Justin Baldoni in awe of It Ends With Us leading lady Blake Lively

Justin Baldoni has recently gushed over Blake Lively on the set of It Ends With Us.

Speaking to PEOPLE, Justin, who is the director and star of Colleen Hoover movie adaptation, revealed, “Blake’s name came up for the lead role of Lily and she just checked all the boxes.”

“The way [Colleen Hoover] wrote the book outside of the [character’s red] hair colour, the actress could have been played by anybody, so long as she was a woman that was extremely charming, likable, and that everybody would root for,” explained the 40-year-old movie-maker.

Justin told the outlet, “Blake excelled at being involved in every area of production from the time she signed on.”

“The only box she didn't check was that she didn't have red hair, which is a very easy fix in the movie business!” quipped the director.

Justin further said, “She's a creative force, she's an executive producer on the film, and she is so brilliant.”

“And I believe that her performance is going to help so many women feel seen and showcase this unique experience in a way that I don't believe I've seen in another movie,” he stated.

Elsewhere in the interview, Justin revealed casting the leading lady was an important step.

“I watched all of Blake’s movies before I asked her to play Lily, and I knew she could do it in a really special, subversive way,” he remarked.

Justin admitted the first time he had ever heard “Blake play Lily, there was a moment where I completely forgot what we were doing”.

“I was so just mesmerised by what she was doing and who Lily was going to be, that I had to snap out of it,” he noted.

Justin added, “In that moment that the movie was going to work. And I just had to get out of the way enough to make sure that it did.”

Meanwhile, It Ends With Us is slated to release in theatres tomorrow (August 9).