His parents, Bert and Hazel Hayward, were cattle ranchers on a farm near Hyannis, Nebraska, about sixty miles east of Hayward's birthplace in Alliance. He spent his early youth working cattle, then, at 16, left home to join the rodeo circuit as a bronc rider and horse trainer. In 1947, he arrived in Los Angeles and sought work as a wrangler on motion pictures. He began doing Stunts in 1949 on The Fighting Kentuckian, doubling John Wayne. The two became pals and Hayward subsequently stunted and doubled Wayne on nearly two dozen of the latter's films. Excelling at all sorts of horseback Stunts, Hayward doubled most stars of the period who found themselves in Westerns or otherwise astride a horse, including Marlon Brando, Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, and Gregory Peck. He was prominent in The Big Country (1958), co-produced by Peck. He was known as "Good Chuck" in contrast to "Bad Chuck", Chuck Roberson another of Wayne's stunt doubles.