To some fans, actor and director John Krasinski may always be Jim Halpert from the American version ofThe Office. Jim is the show’s lovable smart-aleck, who brings some normality to proceedings by laughing at the madness around him. His cliffhanging romance with Pam Beesley both captivated and infuriated audiences for four seasons, and his pranks on desk buddy Dwight Schrute produced some of the sitcom’s best gags. WhenThe Officeended in 2013, it wasn’t clear where Krasinski would go next. In any case, we didn’t expect him to have two massive career changes in the space of a decade.
Since shedding his sitcom character of nine years,John Krasinski’s best performanceshave come in some of the biggest action releases of the 2010s, on both the big and small screen, while starting his own horror franchise. Given his comic chops and the fact that Jim Halpert was by far the biggest character on his résumé in 2013,it would have been impossible to predict that Krasinski would go in this direction afterThe Office.

John Krasinski Is Now One Of Hollywood’s Biggest Action Stars
He’s Known For Playing Jack Ryan, A Marvel Superhero And Guy Ritchie’s Version Of Indiana Jones
John Krasinski is now best known for three high-octane roles that have transformed his reputation from TV comedy actor to Hollywood action hero.Krasinski’s portrayals of CIA agent Jack Ryanin the Prime Video action thriller series of the same name, Lee Abbott in the dystopian horror movie seriesA Quiet Place, and Mister Fantastic in the MCU superhero movieDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, are the things that have gained him recognition among younger generations. In fact,many teenage moviegoers and streamers probably don’t even realize that Krasinski was inThe Office.
Theaction movie that changed Krasinski’s career was13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, a forgettable 2016 action thriller directed by Michael Bay. While the movie itself leaves a lot to be desired, Krasinski’s role as counterterrorism operative Jack Silva gave us a glimpse of the direction he intended to go in.

John Krasinski’s Jack Ryan Film Can Easily Break A Tom Clancy Record After 6 Other Movies
Amazon has announced that a new Jack Ryan movie is in development, meaning John Krasinski’s film will achieve one feat no other adaptation could.
When it came time for Amazon and Paramount to cast the central hero of their new adaptation of Tom Clancy’sJack Ryanstories, Krasinski’s performance in13 Hoursmust have had a lot to do with their decision. Now that his character’s Prime Video show has ended, Krasinski has turned his attention to playing anIndiana Jones-style hero in Guy Ritchie’s upcoming adventure movieFountain of Youth.

Nothing About The Office Suggested Krasinski’s Career Would Go In This Direction
Krasinski Was A Comic Actor Whose Character Lacked The Physicality Of An Action Hero
The U.S. iteration ofThe Officedid feature some stars who already fitted the part of action stars, includingThe WireactorsIdris Elba and Amy Ryan, but John Krasinski wasn’t one of them. Jim Halpert is many things, but he’s not an action hero. The character’s lack of physicality is repeatedly highlighted throughout the sitcom, from the moment Dwight has to step in and save him from being attacked by Pam’s fiance, Roy, to the episode “Coy Pond”, in which Jim practices the opposite of chivalry by leaning out of Michael Scott’s way to let him fall into a pond.
John Krasinski is the source of many ofThe Office’s best one-liners, delivered in his trademark deadpan style.
Krasinski’s character is also the source of many ofThe Office’s best one-liners, delivered in his trademark deadpan style, and comedy seemed the obvious route for him to continue down once the series was over. Perhaps that’s why the actor-director changed tack, in a deliberate move to avoid being typecast. Whatever his reasons,Krasinski has made not one but two big career switches in the last 12 years.
John Krasinski Made A Second Career Change By Switching From Actor To Director
His Direction Of Horror Franchise A Quiet Place Put Him On The Map As A Filmmaker
As well as becoming an action star in his own right,John Krasinski has gone on to become a critically and commercially successful Hollywood director. Although he had directed one niche movie, 2009’sBrief Interviews with Hideous Men, beforeThe Officeended, it didn’t receive a wide release and was poorly reviewed.
John Krasinski’s 10 Best Movies And TV Shows
John Krasinski’s best movies and TV shows have seen her career grow from sitcoms to horror movies to spy adventures, all showcasing his talents.
Krasinski’s second attempt at directing in his career, the 2016 comedy-drama movieThe Hollarsdidn’t do well with critics either, and was also a box-office flop. Some actors might have given up at that stage, but Krasinski had other ideas, co-writing and directing the seminal 2018 horror movieA Quiet Place, in which he also starred.A Quiet Placehas gone on to become a behemoth horror franchise, with Krasinski directing its second installment and producing its third.
In addition, he wrote and directed the comedy movieIFin 2024. In just over a decade, Krasinski has gone from small-screen comic actor to established action star and movie director, representing a transformation on two levels that few would have anticipated forThe Office’s Jim Halpert.