Beyond his fantastic acting career, John Krasinski has also had a successful directorial career. As an actor, Krasinski is one of the most underrated actors in Hollywood. With credits in one of American television’s top comedy series, Krasinski transitioned into serious roles such as playing the title character in Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan series.
Since the 2000s, John Krasinski has had growing credits as a director. The 1.91-meter-tall American actor has had two of his films gross more than $250 million at the Box Office. With another of his directorial projects releasing in 2024, Krasinski has been busy since he made his directorial debut in 2009. Here’s a look at John Krasinski’s career journey as a director.
Brief Interviews with Hideous Men (2009)
Brief Interviews with Hideous Men was John Krasinski’s feature directorial debut. The 2009 comedy-drama was also written by Krasinski, who adapted it from David Foster Wallace’s short story collection of the same name. The movie revolves around its protagonist, Sara Quinn (Julianne Nicholson), whose recent breakup causes her to interview men for her graduate thesis.
Brief Interviews with Hideous Men starred notable names, including Will Arnett, Frankie Faison, Bobby Cannavale, Corey Stoll, and Will Forte. Understandably, as his first directorial project, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, received mixed to negative reviews from critics. Although it also bombed at the Box Office, looking back, it was a great way for John Krasinski to get started as a director.
The Office (2010–2012)
The NBC mockumentary sitcom The Office was John Krasinski’s breakout role. As an actor, Krasinski was cast as Jim Halpert, introduced in the show as a sales representative of the Scranton branch of paper distribution company Dunder Mifflin. Part of the character’s career growth saw him become the company’s Assistant Regional Manager and, later, co-manager alongside Michael Scott (Steve Carell).
After his feature directorial debut on the big screen, Krasinski made his television directorial debut by directing an episode of The Office in 2010. His first directed episode was season 6, episode 15 (“Sabre”). The episode originally aired on February 4, 2010. The episode was the first appearance of actress Kathy Bates’ character, Jo Bennett, who was the CEO of Sabre. Eagle-eyed viewers would also notice it was the first time actor Ed Helms’ name is included in the opening credits. John Krasinski directed two other episodes of the show in season 8, episode 3 (“Lotto”) and season 9, episode 6 (“The Boat”).
The Hollars (2016)
After The Office finale in 2013, John Krasinski returned to directing movies in 2016. However, unlike Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, which he wrote, Krasinski directed Jim Strouse’s screenplay in The Hollars. Besides also co-producing the movie, Kransinski also joined its ensemble cast, playing John Hollar. Although The Hollars still received mixed to average reviews from critics, it fared better at the Box Office with a $1.1 million earning. However, with a production budget of $3.8 million, The Hollars was also a commercial failure.
A Quiet Place (2018)
John Krasinski was immediately drawn to Scott Beck and Bryan Woods’ script. Although they developed the story, Krasinski is also credited as a co-writer. Besides directing A Quiet Place, Krasinski also played the male lead, engineer Lee Abbott, alongside his real-life wife, actress Emily Blunt. A Quiet Place was John Krasinski’s international breakout film as a director. The movie was a critical and commercial success, grossing a massive $341 million on a $17 million production budget.
A Quiet Place Part II (2020)
John Krasinski returned as director for the 2020 sequel, A Quiet Place Part II. While working with established characters from Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, Krasinski wrote the screenplay for the sequel. Although Krasinski’s character died in the first film, he wrote the character to appear in flashbacks in A Quiet Place Part II. Irish actor Cillian Murphy and Beninese-born actor Djimon Hounsou joined the cast in the sequel.
A Quiet Place Part II was made with a higher production budget of $55–61 million. Although its Box Office earnings failed to outperform its predecessor, it still turned a profit with earnings of $297.4 million. The first spin-off in the A Quiet Place universe, A Quiet Place: Day One, is scheduled for release in June 2024. However, John Krasinski would not be directing but is credited as one of its story developers. Kenyan-Mexican actress Lupita Nyong’o will lead the cast of the 2024 spin-off movie.
IF (2024)
Although only contributing to the story of the 2024 spin-off A Quiet Place: Day One, John Krasinski has a directorial project that will also be released in 2024. John Krasinski’s IF (Imaginary Friends) is scheduled for release on May 17, 2024. The movie stars 17-year-old Cailey Fleming, who plays Bea. Her character is a young girl with the supernatural ability to see Imaginary Friends. Fleming is joined by Ryan Reynolds and also Krasinski, who plays Bea’s dad. The live-action/animated fantasy-comedy is also packed with a star-studded cast, voicing several Imaginary Friends. If you enjoyed reading about John Krasinski’s directorial career, read our breakdown of Alex Garland’s directorial career.
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