Blake Lively is “proud” of her first producing role in It Ends With Us

blake lively, it ends with us
Blake Lively talks It Ends With Us producing roleSony Pictures

Blake Lively has spoken about her producing role on It Ends With Us.

The romantic drama, which is based on Colleen Hoover’s 2016 novel, follows Lily Bloom (Lively) in the midst of an abusive relationship with husband Ryle (Justin Baldoni) as she reconnects with her first love, Atlas (Brendan Sklenar).

Lively, who has appeared on Gossip Girl and A Simple Favour, spoke exclusively with Digital Spy ahead of the film’s release on Friday (August 9), outlining her pride at receiving a producing credit for the first time in her career.

blake lively, it ends with us
Sony Pictures

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“When you work with me, I’m very passionate, so I love getting involved,” began the actor. “I used to be insecure about this, and now I’m proud of it, but I never felt like a good enough actor to go in and say: ‘put me in any clothes, give me any dialogue, put me in any set and I can transform and become.’

“Because I wasn’t that actor, I always felt bad or weird about that. A lot of my favourite actors are storytellers and filmmakers, and they too feel like they need to be involved in the wardrobe, the set, the dialogue, the words and the storytelling to create an environment in which they feel like it’s the most authentic and truthful.

“I identify more with that subset of actors than the other, and now that I see that it’s not like ‘okay I’m an imposter, and I can’t do this thing so I’m embarrassed about it’. I see a lot of the people I admire most do that and I can do that, and I can do that really well.

“So really stepping into that – I’ve done that in this film – the work I did as an actor on this film pales in comparison to the work that I did outside of the acting. It was very minimal compared to everything else. I felt so grateful to have that level of authorship and involvement, it makes me that much more proud of the film.”

blake lively, justin baldoni, it ends with us
Sony Pictures

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Lively was joined in the interview by Isabela Ferrer, who plays the younger version of Lily, with the actor paying tribute to Lively as she said: “The work and effort that you put into this movie is enormous and phenomenal – it wouldn’t be what it is without you.

“We only spoke a couple of times before I started filming, but she already gave me the agency of that character, and gave it an equal amount of care for my part as much of hers. You expressed to me how important it is that I trust myself and my process and what the character is, just as much as you do with your side of the character.

“I think as an actor that is starting out, to get that kind of support from somebody like Blake it means everything. It’s gold. It gives you the self-assurance to know that you can do it and go ahead and do your best work.”

It Ends With Us is in cinemas on August 9.

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