‘Grey's Anatomy' Star Jake Borelli Making Directorial Debut With ‘IGNIS,' Starring Britt Baron, Allen Leech and Karan Soni (EXCLUSIVE)
Jake Borelli, best known for playing Dr. Levi Schmitt on 'Grey's Anatomy,' is moving behind the camera and making his directorial debut on 'IGNIS.'
Described as a 'genre-bending relationship drama,' the film stars Britt Baron ('GLOW'), Allen Leech ('Downton Abbey') and Karan Soni ('A Nice Indian Boy'). 'IGNIS' recently wrapped production in Los Angeles.
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The film was written and co-produced by Tony Award-winning producer Julie Cohn ('Stereophonic'), who also wrote the popular podcast 'The Redefector.' It follows Camille, a woman who begins to question her relationship after discovering that her fiancé may have taken a pill designed to chemically induce romantic love.
'As an actor, I've always been drawn to the emotional undercurrents that make us human. With 'IGNIS,' I wanted to explore those same currents — but this time, from the director's chair,' Borelli said in a statement. 'This story is about love, but also about truth, autonomy and the complex ethics of altering our emotions.'
Borelli's other credits include the Netflix comedy drama 'Reality High,' as well as 'The Thing About Harry' and 'The Thundermans Return.' He also appeared in shows such as 'iCarly,' 'Parenthood' and 'NCIS: Los Angeles.'
On 'Grey's Anatomy,' Borelli played the show's first openly gay male surgeon for more than 130 episodes. Borelli worked with many collaborators from the show on the film, including veteran cinematographer Jeanne Tyson. Line producers Michael Scott and Suki-Rose Etter helped shepherd the project to the screen.
'IGNIS' is targeting a 2026 festival run. Borelli is repped by Amplified and CESD; Baron is repped by Principal Talent and CESD; Leech is repped by Untitled Entertainment and The Way; Soni is repped by CAA and Mosaic; Cohn is repped by Characters and UTA.
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