From bullied to breakout star — Blake Cooper Griffin reclaims his narrative

From being bullied in his youth to playing the part on television, Blake Cooper Griffin has learned to reclaim his narrative. ​Griffin’s incredible resume reads more like a list of proud accomplishments. He has helped advise some of the biggest names in politics, including President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, worked to become the CEO of a premier education consulting company, and made a name for himself on the hard-fought road of Hollywood.

​Audiences may recognize Griffin from his work in HBO’s Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, Ryan Murphy’s Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story on Netflix, Animal Kingdom, and more. His latest role? Author of an introspective memoir about pain, hope, and perseverance.

​The Story of You: A Life Rewritten (Kohler Books, 2026) is the brand-new memoir that hit shelves in February. The book marks a blueprint for reinvention. It is an intimate look at Griffin’s journey growing up gay in the South and braving conversion therapy, while also providing an inspiring story about rewriting your life with intention.

​Congratulations on the new book! Can you share a bit about your writing process?

​Blake Cooper Griffin: Thanks so much. Originally, I finished a first draft, and that took me about eight months to do. I gave it to a friend who’s also a writer and said, “Let me know your thoughts.” He said, “Man, very well written, very safe.” He explained how I had the beginnings here of something that could really help a lot of people, but I seemed “clearly scared to lean into the truth.” I hadn’t included many of the stories that I now added, about conversion therapy and my obstacles being gay in Hollywood. It was then that I decided now was the time in my life that I was going to tell those stories.

Nailing that down took me about another six months. I’m proud that I’m doing this. This is a big deal for me. I would say that, three years ago, I would have still been afraid to talk about some of these stories, these parts of my life. Now I’m proud and really hopeful that it can help other people.

​In revisiting those big life moments, what were you able to learn about yourself?

​BG: I learned a lot about myself by looking back over my story. I learned that I have a habit of trying to get it right. I write a [section] about it called “Dreaded Perfectionism”. How many hours were spent worrying, trying to be the right version of myself, whatever that means? It is interesting how that had required me to shrink myself and make myself small, to not say what I really think. This book is an effort to reclaim my own narrative. It is somewhat of a gift to myself that I wrote this. I tell a lot of stories from my own life in the book. The Story of You: A Life Rewritten really is about you, the reader. This is a book for anyone who’s ever felt stuck, anyone who wonders if their story is already written.

​This is for anyone wanting to rewrite their next chapter, for people looking for the motivation and hope to start that new career, start dating again, or to entertain having a child. For all these moments in the in-between, when we all need a little bit of a nudge. I’m not a perfect guy. I certainly don’t have all the answers, and I don’t pretend to. But I do have a lot of experience in some high-pressure situations, and in worlds that require a lot of resilience, from acting to politics to entrepreneurship.

In writing this book, I sort of want to present a practical resilience roadmap. There are a lot of philosophies and strategies that I offer in the book that have worked for me. I hope that they will be helpful to the reader as well.

​Have you had any acting opportunities that really stuck with you?

​​BG: Yeah, they all are sort of special to you, right, because they’re all a part of you. Even when I don’t have any of the same circumstances as the character I’m playing, it’s fun to discover the story of this new person that you get to embody. In the book, I actually talk a lot about the acting process as something that people can use in their own lives. [It was] building character.

​I really enjoyed a movie I did called Love Is All You Need. It is actually based loosely on the killing of Matthew Shepard, and they flipped the world so that for everyone in the movie, the predominant sexuality is being gay. Straight people are the ones receiving discrimination. It sort of flips the script so the audience can see it from that vantage point, and I actually played the bully in that one, the antagonist. That was a really important role for me personally, as well, because I was horribly bullied as a kid.

It is in the first chapter. Getting to look at the world from the point of view of the bully… there was some healing there for me, for sure. Then I recently got to be part of Ryan Murphy’s Dahmer series, and that was a great experience, getting to work with Evan Peters. I’m not going to lie, when the show does really well, it is really great to be a part of it because people are talking about it. That was really exciting.

​As someone who survived the trauma of bullying, what advice would you give to young LGBTQ readers facing similar obstacles?

​​BG: First, I would say, I hold space for you. There are people out there who care about you, who believe in you, believe in the next chapter of your life, and that there are good things coming. I would also say, first, everyone has a different experience. Make sure that you’re safe.

Then try to find a safe adult that you can talk to. I think that’s really very important. You don’t want to go through that alone, and there are adults out there who are safe people you could talk to. I would encourage that. Finally, I would just say that whatever’s going on right now, there will be a time when you can change your narrative. I say that because I was badly bullied for years. And while I am the person who was bullied, I’m not defined by that. I have still gone on to do many of the things in life that I wanted to do, that I set out to do. And I say that with humility. I feel so lucky that I’ve gotten to do so many things. But yes, I was the kid who was called, as you can read on page one, a gay slur in front of 30 people. That happened all the time, even in the classroom. And yes, I was that person.

With all humility, I was also the person who came to Hollywood and has been on TV shows. I’m also the person who was a national surrogate for three different presidential candidates. I’m also the person who started a company. I have great friends and wonderful people in my life.

​It is not all a cakewalk, I will say that. But I know that can happen for you. The reason I know it can is because I have experienced it. That is really what this book is ultimately about for anyone, whether you are 15, 25, 55, or 85. As long as we have another breath, we can rewrite whatever is next. We can start by taking action, small actions.

​The truth is, I am not naive. We do not have 100 percent control. At best we have 50 percent, but 50 percent is a lot. I want the reader to invest in themselves and think about how they are going to use that 50 percent. Use it to reclaim your own narrative.

​With your experience as a political adviser, how would you encourage elected officials to authentically relate to the LGBTQ community?

​​​​BG: I would have to speak only for myself, because I don’t know that I know the full answer. I recently gave a speech in DC for the Victory Fund, an organization that helps to elect LGBTQ+ representatives in local government, national politics, and state government. I think that first of all, it would be great if we had more representation in office. That matters because the challenges and the stories and the things that all LGBTQ people and families face are unique. Having a voice at the table is very important.

​Then there is sort of this universality that we all want to have. We all want to get up each day and be able to pursue our lives free from fear, free from discrimination, and to be able to have families that care for one another. It’s really not a hard math problem. It’s just not. At the end of the day, people know what’s right. And what’s right for no matter who you are, where you’re from, what you look like, who you love.

​Everyone deserves a chance to live up to their own God-given potential without discrimination, without fear of losing their job because of it. These are basic things. I think sometimes the spin out there overcomplicates and distracts us. In reality, it’s just about being a decent human being and doing what’s right and fair.

​Where can folks find this book?

​​​BG: You can get it on Amazon and BarnesandNoble.com. There are a ton of online platforms where you can get it. I can’t wait to start some conversations and hear from people. We kicked off in L.A., then D.C., then New York. We’ll also do something in North Carolina, where I went to school. I’m celebrating it with friends, too.

​Are your friends who’ve seen you through all these eras excited too?

​​BG: Absolutely. We’ll be renting out a restaurant, and we’re gonna get together, just sort of have the release party. It’s kind of an emotional thing, if I’m being honest. It’s like putting yourself out there and hoping that it resonates with people. Telling these stories that many of them I’ve never even shared. So, you know, that’s kind of throwing your heart out there a little bit, but it’s worth it.

@blakecoopergriffin