“I was down in Savannah finishing a film with John Travolta, Bruce Willis and Blake Jenner when I got a call from director Corry Weins,” says Haynes. Haynes and Weins were scheduled to do another racing movie before COVID-19, but those plans changed during the pandemic. “My grandfather raced. I raced dirt bikes and go-carts before taking a few turns on dirt tracks. I’m pumped to be a part of this.”
“Defying the Odds” is an adaptation of the Bill Lester autobiography. Lester is one of only seven Black drivers to compete in a NASCAR Cup series event and is the first African American to win a NASCAR Grand-Am race. A University of California Berkeley graduate, Lester spent 15 years as an electrical engineer and computer scientist with Hewlett-Packard before his wife convinced him to follow his dream of becoming a professional driver at the age of 40.
“It’s going great,” says Haynes of filming, which began in October in Nashville. “I really wanted to do Bill justice, so I watched him doing interviews to get his mannerisms, and I grew out a mustache for the role — my wife and kids thought it was hilarious. He’s soft-spoken and so well educated. Bill has the heart of a champion, anyone does to get behind the wheel going 140 to 150 miles per hour.”
Haynes was a student-athlete on the Wofford baseball team. He landed his first role in front of the camera during an Interim, but didn’t pursue acting as a career until after making a run as a professional baseball player, first with a Dodgers minor league team, then in Australia and Japan. He’s now done dozens of commercials with brands such as The Home Depot, Pepsi, Nike and Budweiser. Haynes also has been busy lately doing a variety of movies.
The Travolta/Willis film “Paradise City” comes out in early 2022. Haynes plays the captain of the local police department. He also recently finished filming “War of the Worlds,” a military film with Alec and Billy Baldwin.
Haynes is particularly excited about the “Best Summer Ever,” a musical filmed in collaboration with Maggie Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, Benjamin Bratt, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ted Danson and a cast and crew with disabilities.
“There are only about 1% of people with disabilities in our industry,” says Haynes, who plays a singing and dancing high school football coach. “It was shot at Zeno Mountain Farm, an incredible community in Vermont. It was such an honor to learn more and be a part of that experience.” Haynes’s own company, B12Haynes Production, also has been successful since it was established seven years ago. In 2021 he partnered with Light of Life films and director and friend Matt McCauley. They shot a faith-based movie called “UnDefiled,” in which Haynes plays a minor league baseball player who stumbles across a sex trafficking ring.
“Anytime I can do faith-based or create a project where I’m shining a light in a positive way, that’s always my goal, especially with having children now,” says Haynes. “I want them to be proud of the work I do. I also love being a creator and executive producer because it gives me the opportunity to create something from scratch and watch it grow.”
Haynes is working with the “UnDefiled” writers and creators on other projects that will be ready in 2022. He’s particularly excited because his daughter, Addison, is making her film debut as Haynes’ screen daughter in one of the movies.
“One of my commercials came on television, and Addison didn’t know that I had a daughter in this commercial. She looks at me and says, ’Daddy, I don’t like that you have other children for pretend,’” says Haynes, who explained that sometimes that’s just part of the job. Addison decided then that she would start auditioning for roles as Haynes’ on-screen daughter. “I love it because she, Lauren Grace and Kyrsten, my wife, are my biggest supporters and fans — in addition to my dad, of course, who never missed a Wofford baseball game — yet when I’m at home, I’m just daddy, who cooks, cleans, does laundry and takes the girls to school. As Kyrsten likes to say, ’You’re back in reality now.’”
By Jo Ann Mitchell Brasington ’89