Julian Baker

Julian Andrew Baker (born Julian Andrew Norris) is a fictional character on the CW television series One Tree Hill, portrayed by Austin Nichols. Julian is a film producer who arrived in Tree Hill to create a film adaption of Lucas Scott's novel, who was unaware of Julian's history with Peyton Sawyer. Although many believed he posed a threat to Lucas and Peyton's relationship, he eventually revealed an interest in Peyton's best friend, Brooke Davis. When the movie fell through, he left for Los Angeles, but Brooke accepted her feelings for him and followed after him to Los Angeles. Deciding to let him into her life, the two reunited. The two then embarked on a long-distance relationship while he made a new movie, but they eventually reunited in Tree Hill, and got engaged. The couple was later married, and have twin sons, Davis and Jude Baker.

Character development

Background

Julian Andrew Norris was born to Paul Norris and Sylvia Baker (previously Norris). His father was an esteemed film producer who introduced Julian to the film industry and made his love of cinema grow. However, Paul often neglected his son, choosing his work over his relationship with Julian. This prompted Julian's closer relationship with his mother. Julian admired the magic he believed his mother had inside of her but he slowly saw the magic fade away as his mother started to feel unloved due to Paul's involvement in his work. When his mother sunk into a depression and Julian was unable to save her, he developed a complex about saving people. This would affect his later relationships with Peyton Sawyer, Brooke Davis, and Alex Dupre. With his close relationship to his mother and distant relationship with his father, Julian took on his mother's surname at the age of fifteen - becoming Julian Andrew Baker - and also began calling his father by his first name.

Attending high school, Julian was a typical geek, although it is now assumed otherwise. In his year book photo, Julian appears geekish and was also a member of the debate and pep club with national honors and was also a mathlete. After watching his mother fade away, Julian tried to remain close to his father but struggled. One day, however, Julian and Paul spent the day together and went to see the film The Thin Red Line and Julian would later claim that that day was the one day he spent believing he was close to his father and was therefore the best of his childhood. Careerwise, Julian originally tried to work in music as a guitarist. After a failed career as a guitarist, Julian then decided, despite Paul's neglect afterwards, that he wanted to make movies to be like his father. Wanting to be seen as an independent producer, Julian moved away from his father to North Hollywood. Although working out of the shadow of his father, Julian would often return to his dad for support financially, which he disliked as he knew Paul would see him as more of a failure. With most of the films Julian has created, Paul has noticed a recurring theme, that he plans for a brilliant movie, but the plans never become completed.

During his time in North Hollywood, he met Peyton Sawyer at an office. As they met, Julian invited Peyton, who had just broke up with her high school boyfriend, Lucas Scott to a due he had for a movie so she could be used as a quick getaway claiming she was 'the saddest girl alive.' The two fell in love and Peyton watched as Julian created a movie that eventually got him to Sundance. However, during their romance, Julian noticed Peyton had what he called an "obsession" with Lucas' book, An Unkindness of Ravens. When confronted about this, the couple broke up and Julian claimed to go to Sundance alone. However, Julian was so heartbroken that he stayed at home. He missed both the Sundance Festival and his movie's premiere. Although he did not attend, his father planted a story in the media that he had been sleeping with an A-list celebrity, boosting his profile. Julian also read the book by Lucas and decided to go and find Peyton in Tree Hill. However, when he read the book, he found that he connected more with Brooke Davis.

Storylines

Season 6

Julian Baker is first introduced as a director eager to make Lucas's first novel into a movie. He introduces himself as the person interested in making a film out of his book and tells him he wants to get a feel for the place where the book takes place. After a while Lucas agrees. Julian then says it would pay $300,000 grand and Lucas suddenly rethinks. Julian then asks about Peyton. After persuading Lucas to option of his movie, he ran into Peyton (leaving the restrooms at TRIC after he and Lucas sign the contract) and she realizes Julian is the one making the movie and it is soon revealed that he is her ex-boyfriend. Lucas finds out about Julian and Peyton, and punches Julian although they still carry on with the movie although with heated tension between the two men.

Julian soon forms a close friendship with Sam (Brooke's foster daughter) after she asks him to read some of her work. Julian then goes to see Brooke, he asks her to design the costumes for the movie as it would be very beneficial to both him and her and she later agrees. When Lucas meets Julian's father Paul, he is quick to criticize Julian's work and suggests Lucas should find someone else of the movie. When Sam goes missing he helps to look for her and eventually finds her along with Brooke.

After the ordeal with Sam, Julian and Brooke often meet up at her house to review her designs for the movie although Brooke denies that it is a date but a business meeting to Sam. At the café Sam and Julian are bickering over whether he likes Brooke or not, Peyton walks in and Julian accuses her of being jealous as Sam tells him that she is pregnant he congratulates her, leaving with Peyton telling him that if he breaks Brooke’s heart, she’ll break his face. When he and Brooke meet up for their business meeting Julian brings them wine (which means it's a date). Brooke and Julian are talking about Brooke’s business as Julian admires her for her bravery and reveals he has the same situation but with his father rather than his mother and that he took his mother’s name to make it on his own but has to keep going back to his dad and feels like a failure. He says that one of these days he will not as Brooke toasts to that day. As he goes to leave, they both discuss how inappropriate it would be for them to kiss and be on a date due to work and Peyton, but they kiss ignoring all the other obstacles. Julian and Lucas have turned down five directors. The following day, director #6 is seen as Julian’s dad comes to town as he is unhappy with their progress. Lucas and Julian meet Paul at a restaurant, who says it is time for him step in and tells them to pick a director or he will pick one for them. He tells them they have until tomorrow. Julian goes to see Brooke at her store and finds all the clothes lined up for the film. She shows him a letterman jacket and Julian is amazed. Julian tells her that he did not play sports in high school so never had a letterman jacket, so Brooke gives him one. But she later breaks up with him as she explains that she is trying to set a good example for Sam and does not want to have to explain having fun to Sam. As Julian asks what it is about, whether it is her, Sam or Peyton, Brooke says that it does not matter as he will be leaving after the movie anyway, but they later recoil. When Julian casts the Brooke role in his movie they argue about Brooke's clothing, Julian wanting it to be more slutty.

Later, he shows her a picture from his year book he seems very unpopular and was a mathlete and part of the debate team. He tells her that he wants the Brooke Davis now. He hands over a breakdown of the Brooke Davis he is looking for and Brooke reads a list of compliments that Brooke is. After Julian emits to Brooke he loves her, she is mad though, and after Julian talks to Brooke he realizes the last person she was in love with was Lucas. Brooke tells him that she is not and that she is not Peyton. Julian apologizes but explains that he still worries after his relationship with Peyton. Julian tells Brooke that they would pretend that it never happen along Julian still like wary about Brooke's feelings towards Lucas.

Later Julian's father is fired at his film company and their film is cancelled. After ignoring each other Brooke and Julian finally meet up, he tells her that he does not want to say goodbye and shows her some plane tickets telling her that they could write their own love story in Malibu, but Brooke asks what she would do with Sam and as Julian shows her that he has got another plane ticket for her as Julian says he understands that she will come up with a million other excuse why not to go, but to go because he loves her. Brooke meets Julian in the airport but tells him as she has a life in Tree Hill.

At Lucas and Peyton's wedding, Lucas invites Julian as Brooke's date, but he decides to take Missy instead. This infuriates Brooke and the two spend the evening making each other jealous with their dates. However, they later dance and admit they miss each other. He later meets Brooke's mother, Victoria Davis, and tells her that his father often made him feel like a failure. He informs her that he sees the same in Brooke. When Victoria asks if he is finished, Julian says that he is in love with her daughter and that she will love him back someday. And when that day comes, she can either be nice to Brooke or not be in her life.

After Peyton collapses Julian joins Brooke at the hospital. After talking about Sam they sleep together but Julian still leaves. Brooke goes to New York to see him, Julian is filming as he seems lonely and miserable. Suddenly, Brooke appears next time. She tells him that he said someday she would be able to love someone and thinks she has found that someone. Julian smiles saying that if it was a movie they would kiss as Brooke disagrees saying that if it was a movie she would say she loves him and then kiss him. She walks closer to him and tells him that she loves him and they kiss happily.

Time jump

Brooke and Julian continue their relationship, but it becomes long-distance with Julian traveling around the world to produce films and Brooke working on her fashion line in Tree Hill.

Season 7

Season seven for Julian begins with him and Brooke on a romantic beach date where he tells her that he got an offer to produce a movie in New Zealand and he would be gone for eight months. Brooke advises him to take it and it seems he does because he does not answer his phone when Brooke calls several times. He returns for Jamie's 7th birthday party and Brooke is happy to see him and they almost have sex in Haley's spare bedroom until Haley and Quinn walk in on them. Julian later takes her to the beach again and he reveals to Brooke that he turned the movie down and they then have sex on the beach.

Julian's father comes to town to tell Julian that he made a big mistake turning down the movie for Brooke, but Brooke stands up for Julian and his father leaves. Julian later meets Brooke's model, Alex who flirts with him and insults Brooke openly in front of him. While Brooke tries to bury herself in work to forget about her lack of ability to get pregnant, Julian confides in Alex that he actually does want kids after telling Alex that Brooke can't have them, despite Julian promising to keep it between them and him telling her he doesn't want any kids. Alex decides to "help" Brooke by bringing her adoption pamphlets. Brooke blows up with anger and yells at Alex. While Julian is at home, Brooke then comes back and yells at him for revealing that she cannot get pregnant to Alex. Brooke's mother Victoria then tells Julian to take another movie, because Brooke wants some time alone for herself before she can trust him again. Julian calls Brooke after he finds Alex in her bathtub after slitting her wrists, and she goes to the hospital to support her now estranged boyfriend. Brooke soon comes to realize that Julian has a thing for girls in need, after finding out he began his relationship with Peyton while she was crying after breaking up with Lucas, and her and Julian started when she needed help looking for Sam, and now he wants to be with Alex since she needs his support to get better. She goes to see Alex at the hospital, but finds Julian sitting at her bedside holding her hand and assumes they are together. Brooke and Julian then spend 6 weeks apart when Brooke goes on a business trip with Alexander to start her men's line. She returns from her trip and runs into Julian at the airport, only to see that he's waiting for Alex. Julian comes to see her and they yet again fight about Alex, and when they fight again at Haley's concert, Julian tells Brooke he can't do it anymore and breaks up with her, leaving her heartbroken since she's still in love with him.

Brooke packs up all of Julian's things but is too nervous to bring them to him, so Victoria says she will take care of it and sends Alexander to do it, which Julian is furious with. He comes to visit her later that night and asks her about being the costume designer for his and Alex's movie, which is awkward for Brooke, but she says she will think about it but she agrees to do it only if Julian is the director. Brooke later comes to Julian and tells him if he wants to, he can come to Haley and Quinn's 80's-themed fundraiser at the high school and it wouldn't be weird, but he tells her he has too much work to do before they begin filming. Julian was staying late at set, and practicing his speech for opening filming, when Alex comes to comfort him, and tells him that Brooke does actually want him to come to the dance. At the dance, Julian is uncomfortable, as being back at a high school reminded him of what a geek he used to be. He voices his insecurities to Alex, who confides in him that she used to be a geek also. Brooke later finds Julian in wood shop class and they talk about things, and when she's about to leave, she kisses him.

The two later go back to their working relationship, but this is severely tested after Brooke messes up costumes and punches Alex in the face, causing days of filming to be lost, because Brooke thought that Julian and Alex had slept together, when in fact, the two had traded rooms and Alex slept with Alexander, not Julian. Eventually though, the two make up after Brooke visits him on set to explain, and she once again confesses her love for Julian..

Julian and Brooke finish the movie and then go on a trip to Utah with the rest of their friends for the premiere of Julian's movie which is a success and while in Utah Julian asks Brooke to "Marry Him" in the snow and she says "Yes" making them engaged.

Season 8

Julian and Brooke are ecstatic about their wedding and they start planning it. Brooke then lost all her money because of a crime her mother committed. All their plans went down the drain, until Julian's mother showed up, offering to pay for everything. Brooke and Sylvia have at it, and Julian feels torn against his future wife and his mother. Later his mother ties to persuade Julian to back in L.A. Julian considering that and talk to a possible back in L.A but Brooke is angry against Julian because she wants stay in Tree Hill in her home. That causes a fight between them and Brooke leaves the house to drive in Tree Hill even if there is a hurricane. On the bridge Brooke finds her godson and his friends and teacher who have a car accident. Brooke decides to help them and gets Lauren and Madison out of the car but not Jamie. So she stays with him, while Lauren and the kids go search for help. Julian arrives eventually and finds Jamie and Brooke in Lauren's car. But at that time a car (driven by Ian Kellerman) arrives and shoots Lauren's car with Brooke and Jamie in the river whose dam burst. So Julian plunges to save Brooke but in the car Brooke asks to Julian to save her Jamie first and return to save her afterwards. Julian does and asks to Jamie to be his best man in his and Brooke's wedding and returns to save Brooke but she seems dead when he brings back her on the bridge. Miraculously Brooke wakes up.

He eventually marries Brooke in an extravagant ceremony. Before the ceremony Julian asks Jamie to give Brooke a CD of the music on which he saw Brooke danced to all the time which he made him fall in love with her. After a photo with the parents Julian asks to his parents to be nice with each other for his wedding. Finally Julian marries Brooke and they have a beautiful reception and after the wedding, the newlyweds leave for their honeymoon. Later Julian and Brooke decide to adopt a child. They meet Chloe Hall, a 19-year-old pregnant girl, and they want to impress her. They told her stories that were made up, which made them seem perfect. They were chosen to get her child, but she changed her mind as soon as she saw her baby girl. They were distraught and heartbroken, and they were going to move to New York for Brooke becomes the Vice President of her former company Clothes Over Bro's. Before leaving Tree Hill, Nathan tells to Julian that he has found the man that knocked Brooke and Jamie in the river the night of the hurricane and the man is Ian Kellerman. The day of Jamie's party of baseball Julian, Nathan and Clay decide to punish Ian.

A few hours later Brooke tells Julian that she is pregnant, even though she couldn't conceive, and she can't leave Tree Hill because she wants raise their unborn child in her town. Julian agrees. They later found out that they are having twins. Brooke fell in Karen's Café, and gives birth to Davis and Jude prematurely. Julian arrives to the hospital and after seeing her Julian sees his newborn sons in incubators and tells him that he is their 'daddy' and they couldn't be afraid by 'that' and also that their mom is Brooke Davis and they have their mother's force in them. Eventually Brooke, Jude and Davis return to their home and Julian films his family.

Season 9

Julian and Brooke adjust to raising their kids and juggling careers. He gets wrapped up in his work, and he leaves Davis in the car. He feels horrible about the whole situation, losing Brooke's trust temporarily, and starts a bar fight and allows himself to get beat up. Brooke tells him to stop worrying about the whole Davis situation because Davis is okay, even the pediatrician tells Julian he is a good father and prescribes him medication to relax. Haley tells Julian that when Jamie fell in the pool she wouldn't forgive herself but eventually she did. Julian realizes that Davis is okay and he should forgive himself. As soon as he forgives himself, Tara leaves a note that says Fry your burgers, not your babies!, which he reacted to horribly. He eventually does forgive himself.

Julian buys a sound stage, one that has no business. He rents Dan Scott a trailer there, so he can work on finding Nathan. He also sometimes assists Dan in his search for Nathan.

Julian decides to read An Unkindness of Ravens again and decides to make it into a TV show. The TV show is picked up and Julian uses his sound stage for the production. He shows Brooke around the set and Brooke reminisces about her past. Julian later buys Brooke's old house and she is once more "the girl behind the red door." The four of them move in and live there happily.