Justin Baldoni talks collaborating with Blake Lively and the challenges and triumphs of adapting 'It Ends With Us'

When Justin Baldoni first read Colleen Hoover’s future bestseller It Ends With Us back in 2019, he knew the story was something special. 

“I was just starting Wayfarer Studios and was looking for a very specific type of film—something that could have the potential to be extremely commercial and yet also have the potential to impact and inspire real change,” recalls Baldoni. “My book agent at the time sent it to me and said, ‘This might seem unexpected, but just read it, this book is very special.’ With no backstory of what the book was about, I started reading. I remember being drawn in by the rooftop scene, having no idea where it was going and falling in love with Lily and Ryle. By the end of the book, I was sobbing. I was so moved, and I knew this is exactly the type of film we were looking for.”

It Ends With Us revolves around the complicated romance between aspiring entrepreneur Lily (Blake Lively) and charming yet broody neurosurgeon Ryle (Justin Baldoni) and is loosely based on the relationship between Hoover’s mother and father. The actor and director, best known for playing Rafael Santos on TV’s Jane the Virgin and producing and directing the emotional teen drama Five Feet Apart, was so moved by Hoover’s novel that he reached out to the Texas-based author to express his gratitude for her work and to discuss how it might be adapted for the big screen.

“I emailed Colleen and told her how deeply moved I was by her book and how grateful I was that she wrote it. The timing was quite divine, as we had been emailing just before Five Feet Apart was released. She then went and saw Five Feet Apart and emailed me, saying that based on that film she was confident I could do her book justice and that our visions would align. Those early emails were the start of a beautiful friendship and we started to figure out how to make this happen.”

Baldoni says his top priority in adapting the novel was to honour its empowering message, survivors of abuse and generational trauma, as well as Hoover and her mother who inspired it.

“It was a big responsibility that for everyone involved we didn’t take lightly,” he says. “The opportunity is tremendous to really make an impact. This film is by far the most complex and nuanced that I’ve had the privilege of working on. I’m so grateful for Colleen’s support and for everyone who encouraged me to do it, because it’s really been one of the most beautiful, difficult, and life-changing experiences of my life.”

Here he discusses adapting the more intense aspects of the international bestseller from page to screen, his collaboration with costar Blake Lively, and why he hopes audiences leave the theatre feeling empowered and hopeful.

Harper’s Bazaar: When did you decide that you wanted to challenge yourself with acting and directing?

Justin Baldoni: Originally, I was just thinking about this as something to direct. And, even then, I was going back and forth, wondering, "Should this be directed by a woman?" "Can I direct this?" In talking to many women and survivors of abuse and working with organisations like NoMore.org, everyone agreed that, above all, this is a human story. 

On the acting side, as I was optioning the book, there was this part of me that really wanted to, but I was almost afraid to say it out loud. Then, before we had officially closed our deal, Colleen casually emailed me, saying, "Have you given any thought to whether you would want an acting role in this? Say, maybe, Ryle? I could see it." The fact that after reading the book I felt drawn to playing Ryle, and then getting this email from Colleen…it just felt like confirmation.

As I prepared for the role, I was really interested in bringing more of myself into Ryle versus trying to become a version of the character so many millions of readers have created in their imagination. I wanted to portray him in a way that could help us understand what Lily might love about Ryle, because there was real love there. 

HB: You mentioned Blake Lively, can you talk about your collaboration?

JB: Once Blake signed onto the film, she was involved in all areas of production. She is an all-encompassing creative who makes everything she touches better. To be in a scene with somebody so creative, who understands all sides of production, and to see how her response would change if I took the character too far in one direction helped me know when to adjust as an actor and as a director. She was very in tune with the nuances of this performance for both of us and I’m so grateful for all she did to make this movie as beautiful as it is. I believe she gave the performance of a lifetime, and I can’t wait for people to see how great she is in this film.

HB: How did you navigate directing and acting at the same time?

JB: So much of it is preparation. I did so much work on the emotional life of the character so that when it was time to step in front of the camera I could let go and embody him without thought. I had an incredible acting coach, and we spent a lot of time working on Ryle’s physicality and emotional state. I did everything I could to prepare while I was prepping the actual film so that Ryle could live in my body. So, when the time came to shoot, I would set up the scene, block it, and then let go, allowing Ryle to come up in whatever way he needed to.

HB: How did you approach and navigate the more intense scenes? I imagine you’d need an intimacy coordinator and a fight or stunt coordinator.

JB: We knew from the very beginning that there was no way we could do this movie without intimacy coordinators. However, the film called for two different people: an intimacy coordinator and a stunt coordinator, because there are moments in this film where those two things are happening at once. We ended up having a wonderful collaborative relationship between the intimacy coordinator and the fight choreographer. We had Lizzy Talbot and Chelsea Cary as our intimacy coordinators, and we ended up bringing in a revered stunt coordinator, Lauren Shaw, who also happens to be a dear friend of mine, for all the work that involved a mix of intimacy and stunts.

It was so important to have them on set—not just so that we could all feel safe, but because they were also incredible collaborators with wonderful ideas that really elevated the film.

When you shoot a film like this, as an actor, all this tension lives in your body. There were times when I had to literally leave the set for a second before the next setup to shake it out or release it as best as I could. Having them on set and always in my eyeline was invaluable because at any point, I could look to one of them for a thumbs up, or we’d work on another approach together. They were such an important and integral part of our process.

HB: Is there something that you knew you had to nail in the adaptation, for Colleen or for the fans?

JB: I had my own feelings about certain things we had to get right, but this is such an important book to the fans that, for me, it always had to begin and end with what they wanted. Even before it had become a global phenomenon, it has always been a beloved and deeply personal book with a very passionate fan base. So, when we had the first draft of the script, I asked Colleen if she would be open to coming to LA and doing a fan reading. This way, we could gauge the fans’ response and learn what worked and didn’t. I had my ideas about what was important to include, and (screenwriter) Christy Hall had hers, but we knew we needed to hear from the people who made the book a bestseller. Colleen helped us recruit 12 super fans from the LA area to read and react to the script.

Afterwards, I asked questions like, "What are things you loved that we shouldn’t change?" and "What are some things that we missed?" We received incredible feedback that really guided us over the following two years, and I’m happy to say nearly all their suggestions ended up in the film.  

In terms of what I felt was most important to get right, I’d have to say it’s the ending. The entire film builds to this incredibly complicated and delicate moment, and the emotional arc has to land. The second most important scene for me was the rooftop. It’s the scene that sets up the entire movie, and for the ending to work, the rooftop scene had to work. You need to understand the relationship between those two characters within the first ten minutes of the movie and what drew them to each other, for better or for worse. It was probably the scene we worked hardest on. Christy wrote many drafts, and then Blake came in and really helped with the dialogue and added some improv. That really helped us understand who Lily is. I think that we ended up with a really honest representation of what was in the book, adapted for the screen.

HB: Do any filming days or specific moments with the cast and crew stand out as favourites?

JB: I think my favourite experience of the entire shoot happened after the shoot was over. It was at our first test screening in Colorado. I asked Colleen to attend; it was her first time seeing the film, and she brought her mom and her husband. After the film ended, her mom came through the doors, tears still flowing, and gave me the biggest hug. She just held on to me, repeating "Thank you. Thank you so much." I have a picture of all of us hugging at that moment. It was so beautiful. From the beginning, I promised Colleen that I would protect the book; I just wanted this film to feel emotionally accurate, for Colleen and for her mom who lived through a version of this story. I will remember that hug for the rest of my life.

HB: What do you hope audiences experience with the film?

JB: To me, this has always been a story about love, and at its core, it’s a very hopeful film. I want to encourage the audience or any readers to see the film and know that, while there are intense moments, it’s designed to leave you feeling hopeful and empowered. The hope doesn’t belittle the pain and sadness that Lily goes through in the film; rather, in many ways, it’s hopeful because of the pain she endured. Seeing a strong character overcome adversity and find her strength, peace, and joy is such a beautiful thing. I hope and believe it will leave audiences feeling hopeful and ready to break whatever cycle needs to be broken in their own lives.

All images: Sony Pictures Entertainment

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