How John Krasinski Went From Waiting Tables To One Of Time's Most Influential People

John Burke Krasinski was born in Newton, Massachusetts in 1979. Krasinski, who would grow up to be a whopping 6' 3" tall, was the runt of the family, coming in at a roughly half a foot shorter than his two older brothers. He attended Newton South High School, after which he took a brief hiatus to spend six months in Costa Rica working on his Spanish and teaching English. He also flashed a bit of his future action-hero persona when he saved a woman from drowning in a riptide.

Action hero moments aside, though, probably the most incredible coincidence of this early chapter in his pre-fame life came through his childhood friendship with his future co-star B.J. Novak. That's right, the two fellas actually went to the same school and even played little league together. And as if that wasn't enough, it was during their time in high school that Novak approached Krasinski (who up to that point had only acted as Daddy Warbucks in a middle school production of Annie) and coaxed him into acting in a stage play he was putting together. They were both pleasantly surprised when they independently found their way onto the set of The Office several years later.

As we all know, Krasinski's big break was when he landed the role of Jim Halpert on the smash television series The Office. But, despite being a fan of the original British version of the show, he wasn't exactly sure what he was getting himself into. In fact, rather than set himself up for success, he managed to make things as hard as possible to land the role.

According to Krasinski himself, he was the last of seven people to audition. Just before his turn came, the casting director announced that they were going to take a lunch break, during which one of the team sat and began asking Krasinski how he felt about the impending interview. The actor played it off as if he wasn't too worried about his own performance, though he genuinely was concerned that the remake would ruin the British show's legacy if they didn't handle the American version correctly. After having thoroughly expressed his mistrust of the new show, his confidant revealed himself to be none other than Greg Daniels, the show's executive producer.

Things could have taken a very different turn after that, but as it turned out, the knowledge (known by both Krasinski and the entire casting crew) that he had already more or less "thrown the audition" created a relaxed atmosphere that facilitated Krasinski's performance. The next thing he knew, he was in L.A. reading lines with Jenna Fischer, and the rest was history.

While Krasinski's career absolutely blew up thanks to his years on The Office, Jim Halpert wasn't the only role that the ambitious young actor took on during his time at Dunder Mifflin Paper. Krasinski quickly began to pick up other acting gigs on the side. This not only continued to build his portfolio, but it brought him into close proximity with some major A-list Hollywood personalities in the process.

Among a host of other appearances, in 2007 Krasinski starred opposite Robin Williams and Mandy Moore in License to Wed. Two years later, he appeared on screen with Maya Rudolph as the two played the couple Burt and Verona in Sam Mendes' Away We Go. He also began to pop up as a narrator and actor in a variety of large-scale commercials for companies like Apple, Pepsi, and Carnival Cruise. And to top it all off, he came tantalizingly close to being cast as Captain America, but alas, Krasinski wielding that star-studded shield in a red, white, and blue superhero uniform is something we'll most likely never get to see.

The Office wrapped up in 2013, and Krasinski bid a fond farewell to the show that had launched his career. But, unlike so many other sitcom stars over the years, untethering from the initial source of his fame did not mean he was about to drift out to sea where a few small cameos and otherwise irrelevant roles would be his fate. The man was built to succeed. Even with the star power of The Office in the rear view mirror, everything he touched continued to turn to gold.

One interesting, off-beat thing he did in the aftermath of The Office was to jump off of the film set and onto the stage, starring in the off-Broadway production Dry Powder in 2016. The play was set in the world of high finance and dealt with current issues like income inequality. This wasn't a complete career change for Krasinski, though. It was just a quick detour — and a star-studded one at that. The play also cast Claire Danes and Hank Azaria in leading roles and was directed by Hamilton's Thomas Kail. When it wrapped up its run in May 2016, Krasinski put a stamp on his foray into stage acting and slipped right back into the Hollywood scene.

While Jim Halpert and his myriad of other acting gigs have defined our perception of the man, the other quite prolific side to Krasinski's career coin has been his work behind the camera. Remember, this guy has a degree as a playwright and studied at the Royal Shakespeare Company. Add to that his seemingly boundless energy and the fact that he seems to ooze creativity one hundred percent of the time and, hey presto, you get John Krasinski the producer and director.

Krasinski's first big project was 2009's Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, which he both produced and directed. After that, he was off to the races. While his directing repertoire is a bit scantier than the production end of things, he directed some of the later episodes of The Office as well as 2016's The Hollars.

When it comes to production, the list grows by leaps and bounds. Along with several episodes of The Office and all of the movies he's directed thus far, Krasinski has produced Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan and Adult Swim's Dream Corp, LLC. The enormously popular musical competition Lip Sync Battle, which began as a segment on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in 2013, was also developed by Krasinski's production company Sunday Night. As if all of that wasn't enough, Krasinski, along with Matt Damon, was one of the driving forces behind the idea for Manchester by the Sea, a film that won an Academy Award for best original screenplay.

There can be no doubt that John Krasinski has had a wild ride in his rise to stardom. He's transformed from a reluctant actor in B.J. Novak's high school play to a world-renowned celebrity with an exceedingly accomplished portfolio as an actor, producer, and director. And the best part is that he didn't just "hit it big" and then rest on his laurels. The man has been building on his success as The Office's most lovable heartthrob ever since he first set foot on the set.

All of this is worthy of recognition, and fortunately Krasinski is starting to get it. In 2018 the man — can we say legend yet? —  made it onto Time's list of the 100 Most Influential People of 2018. If that isn't a mark of global recognition, we don't know what is. You can see the Time write-up by none other than his buddy and fellow superstar Chris Pratt here. In the meantime, we can all wait with baited breath to see what else this Office alumnus, action hero, family man, actor, producer, director, and all-around world-shaker has up his sleeve next.