American actor and filmmaker Justin Baldoni, best known for portraying Rafael Solano on The CW satirical romantic dramedy Jane the Virgin, will play the lead in the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s book It Ends with Us, alongside Blake Lively.

Justin will be playing neurologist Ryle Kincaid, the love interest of the main character Lily Bloom. The film will be directed by Baldoni, with Christy Hall adapting the script, according to the Deadline. Alex Saks will produce for Saks Picture Company, along with Jamey Heath, who will produce on behalf of Wayfarer Studios.

Also Read | Who are Lily Bloom and Ryle Kincaid of Colleen Hoover’s It Ends With Us?

Who is Justin Baldoni?

Born in Los Angeles, California, Justin was raised in Medford, Oregon. He is the son of Sharon and Sam Baldoni. His mother is from a Jewish family and his father is of Italian ancestry. His paternal grandfather is Louis Baldoni, an Indiana senator and Italian immigrant.

Justin attended college on a partial athletic scholarship, but later dropped out.

In 2008, he wrote, produced, and directed his first music video that was selected and won him his first “Audience Choice Award” at Dawn Breakers International Film Festival. In May 2016, he launched a time-lapse video app for pregnant women and new mums called Belly Bump. In July 2017, Variety announced that Justin was developing a male talk show through his media company Wayfarer Entertainment. He directed and produced CBS Films’ Five Feet Apart, starring Cole Sprouse and Haley Lu Richardson, and based on an original script by Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis.

Also Read | Colleen Hoover’s It Ends With Us movie: Cast, plot, characters and more

The film was released on March 15, 2019, and was about the lives of two teenagers living with cystic fibrosis. He directed and produced Clouds, a film depicting the life of musician Zach Sobiech with Warner Bros.

In 2021, Baldoni released a book under the same premise as his previous talk show and TED Talk titled Man Enough: Undefining my Masculinity. A children’s version of the book Boys Will be Human was released in October 2022.

Baldoni got married to Swedish actress Emily Baldoni in July 2013 in Corona, California. The two have a daughter, Maiya, who was born in June 2015 and a son named Maxwell, who was born in October 2017.