Steven Spielberg was just one mentor Peter worked with because of this)
• The number one killer of creativity…is this the source of your creative blocks?
• How to keep moving forward towards your dream job with optimism even if you feel like your career has been filled with more setbacks than success
• How to stop letting imposter syndrome keep you from enjoying your job and advancing your career with confidence (and it’s not ‘getting rid’ of imposter syndrome…)
• The one step we can ALL take to better diversify the voices and creatives in Hollywood…have you done it yet?

Continue to Listen & Learn

On the Vital Importance of "Being Nice" | with Jesse Averna, ACE

On the Importance of Building Relationships, Asking Questions, and Never Giving Up | with Andi Armaganian

Breaking Into (and Making It) In the Industry as People of Color | with Mirra Watkins, Ariel Brown, and Isaiah Cary

How to Cultivate a “Service-Centric” Mindset (and Why It Will Make You More Successful) | with Agustin Rexach

How to Be So Thorough You Can’t Be Denied | with James Wilcox, ACE

Guest Bio:

Peter Ramsey

Peter Ramsey began his career as a storyboard artist on a number of feature films such as Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Boyz n the Hood, Minority Report, and Fight Club. He entered the world of feature animation, directing Dreamworks Animation’s Rise of the Guardians in 2012 and as a co-director on Sony Pictures Animation’s Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse in 2018, which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

Currently Peter is developing both live action and animated projects. His latest as director is the Netflix miniseries Lost Ollie.

Show Credits:

This episode was edited by Curtis Fritsch, and the show notes were prepared by Debby Germino and published by Glen McNiel.

The original music in the opening and closing of the show is courtesy of Joe Trapanese (who is quite possibly one of the most talented composers on the face of the planet).