John Krasinski on His Directing Debut, ‘The Hollars’, and How He’ll Always Be an “Actor at Heart”

"To me, it’s not about comedy or drama or genre, it’s about, where's the good story?" - John Krasinski

john Krasinski Directing Debut

John Krasinski is can now add director and producer to his growing resume with The Hollars. The film, about a man who returns to his small hometown after learning that his mother has fallen ill, recently screened at Sundance, and as he told The Huffington Post, he came close to not getting the cast he wanted. “Richard Jenkins read the script and really liked it, but he said, ‘If you can get Margo Martindale, I’ll do it. Otherwise, good luck.’ So, I got Margo, and then I got Richard. And those two actors are so good that it’s just like catnip for other actors.”

Even though he’s now wearing multiple hats, he noted that he’s “an actor at heart.” He went on to say, “One thing I hope people can see in my career is [that] I love to push the limits. To me, it’s not about comedy or drama or genre, it’s about, where’s the good story? Acting is always more fun for me. I love being a part of a story, I love collaborating, I love working with different directors. If I just directed more and more, it would lessen the opportunity to work with all these big directors that I’ve had the opportunity to work with.”

He was also asked if there was ever a chance that he and his wife, Emily Blunt, would ever work together. “I think there’s a part of us that would like to use the fact that we’re married, but you don’t want the idea that we’re married to overshadow the project itself. We’re just looking for something that’s so specific and good that it becomes a part of the story of why we did it rather than when we go to do press it’s, ‘Oh, my God, you’re married and that’s the only thing we want to talk about.’ If we can merge both, that could be great.”

Krasinski is currently starring in 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, in theaters now.

Leave a Reply

Scroll to Top