Rick Carter is a two-time Academy Award–winning production designer, winning Oscars for James Cameron’s Avatar and Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln, and receiving additional nominations for Forrest Gump, War Horse and The Fabelmans. A frequent collaborator of Spielberg, his work spans Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Munich, War of the Worlds, The BFG and The Post. Carter has also designed numerous films for Robert Zemeckis, including Back to the Future Parts II and III, Death Becomes Her, What Lies Beneath, Cast Away and The Polar Express, and most recently co-production designed Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
In this episode, Rick Carter and Apotheosis host Alexander Whittenberg discuss the lifelong journey of a production designer, moving fluidly between Carter’s formative influences, his love of drawing and storytelling and the philosophy that has guided his decades-long career.
Through thoughtful, often poetic reflection, Carter shares how curiosity, research and emotional intuition shape his approach to world-building, and how collaboration—especially long-standing creative relationships—forms the foundation of meaningful design.
The conversation also explores the responsibility of visual storytelling, the balance between structure and play and the importance of remaining open to discovery, even at the highest levels of the craft. Along the way, Carter offers generous insight into the value of staying connected to the joy of film-making, resulting in a rich dialogue about creativity and the enduring power of humility and imagination in production design.
A high concept collage Carter made during his work on Back to the Future Part Two.
"Embedded in creativity for me, I would say, is questioning."
Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is surrounded by the “Spirit of Eywa” in Avatar.
Jurassic Park ushered in a new generation of digital imagery.
"I think that I would invariably say I don't know who I am, but that I often find the clues in where I am."
Lincoln earned Carter his second Academy Award.
