John Krasinski Leatherheads Press Conference
What are the challenges of finding a character that is un-Jim-like? And how excited are you to be back in The Office?
John Krasinski: “I’m very, very excited to be back in The Office. You mean doing a character in Leatherheads that’s different than Jim? Yeah, I’m not a good actor. Good night. No, it’s fun. I was given an amazing opportunity when I was on the show, which is to play a character that is sometimes funny and sometimes dramatic. And I think that’s the best gift you can get as an actor, especially for a first role, because it’s definitely how people see you. That allowed George to see me as a potential person who could play a romantic character. So I always say that The Office was the first place and the only place, and I definitely owe everything to that. But, playing this character was a blast. Dressing up in actual costumes rather than a shirt and tie every day, having a haircut for the first time was a big change for me and really helped my acting, I think. It did? Yeah, okay, good.
Being back to The Office this week, it was very interesting after the strike. Coming back from a hiatus in the summer you just say, ‘How is everybody and how was your summer?’ and no one really cares.”
Was this the dinner party episode?
John Krasinski: “Yes, we were shooting the dinner party episode. But coming back this time after being forced to have a hiatus, it’s great to be back where everybody’s got a real, new appreciation for what we’re doing; acting and being on a crew like this and being in the entertainment industry but, especially, being on this show. Because when you’re working day in and day out, it’s very easy to get to that place like, ‘Ah, it’s just a job.’ And it’s not a job at all. It’s a fantasy and it’s not a real nine to five. So, is it good to be back? Yeah.”
Steve Carell was saying that this dinner party episode was one of the funniest ones.
John Krasinski: “Other than the one he wrote. He loves that one.”
What is your take on the episode?
John Krasinski: “I totally agree with him. It is one of the funniest episodes we’ve ever done. We realized it more and more in the shooting of it because, plain and simple, the way I describe it is it’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? meets The Office pretty literally, I’ve got to say. There’s a little bit drinking, a little bit of yelling, and there’s a whole lot of awkward stares from Pam and I while Jan and Michael are fighting, so it was fun to do. It’s as good as Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. (Laughing) I’d go so far as to say that.”
And you’ve got a project with Sam Mendes?
John Krasinski: “I know. One of these days I’m going to work with a good director. I promise.”
It’s supposed to be a comedy. It looks like it could be satiric of America and kind of whimsical. What’s the tone of the film?
John Krasinski: “It’s exactly both of those things. There’s a little darker undercurrent to it, definitely as far as a Little Miss Sunshine, tonally. But as far as where the version of America takes place, it’s quite simply a story of people who don’t feel like they belong anywhere. When they get pregnant, they decide to go all around the country and visit friends. Wherever feels like home, they’re going to stay for the rest of their lives which I think is a sentiment that’s a fairy tale and really nice. I think we all would like to belong somewhere. So, in that seemingly simple arc, it’s just plenty of opportunity to bring in Dave Eggers and Vendela [Vida’s] words, which are incredibly smart and incredibly well-written. So the interactions between all the characters are really going to be fun to do.”
What’s it called?
John Krasinski: “It’s called Untitled Sam Mendes Project as of now, which I really like. Sounds like it would bring in a lot of people.”
