John Krasinski

[Ladybug]

Mar 13, 2005 12:45:42 GMT -4 Ginger said:

A few years ago, Jenna Fischer said something very actress-y in an interview about how she and Krasinski loved each other for real and that's why they had good chemistry. She wasn't really implying they actually ever had something going on IRL, but the quote got repeated. Krasinski shut that down pretty firmly and said something about how she must have been taken out of context and he "felt embarrassed for her". I think some people thought his response was a tad harsh.

I remember that. The whole thing was cringey.

[Spinderella]

Apr 8, 2020 15:58:56 GMT -4 Ladybug said:

Mar 13, 2005 12:45:42 GMT -4 Ginger said:

A few years ago, Jenna Fischer said something very actress-y in an interview about how she and Krasinski loved each other for real and that's why they had good chemistry. She wasn't really implying they actually ever had something going on IRL, but the quote got repeated. Krasinski shut that down pretty firmly and said something about how she must have been taken out of context and he "felt embarrassed for her". I think some people thought his response was a tad harsh.

I remember that. The whole thing was cringey.

It was such an odd thing to say, I'm not surprised that Krasinski shut it down the way he did. If it had never really taken off through media, he probably wouldn't have cared. But saying that two actors loved each other IRL, but not actually hooked up in that way...yeah, that wouldn't have really sat well with me, either.

[Deleted]

A guy I used to work with and still see socially on occasion is the same age as Krasinski and went to high school with him and B.J. Novak in Newton. According to him, Krasinski basically is Jim. He also said that the only reason both Krasinski and Novak ever got anywhere was because of BJ’s father’s connections. He was a ghost writer of celebrity memoirs.

So I can see how being well connected is important to him, because without becoming friends with the son of a well connected writer, he might never have gotten any farther than community theater.

[Spinderella]

Unless you have this absolutely mind-blowing talent (and even then, it's still uncertain), you just gotta have connections.

It could be someone that you randomly meet at a post office who offers to do some headshots for you for free (Chris Pratt) or hears you singing along to the music playing at a gas pump (Toni Braxton). Having connections is pretty important once you are already on the celeb path, I would imagine.

I don't blame him for wanting to keep connections and the creative juices flowing. I don't think he's a bad guy at all. Hell, we can all be assholes from time to time, but I think he and Emily Blunt are genuinely nice and funny people. You don't have to necessarily be BFFs with every.single.person. you worked on a show or movie with to have it seem like they were only doing it for the connections. Meryl and Stanley Tucci were Emily's friends from her time on The Devil Wears Prada, not John's. I think they both brought a lot of professional connections to their marriage, but clearly they love each other, too. It's a win-win. (And they're pretty to look at. Damn them!)

[Ginger]

I don't think he's a bad guy and if he were stepping on people in the name of social climbing, we probably would have heard that by now. He and Emily seem to be well liked.

Connections are important, but I still side-eye when "connections" and "best friends" are one and the same. I think of George Clooney as somebody who built up a lot of connections and then maximized those connections when he was in a position to take his career further. But at the same time, he was always clear on who his actual nearest and dearest friends were.

I remember when Clooney made several movies with Mark Wahlberg and they appeared to be BFF's, he was asked about their friendship and said they weren't really friends and didn't socialize, they just enjoyed making movies together. That's a professional connection. Not saying people can't be friends as well, but I think it's weird when anyone's inner circle gets taken over by the biggest and most useful celebrities they have come into contact with.

On the cringe note, in 2016 Krasinski got himself a spot presenting at the Golden Globes and seated up front at the Revenant table. And every single person at the table completely ignored him. I think he told the story on a talk show. Every time Leo and the gang won something, they'd all get up and give each other hugs and Krasinski would busy himself looking at his phone. At one point, the Revenant people all posed for a picture toasting one another and he was the one person at the table conspicuously not included. I have to LOL at that failed attempt at social climbing.

[technicolor]

I think it's a bit of an "Anne Hathaway" effect, tbh. It's not that Hathaway had the thirstiest Oscar campaign ever. It's that she was rather obvious and awkward about it. And a whole lotta sexism, but her awkwardness contributed IMO.

It's the same here perhaps? It's not that most actors aren't networking like crazy. It's that both Krasinski and Blunt are in the spotlight, so you have that doubled. And they seem relatively open about the intermixing of professional/social life. The public knows about their friends to some degree, has gotten some access to their wedding, they have social media, they show (curated) snapshots of their life on social media etc. So they've given the public a degree of access to their lives beyond just the professional sphere. And since they are more present in the public eye beyond just their professional commitments, that might colour the perception as well.

Bringing in another example, since I'm interested in his work: Adam Driver seems like a World Class networker IMO. Someone who might be introverted, but seems able to strike long-term professional relationships with directors, writers etc. But he makes a much harder cut regarding his private life. He doesn't do social media, homestory photo spreads etc. So he might mention that he's friendly with Gerwig/Baumbach, Laura Dern or Rian Johnson. But it stays theoretical, there isn't really great access for the public to this private aspect.

[smitten]

I am biased, but I feel like Adam Driver is the kind of person that everyone wants to be around because he's fucking awesome. But I feel like John Krasinski is more of a puppy wanting to be around everyone else.

Don't get me wrong, I loved him as Jim. But sometimes I do feel like he's punching a little above his weight, acting wise. Especially in the Jack Ryan role. And I cannot even fathom the rumor that it was down to him vs Chris Evans for Captain America.

[Ginger]

Krasinski once name-dropped PT Anderson and I was like, yeah of course he wasn't going to make a movie with Maya Rudolph and not get through her to her more prestigious husband.

The climbing is just really consistent and really blatant with Krasinski.

[americanchai]

I think Krasinski also used connections from when he was an intern at Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Conan and he have similar backgrounds, from the same general area of Boston, both dads are doctors. I'm sure he leveraged all that to get closer to Conan.

I've had two good male friends who reminded me of a hybrid of him and Ben Affleck - from Boston, Irish-mixed-with-something, tall, good-looking, square heads, smart, funny, heavy drinkers, super social. They are charming and effortless social networkers. I think Krasinski is exactly in the hierarchy of Hollywood where he belongs - hovering somewhere between A and B-list. I think eventually he'll realize that the power is more in directing and he'll end up full-time behind the camera, but who knows? Maybe his ego won't let him.

[Ginger]

Mar 11, 2005 8:32:51 GMT -4 americanchai said:

I think Krasinski also used connections from when he was an intern at Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Conan and he have similar backgrounds, from the same general area of Boston, both dads are doctors. I'm sure he leveraged all that to get closer to Conan.

You know how most intern jobs even at a cool place like Late Night with Conan O'Brien are usually pretty shitty and you don't actually mingle with anyone important or do anything fun? Somehow Krasinski was the intern who would help Conan warm up before the show and have Conan pitch jokes at him right before he went on.

Mindy Kaling was also a Conan intern. She "photocopied things".

So yeah.