Most fans first met John Krasinski as nice guy Jim Halpert on NBC’s The Office. Today, we explore how he became one of the biggest names in Hollywood, having directed the newly-released A Quiet Place Part II and its predecessor for Paramount Pictures.

A Quiet Place Part II made lots of noise this Memorial Day Weekend with $57 million in ticket sales, setting a post-pandemic record at the box-office. This has been a long time coming for director John Krasinski, whose acting career started back in 2001. In a 2011, interview with Parade, Krasinski said: 

“I held down as many jobs as I could find, from being a waiter to working at a yoga studio and as a ticket-taker at a small theater company–anything that would allow me to go out and do auditions.”

After taking several small roles in movies and TV shows, Krasinski landed his breakout role as paper salesman Jim Halpert on NBC’s The Office, which he starred in from 2005 to 2013. During this time, Krasinski took on several other acting roles in films like The Holiday, Dreamgirls, and Leatherheads, to name a few. 

A busy man, Krasinski wasn’t just focused on acting. In 2009, he made his writing, producing, and directorial debut in Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, a film based on the short story collection of the same name by David Foster Wallace. At the time, Krasinski told IndieWire:

“Probably the biggest challenge for me as a director was to not show how scared I was. I was surrounded by some of the most talented people in the industry, and I had to pretend I knew what I was doing.”

He went on to direct three episodes of The Office, as well as comedy-drama The Hollar (which he also produced). Some of Krasinski’s other credits include star, writer, and producer of Promised Land and executive producer of Manchester by the Sea, Lip Sync Battle, and Adult Swim’s Dream Corp LLC. Krasinski also starred in Michael Bay’s 13 Hours in 2016 and Kathryn Bigelow’s Detroit in 2017.

Krasinski finally reached A-list status in 2018 when A Quiet Place premiered. He not only showed off his directing chops, but also executive produced, wrote, and starred in the chilling horror-thriller film about a family forced to live in silence to survive deadly monsters with hypersensitive hearing.

Now, after being postponed over a year due to COVID-19, the long-awaited sequel A Quiet Place Part II has hit the big screen. Krasinski himself shared in the excitement by surprising fans at screenings and posting their reactions on social media. 

Oh we’re in Houston y’all! #aquietplace2 #GreenGhost#TheatersAreBack !!!!
OPENING WEEKEND!!!! pic.twitter.com/rmyTT99fut

— John Krasinski (@johnkrasinski) May 29, 2021

In addition to A Quiet Place Part II in theaters now, you can see Krasinski in Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan on Amazon Prime.