Michael Rozman/Warner Bros.
In partnership with Ulta, the daytime talk show host signed the This Is Us star up to get hit with water balloons all in the name of breast cancer research.
The objective was simple—Hartley sat tight in a chair while DeGeneres and her other guest, Oscar nominee Rachel McAdams, took turns pulling sticks from a Jenga-styled contraption. As they pulled out the sticks, the balloons began dropping on the Hollywood hunk’s head.
«Ultra just told us right before the show that they will donate an extra $10,000 if you take your shirt off,» DeGeneres said. As the audience cheered, Hartley happily obliged and quickly revealed his abs while McAdams untangled his mic.
After a few suspenseful minutes, the sticks were cleared and the balloons completely poured out onto Hartley’s head.
«I’m glad you remember,» he admitted. «I remember this like it was yesterday. It was exciting. I was so happy for you and I remember you doing a little dance on stage.»
Fast forward a decade later, Ellen’s show is still going strong and Hartley stars in one of the top new television shows of the year. However, not all of his previous projects were instant hits likeThis Is Us.
«It’s been hard for me—I’ve been trying forever. I had to occasionally call my parents and be like, ‘It’s going to be fine. Trust me,'» the former soap opera star recalled of his previous roles. «Finally we got one that everyone seems to be responding to.»
With his career in good hands, Hartley has one major milestone to handle in his personal life—his wedding.
«The wedding planning is not going well, guys,» he joked. «I can’t figure anything out. I’m a horrible planner. I’ve got the honeymoon planned.»
Not to fret, Justin—Ellen has plenty of wedding planner business cards on file.
(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)
