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Baena was found dead Friday morning at a Los Angeles home,
according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office.
His death was ruled a suicide.
Baena co-wrote David O. Russell's 2004 film “I Heart Huckabees”
and wrote and directed five of his own films, four of which
premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
He had been dating Plaza for three years before she starred in
his 2014 directorial debut, the zombie comedy “Life After Beth."
His next film, 2016's “Joshy,” featured Thomas Middleditch as a
man who gets together with friends months after his fiancee
commits suicide.
The son of an attorney and teacher, Baena grew up in Miami and
attended film school at New York University. He told podcaster
Marc Maron in a 2017 interview that his interest in cinema was
sparked after watching Stanley Kubrick's “A Clockwork Orange”
and Federico Fellini's “8 1/2” as a child.
“I was always drawn to left-of-center things,” he told Jim
Alexander two years ago in an interview for the Reel Talker
YouTube channel.
Baena said in the same interview that it was “amazing” to work
with Plaza, who appeared in four of his five films. The
40-year-old actor and producer rose to fame playing April
Ludgate on the television series “Parks and Recreation” and was
nominated for an Emmy for her role on “The White Lotus.” The
couple married in 2021.
“The opportunities to create together, to do something creative
where we're both fulfilled, it's like, how rare is that? She's
down and she's so talented, so I'm really lucky," Baena said.
A representative for Plaza said that in addition to Plaza, Baena
is survived by his mother, Barbara Stern, stepfather Roger
Stern, father Scott Baena, stepmother Michele Baena, brother
Brad Baena and stepsiblings Bianca Gabay and Jed Fluxman. ___
This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you
know needs help, please call the National Suicide Prevention
Lifeline at 988.
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