[2] Graysmark was involved with film from an early age, through his father, who was construction co-ordinator at Elstree Studios.
[3] Benefiting from his father's advice and contacts, within 5 years Graysmark had met or worked with the leading British film designers or art directors of the time, including John Box, Ken Adam, Don Ashton, Geoff Drake and Tony Masters.
[3] During 20 years in the art department, Graysmark worked on such films as Lawrence of Arabia, The Guns of Navarone, 2001, Young Winston (which earned him an Academy Award nomination), The Man With The Golden Gun and Escape to Athena.
Ragtime (1981) was a turning point in Graysmark's career, the first film he did with the title production designer.
[3] Having worked for producer Dino de Laurentiis on 1980s Flash Gordon as supervising art director, under Italian designers Ferdinando Scarfiotti and Danilo Donati, Graysmark was later contacted by de Laurentiis, who offered him Ragtime as designer.