Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
The first time you noticed John Krasinski, it was probably as Jim Halpert on The Office. As the resident office jokester (and perhaps one of the few sensible Dunder Mifflin employees), he spent his days pining for Pam the receptionist (Jenna Fischer), pranking Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson), and giving the camera a wide-eyed, all-knowing (and now famous) look. He was the straight man to many of the quirky, irreverent characters on the show, but still managed to provide viewers with laugh-out-loud moments and memorable scenes. Despite the general comic nature of The Office, Krasinski did occasionally get the chance to showcase his dramatic chops. For the first few seasons, we watch him endure a lot of heartache while secretly harboring feelings for Pam, and it all comes to a head when he finally confesses his feelings to her.
After watching Jim be the sardonic, prank-pulling funnyman for so many episodes, it’s something of a shock to see him break down in such a vulnerable way. While Pam tries to engage with their typical playful banter, his demeanor is serious, determined. Krasinski gets across that Jim needs to tell her this, after all this time. When his eyes well up and tears leak onto his face, it pulls at your heartstrings. Following this moment, there are many others over the course of the show that sees him let his guard down and get serious, but this is the first time we truly get a taste of his dramatic capabilities. Krasinski had played his fair share of roles leading up to his Office tenure, but what came during and after his time as Jim Halpert slowly began to reveal the dynamic nature of his talent.
2009 was something of a landmark year for Krasinski; he wrote, directed, and acted in Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, a project that revealed he could not only deliver lines, but could write them, too, and starred in indie dramedy Away We Go and Nancy Meyers rom-com It’s Complicated. Away We Go paired him with Maya Rudolph and saw the two play expectant parents who travel the country looking for the perfect place to start a new home. It’s a uniquely funny, moving flick, and Krasinski, all bearded and bespectacled, wastes no time in the film demonstrating his deep ability to emulate warmth and complexity. In It’s Complicated, a flick studded with stars like Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, and Steve Martin, Krasinski manages to be one of the most earnestly funny characters in the entire movie. It’s a welcome shift from Jim Halpert’s comedy in a place of superiority; Krasinski’s Harley is mildly manic, attempting to do damage control to keep everyone happy in an uproarious manner.
Krasinski has continued to work consistently over the last few years, never failing to get the job done in every single role, but his front-and-center role in war biopic 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi presented us with the entire package – one that made him impossible to ignore. The actor showed us he could nail an action sequence, emote in chaotic situations, and remain compelling no matter how many explosions were going off around him. If there were any doubts about Krasinski’s diverse abilities, they were all erased after 13 Hours.
Kathryn Bigelow‘s Detroit is the next place we’ll see Krasinski, and while there are bound to be recognized by many as “Jim from The Office!”, the truth is that his continual hard work in a wide variety of projects over the last decade or so has more than warranted our respect. He’s a dynamic, unique screen presence, one that sneaks up on you in ways you don’t expect – and it’s about time we started taking him seriously. He’s just too compelling not to.
