Raised without access to a television, Laurence Rhoderic Blackhurst IV (but you can call him Rod) graduated with a degree in French Literature from Colgate University before realizing the real world didn’t much care about GPAs and Diplomas. He loaded up his Subaru station wagon in upstate NY and made like Lewis and Clark for the Pacific to pursue a career in filmmaking.

Rod is best known as the Emmy and Critics Choice nominated director of the Netflix Original Documentary Amanda Knox and the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival Audience Award Winning Narrative Film Here Alone. His most recent projects include upcoming action thriller Blood for Dust starring Kit Harington (from Game of Thrones) and Scoot McNairy; John Wayne Gacy: Devil In Disguise, which was the Peacock network’s first banner true-crime documentary series; and “Descent Into Darkness,” an episode of National Geographic’s Welcome to Earth series, Executive Produced by Darren Aronofsky and hosted by Will Smith.

With an amazing talent enabling him to cross over many genres, Rod’s filmmaking experience lends itself to a vast body of commercial work, as well. Recognized with an AdWeek Ark Award (Delta “Give Life”) and shortlisted for a Cannes Lion (Uber Freight “Take Me Home”), he has also directed campaigns for AirBnB, Hilton, Ram Trucks, and Panadol.