John Krasinski sure knows how to sell a series.
The “A Quiet Place” actor spilled the beans on his upcoming Amazon series “Jack Ryan” when chatting with Variety.
Krasinski, 38, was not actually looking to return to television, instead hoping to continue making strides on the big screen. That all changed, however, when he learned the studio was planning on bringing back Jack Ryan.
“Jack Ryan is one of those characters where he’s sort of an action hero and sort of just a regular guy, which I really love,” said the actor. “There’s something about Jack Ryan that I think is such a great hero for right now. He doesn’t have a cape. He doesn’t have stuff flying out of his hands. He’s just a guy with his brain and his instincts, and he’s trying to figure things out.”
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Krasinski joins a short list of top-notch actors who have portrayed the Tom Clancy character. Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck and Chris Pine have all previously laid claim to the name.
“In my opinion, he’s sort of our James Bond, for America,” said “The Office” alum. “Less sex, but he’s our James Bond.”
Krasinski has worked hard to transform his body from Jim Halpert to Jack Ryan, with the gruelling workouts becoming a habit: “I just felt like a moron if I worked that hard to look like that and then gave it up.”
Besides, Krasinski has some top-level workout equipment available to him, including Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s famous travelling gym. “The problem is, Johnson’s gym is outdoors under a massive tent,” the actor reflected on using Johnson’s gear.
“And this is Atlanta. In July,” he continued. “He likes to sweat it out but sometimes I look around and wonder if he’s punking me, and he’s working out somewhere where there’s air conditioning.”
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But even Krasinski’s action hero bod was not enough to snatch the role of Captain America from Chris Evans, something Krasinski never took personally during the casting process.
“My agent called and said, ‘They’re going to go with Chris Evans and I remember I said, ‘Yeah, look at him. He’s Captain America,'” Krasinski recalled. His wife Emily Blunt offered to cancel their evening plans, but the actor insisted, “‘It’s Chris Evans. Of course, we’re going to dinner.’”
“Jack Ryan” premieres on Amazon Prime Video on August 31. And if you have any doubt of the show’s quality, show creator Carlton Cuse is here to tell you otherwise.
“I think that ‘Jack Ryan’ is superseded by ‘Game of Thrones’ and maybe ‘Westworld’. Not much else,” he said. “It’s really at the top of the pyramid in terms of what’s being done in television.”
