The Transformation Of Justin Baldoni

Having starred in the hit U.S. telenovela, "Jane the Virgin," directed box office smash "It Ends with Us," and co-founded production company Wayfarer Studios over the last decade, the continually shady Justin Baldoni has gradually become one of Hollywood's most successful multi-talents. Born in Los Angeles on January 24, 1984 to father Sam and mother Sharon, the star also grew up in Medford, Oregon with his religious family before making his bid for fame. And his ascent to the A-list seemed guaranteed when his third film behind the director's chair became the surprise hit of 2024.

Of course, the impressive worldwide gross of "It Ends with Us" was soon overshadowed by Baldoni's tempestuous relationship with leading lady Blake Lively. So how did the former get into a position where he was steering a $25 million budget big-screen romance in the first place? And where do documentaries about terminal illnesses, Top 40 radio stations, and self-help guides for young boys fit into his eventful story? Here's a look at the one of the most hotly contested men in Hollywood's dramatic transformation.

Justin Baldoni spent much of his teenage years on the track and soccer field, as he explained to fans on X, formerly known as Twitter. After commenting on the 2018 World Cup game between Belgium and Japan, the actor was asked whether he played the sport too. "Since I was 5," Baldoni answered. "Spent two years in the Olympic Development program in Oregon."

The multi-talent, who added that he's still very much a soccer player in his heart, also went on to gain a partial athletic scholarship at California State University at Long Beach before suffering a hamstring injury which forced him to pursue other ambitions. As his army of social media followers, and anyone who's seen his shirtless scenes on camera, will already know, though, the actor sure hasn't let the setback prevent him from keeping fit.

Before heading to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting, Justin Baldoni got a small taste of the showbiz world as a DJ on his local Medford, Oregon radio station as a teen. In a 2020 interview with "The Founder Hour," the "Jane the Virgin" star revealed that he got the gig as part of an initiative designed to help youngsters discover their career paths.

"[It was] the only thing I could find that was comparable to the entertainment industry in my little town," he explained about his first job as a 16-year-old. Baldoni initially presented the midnight slot on Fridays and Saturdays before moving into the daytime, albeit via pre-records since he was still at school at the time.

Baldoni, who had a DJ name (Justin Case) and slogan ("The perfect face for radio"), also enjoyed a few perks during this period. When asked about his all-time favorite concert by Uproxx, the star replied, "Coolio. Medford Oregon. I was 17 and I was a DJ at the radio station that brought him so I got to MC the concert. 'Gangsta's Paradise' forever."

Justin Baldoni may now be a hotshot director with a box office phenomenon to his name. But he owes much of his career to the world of the daytime soap opera. Indeed, the multi-talent made his acting debut playing Ben in three episodes of "The Young and the Restless" back in 2004. And his resume is littered with similar roles.

In 2010, Baldoni landed a 10-episode gig on "The Bold and the Beautiful" as Graham Darros, a hugely controversial character who was revealed to have sexually assaulted Sarah Joy Brown's character, Sandy Sommers. Four years earlier, the Californian enjoyed a recurring role as medical student Reid Bardem on the primetime soap opera, "Everwood." And who can forget his performances as Marbella Hotel owner Rafael Solano on the comedic telenovela "Jane the Virgin"?

Such experiences have left Baldoni with a strong appreciation of the craft, as he told Soaps: "I was shocked with the amount of pages we had to learn each day. I have to say, I have so much respect for all of the actors who do this every day; their brains are machines and it requires some tremendous talent to be able to learn that many pages and make choices that fast."

After getting the directing bug with his work directing music videos, like Devon Gundry's 2008 music video "Armed," Justin Baldoni made the move into documentaries four years later with "My Last Days," a digital series that began in 2012, telling the stories of several individuals with life-threatening or terminal illnesses.

Baldoni was inspired to tackle such difficult subject matter after his uncle was diagnosed and then sadly died from lung cancer, a tragedy that forced him to shift his view on the meaning of both life and death. "I had a big spiritual shift in my mid-20s when I realized that I wasn't actually being of service in the way that I was raised," he explained to The Peace Studio.

"My Last Days," which featured everything from a "Star Wars" fan who refused to let his 14-year-battle with leukemia stop him from participating in mud runs to a gospel singer afflicted with a rare sleep apnea condition, proved to be a huge success. In fact, it quickly became one of the most-watched documentary series in YouTube history at the time.

No one could ever accuse Justin Baldoni of winging it when it came to his marriage proposal. In 2012, the "Con Man" star went viral thanks to a YouTube video in which he popped the question to Emily Baldoni in the most elaborate, attention-grabbing style.

In the 27-minute clip (yes, 27 minutes!), Emily is first seen taking a seat at the same Blu Jam Cafe, where she and Justin enjoyed their first date. Having been told her boyfriend is running a little late, she's then surprised when presented with a recorded video of the star planning to ask for her hand in marriage on a fake radio show. Justin then ropes in several pals to lipsync to the likes of *NSYNC, Boyz II Men, and ABBA before staging a flash mob to the tune of Bruno Mars' "Marry Me."

If this wasn't enough, Justin is then shown looking for an engagement ring in a fictional crime drama before he finally turns up to the restaurant in person to propose. "You're the woman that has changed my life," he tells future wife Emily. "I've never been happier, never been sadder. I've never been more angry, life has never been more beautiful." Luckily for the actor, and his parents and future mother-in-law who were also in attendance, the object of his affections said "yes." But while many saw the gesture as romantic, others believed it was the first of the many weird things about Emily and Justin's marriage.

Justin Baldoni added another string to his bow in 2013 when he and Steve Sarowitz set up Wayfarer Entertainment, a production company that "strives to harness the power of storytelling to champion inspirational stories that act as true agents for social change."

Later rebranded as Wayfarer Studios, Baldoni's empire has helped bring everything from hit animation "The Garfield Movie" and road trip documentary "Will and Harper" to sports biopic "The Senior," and, of course, romantic drama "It Ends With Us" to the screen. But it also has a philanthropic arm that has introduced initiatives such as Los Angeles' Skid Row Carnival of Love, an event which aims to help provide essential services to the homeless community.

Baldoni presented the company's altruistic side further in a 2024 interview with Forbes: "People are not just numbers and obstacles on the path to success. They are humans and individuals with souls, and if we want to have success and be different, we have to be different. We have to treat people differently."

After nearly a decade of bit-parts, supporting roles, and cameos, Justin Baldoni climbed several steps up the Hollywood ladder when he was cast as Gina Rodriguez's love interest, Rafael Solano, in the cast of the CW's hit telenovela-inspired comedy, "Jane the Virgin." Baldoni appeared in all but one of the 100 episodes that went out between 2014 and 2019 as the Marbella Hotel's hunky owner, whose narrative arc included a divorce, stint in prison, and eventual marriage to the titular character. And in its fourth season, the multi-talent also stepped behind the camera to direct the episode titled, "Chapter Seventy-Eight."

In an interview with Backstage, Baldoni revealed that he was on the verge of giving up acting in order to concentrate on his production company shortly before landing the role of the fan favorite: "My career was going the director way, but I said to my wife and my manager, 'If something's really good that supports our mission, yes, I'd love to.' 'Jane The Virgin' was the second thing that I auditioned for."

Justin Baldoni might have the kind of body that even the most dedicated gym bro would be envious of. But in 2018, the former soap opera regular admitted to the world that he doesn't see what everyone else sees when he looks in the mirror.

During a candid TED Talk about the subject, Baldoni told audiences that he'd been struggling with body dysmorphia for most of his adult life. He later elaborated to Cosmopolitan about how such feelings surfaced, saying, "No matter what I do, I never feel like I'm strong enough, or muscular enough or big enough, and that comes down to being the super skinny kid that was picked on and bullied."

Baldoni also added that the requirement to take his shirt off in practically every TV show or film he's appeared in hasn't helped matters, either. Indeed, while staying in shape wasn't that much of a problem in his 20s, the actor has found the process much more anxiety-inducing as he's approaching middle age. "My body doesn't naturally stay in that, 'Oh, I'm just walking around with an 8-pack all the time,'" he explained. "And because I have my insecurities with my physique, because of my history, I'd put a lot of pressure on myself before I had to do these scenes."

If you need help with an eating disorder, or know someone who does, help is available. Visit the National Eating Disorders Association website or contact NEDA's Live Helpline at 1-800-931-2237. You can also receive 24/7 Crisis Support via text (send NEDA to 741-741).

Having directed various shorts, music videos, and documentaries, Justin Baldoni made the step up to helming feature films in 2019 with "Five Feet Apart." The romantic drama starred former child star Cole Sprouse and Haley Lu Richardson as two cystic fibrosis patients who, despite having to keep the titular distance from each other, end up falling in love.

"I'm a hopeless romantic and 'Romeo and Juliet' was my favorite play of all time," Baldoni told The Hollywood Reporter about what attracted him to the project. "I just thought how interesting that the one person that should be able to understand you more than anybody is the one person you have to stay away from." He also thanked Claire Wineland, the cystic fibrosis patient who he met while filming the acclaimed series, "My Last Days," for providing inspiration.

A year later, Baldoni drew upon the life of another terminally ill real-life figure for his second directorial effort. Based on the memoir, "Fly a Little Higher: How God Answered a Mom's Small Prayer in a Big Way," "Clouds" saw Fin Argus play Zach Sobiech, a Minnesota teen who refused to let his osteosarcoma diagnosis thwart his musical dreams.

Not content with just being an actor, producer, director, and multimedia empire hotshot, Justin Baldoni added yet another string to his bow in 2021 when he published his first book. And like his same-named online chat show, it centered on the theme of what it means to be a man in the modern age.

"For me, this is a radical act of self-love," Baldoni told Forbes about the inspiration behind "Man Enough: Undefining My Masculinity." "Using whatever little platform I have to talk about these issues forces me to learn in real time, forces me to go deeper, forces me to not allow the bar to be so low that I can just crawl over it and get a pat on the back." The multi-hyphenate went on to say that he also wrote the book for his wife, Emily, their two children, his personal assistant, and essentially for the future of mankind.

Baldoni further attempted to establish himself as a multi-generational voice the following year with his second published effort. As its title suggests, "Boys Will Be Human: A Get-Real Gut-Check Guide to Becoming the Strongest, Kindest, Bravest Person You Can Be" is a self-help book designed to help boys aged 11 and upwards to build their self-esteem and look after their emotional wellbeing.

Justin Baldoni's career reached new heights in 2024 when he directed, starred in, and produced the hit adaptation of Colleen Hoover's best-selling novel, "It Ends With Us." Indeed, the film's worldwide gross of over $309 million in the two months after its release was the highest for a romantic drama since "A Star Is Born" six years previously.

Brought to the big screen by Baldoni's Wayfarer Studios, the film starred Blake Lively as a woman embroiled in a love triangle with her first boyfriend and her abusive neurosurgeon husband, the latter played by Baldoni. Its impressive box office haul also dwarfed that of other contemporary romantic releases such as "Crazy Rich Asians," "The Fault In Our Stars," and "Anyone But You."

Unsurprisingly, talk soon turned to a follow-up, something which Baldoni was non-committal about during a chat with E! News. "People ask me all the time about sequels. We are in this place where we are just trying to be in the moment," he expressed. "And I'm just overwhelmed with gratitude for the lives that this has impacted and changed." Of course, the movie's phenomenal success was soon overshadowed by a series of twists and turns behind the scenes.

Several months after storming the box office, "It Ends With Us" ended up back in the headlines. This time, however, it was for all the wrong reasons. In an astonishing turn of events, leading lady Blake Lively filed a legal complaint in December 2024 which claimed that she'd been subjected to repeated sexual harassment by its director during their time on set (which can also make Baldoni and Lively's uncomfortable on-set pictures be seen in a totally different light).

The complainant alleged that Justin Baldoni improvised various physically intimate scenes that hadn't been in the original script and was forced to "simulate full nudity" during the film's birthing scene. According to reports, an emergency meeting, also attended by Lively's husband Ryan Reynolds, had to be called to prevent the movie's production from stalling, and an intimacy coordinator was subsequently hired. If that wasn't enough, Lively also believed that her Hollywood reputation had been soured due to a sustained attack instigated by Baldoni and his communications team in the wake of the film's release.

Lively was supported by author Colleen Hoover, whose same-named book the movie was adapted from, and several of her castmates, including Brandon Sklenar and Jenny Slate. "What has been revealed about the attack on Blake is terribly dark, disturbing, and wholly threatening," Slate said in a statement (via Variety). "I commend my friend, I admire her bravery, and I stand by her side." As you'd expect, the story didn't end there.

Following the multiple damaging claims against him made by Blake Lively relating to the filming of the box office hit, "It Ends With Us," director Justin Baldoni initially took the defensive approach, issuing a strongly worded denial that described the allegations as "categorically false."

But after being ditched by talent agency William Morris Endeavor and issued with another lawsuit by his former publicist, Baldoni decided to go on the attack. First, he sued The New York Times for printing Lively's claims, arguing (via GMA) that the newspaper had "cowered to the wants and whims of two powerful 'untouchable' Hollywood elites." Then, he came after the complainant herself.

Indeed, in January 2025, Baldoni filed a lawsuit against his co-star and her husband Ryan Reynolds to the tune of $400 mrillion, arguing that he'd been subjected to defamation, invasion of privacy, and civil extortion. Expanding on the claim, attorney Bryan Freedman told the press (via BBC) that Lively and her team had "grossly edited, unsubstantiated, new and doctored information to the media" and "attempted to bulldoze reputations and livelihoods for heinously selfish reasons." In response, the defendants described the action as "another chapter in the abuser playbook."