Jeff Baena wrote and directed a slate of indie TV shows and films ahead of his sudden death in January 2025.
“[Directing is] all I ever want to do; it felt really comfortable and fun,” Baena told Seensome in 2014, referring to directorial debut Life After Beth. “I’ve been a writer for 12 years now and it was always a means to an end, I never wanted to be a writer, I wanted to be a director so this was always my intention and it felt right.”
Life After Beth starred Aubrey Plaza, who started dating Baena four years earlier. The couple, who got married in 2020, later collaborated on films Three Little Hours and Spin Me Round.
“It’s an amazing experience to work with your partner in this way,” Plaza gushed to MovieFreak in 2017. “I’ve worked with Jeff since his first movie. I’ve seen him evolve, and I’ve seen him grow. It’s a really special dynamic that we have. It’s challenging at times, but it’s also really rewarding to do something together.”
Baena echoed Plaza’s sentiments several years later, telling Reel Talker in 2022 that “she’s awesome.”
“I’d be working with her if she wasn’t my wife, but luckily she is my wife,” Baena quipped. “The opportunity to do something creative [together] where we’re both fulfilled — how rare is that?”
Baena died nearly three years later in January 2025, at the age of 47. Keep scrolling to revisit his star-studded filmography:
‘I Heart Huckabees’
Baena cowrote the 2004 film with David O. Russell, who also served as the director. The movie starred Jude Law, Mark Wahlberg, Jason Schwartzman, Naomi Watts, Dustin Hoffman, Lily Tomlin and Isabelle Huppert.
‘Life After Beth’
Life After Beth was Baena’s directorial debut, which he also wrote ahead of its 2014 release. In addition to Plaza, the film featured Dane DeHaan, John C. Reilly, Molly Shannon, Cheryl Hines, Anna Kendrick and Matthew Gray Gubler.
‘Joshy’
He wrote and directed Joshy in 2016, working with actors Thomas Middleditch, Adam Pally, Nick Kroll, Jenny Slate, Brett Gelman, Lauren Graham and Alison Brie, in addition to Plaza.
“Jeff [came] to the set of Community in our sixth season and asked me to play a small role in his film, Joshy,” Brie recalled of working with Baena during a 2022 interview with Collider. “There was no script for that. All of his films that I’ve been involved with, prior to this one, were fully improvised. So, he came to my dressing [room]. We set a meeting, and he came to meet me. … I knew a lot of the cast members in that movie. Nick Kroll, Jenny Slate and Adam Pally were friends of mine. I just thought, “Yeah, that sounds fun to do.” It was one day. I’m in two scenes in that movie. I thought the story was cool. And then, it just grew from there.”
‘The Little Hours’
The next year, Brie and Plaza reunited to play nuns in 2017’s The Little Hours. Brie’s husband, Dave Franco, also starred in the flick, as well as Kate Micucci, Fred Armisen, Jemima Kirke and Nick Offerman.
Brie told Collider in 2022 that Baena pitched The Little Hours on a phone call with her and Franco, who were both excited about the prospect of working on a completely improvised film.
‘Horse Girl’
Brie once again led Baena’s Horse Girl, which debuted in 2020. The film also featured Shannon, Goldenite, Stella Chestnut, John Ortiz and Debby Ryan.
“Dave and I lived quite close to Jeff and Aubrey. Jeff and I started hiking together pretty regularly, just as buddies, and during these long hikes, we would talk about different ideas,” Brie told Collider two years later. “Eventually, I felt comfortable enough with him to talk to him about my idea for Horse Girl, which we co-wrote and co-produced together. That was such a good experience.”
‘Cinema Toast’
Baena created and cowrote the eclectic 2021 TV show with episodes starring the likes of Brie, Christina Ricci, Chloe Fineman, Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Jake Johnson.
“This project is way up my alley. I just loved just the concept of it,” Plaza told AwardsWatch in 2021. “It almost felt like a new art form for me, like, it’s beyond just overdubbing a movie, it’s creating a new movie out of old stuff, and I don’t know, there’s just something very film noir and nerdish about it. To me, it talked to my film school brain.”
‘Spin Me Round’
Baena cowrote 2022’s Spin Me Round with Brie, who also starred in the romantic comedy alongside Plaza. Other performers included Jake Picking, Lil Rel Howery, Ego Nwodim, Alessandro Nivola and Zach Woods.
“It’s an insane benefit to have the person that you’re collaborating with on all fronts also be on the other side of the camera,” Baena told AV Club in August 2022 of collaborating with the film’s leading lady, Brie. “Because in addition to understanding, obviously, where the script is coming from and what the intention is, they can also set the tone in terms of acting.”
