justin yalch was born in seattle, washington to a middle class family. his father kept to himself, burying himself in his work as a laborer, while his mother worked as a secretary and took care of the children. it was a good life for the yalch children with justin being the oldest, followed by natalie and abigail. justin always had a wild and vivid imagination, casting his younger sisters in stories of adventure and general fun. justin's mother took notice of her son's creative endeavors and immediately encouraged him to explore his talents in whatever way he chose. his mother found acting classes for children and he was immediately taken with the idea of playing pretend as a different person.

as rambunctious and full of energy for acting as justin was, as he grew older it simply wasn't cool for him to want to be an actor and all the singing and dancing. so he stopped for a time, opting to play football and other sports instead. it was the macho thing to do and it was something that justin wouldn't be made fun of for. that was, until it came time his junior year to decide which college to attend and what his major would be. he had been lying to himself for years about wanting to be an actor so he gave up football and focused all of his attention again on acting, singing and the occasional dancing. he applied to several schools, uncertain which school would accept him, and while he didn't make it into nyu like he wanted to, he was accepted to baldwin wallace as a musical theatre major. his mother was overjoyed that her son had finally figured out what he wanted to do without any fear or judgement and soon he was off to college.

since he was so far behind in terms of his experience, it was hard for justin to adjust at first. he felt severely behind his other classmates in terms of abilities but it was clear that he had raw talent. it really only served as a catalyst to make him work harder to prove that he belonged there. it was through hard work and determination that, even when he didn't get cast in shows, he just kept going. it wasn't until his senior year that he was cast in his first show and he worked extremely hard, impressing his teachers who had constantly pushed him throughout his training. one teacher suggested that perhaps justin would do better if he skipped new york and the broadway dream to move to los angeles and try his hand at film and television. that had never been part of his dream but he packed up all the same and moved to los angeles, hopeful that his teacher was correct.

the first couple of years in los angeles were rough for justin. he landed commercials, a few voice acting gigs and the occasional film job but he had to maintain his bartending gig for years when he first arrived. it wasn't until he landed a role on the television show "six feet under" that he felt secure enough to ditch the bartending gig and go into being an actor full time. with his years of hard work finally paying off, justin enjoyed the being able to work on a character over a stretch of time, developing it over the course of two years, instead of working on the same thing over and over again, as in theatre, or a small period of time, as in film. it was rewarding and after the series ended, justin wasn't sure where to turn. he kept auditioning and his big break wouldn't come until he was cast as kirk in jj abrams new star trek movies, and became an overnight success and sensation.

still, justin was never in it for the fame or fortune. at his core, he was a simple guy who just wanted to take work that constantly stretched his abilities. when the opportunity came for his hand at his broadway debut, justin jumped at the opportunity, finally fulfilling one of his dreams. everything was looking up for justin and, as luck would have it, he would also meet his future wife around the same time. the two kept their relationship on the down low as much as they could, considering they were both private people. justin also took the opportunity to have more stability in his life by taking on the television show, "hannibal". it was a more dramatic turn for justin and he was thrilled to have the opportunity to show fans his range as an actor. though the show never quite had the ratings the network wanted, it was a personal success for all involved and though justin was sad to see it go, he is now excited to see what new adventures await him.