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John Krasinski
Krasinski in March 2009
Born	John Burke Krasinski October 20, 1979 (1979-10-20) (age 30) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2000–present

John Burke Krasinski (pronounced /krəˈzɪnski/; born October 20, 1979) is an American actor, film director and writer. He has acted in several films, including Shrek the Third, Leatherheads, License to Wed, It's Complicated and Away We Go, but is most widely known for playing Jim Halpert on the NBC sitcom The Office.

Early life

Krasinski was born in the Brighton area of Boston, Massachusetts, the son of a Polish-American father, internist Dr. Ronald Krasinski,^[1] and an Irish American mother, Mary Clare (née Doyle).^[2] He has two older brothers, Kevin and Paul, and was raised Roman Catholic in Newton, Massachusetts, a suburban city west of Boston.^[3]

He and co-star on The Office, B.J. Novak, grew up together, as they played on the same Little League team and later went to middle school and high school together where their friendship grew. Krasinski also performed in a play written by Novak while attending Newton South High School. Krasinski's first acting experience was the role of Daddy Warbucks in a grade school production of "Annie."^[4] Krasinski graduated in 1997.^[4]

Before entering college, Krasinski took a semester off to teach English in Costa Rica.^[5] From there, he went to Brown University, studying theater arts with Lowry Marshall and John Emigh and graduating in 2001 as a playwright with an honors thesis titled "Contents Under Pressure".^[6] During his time at Brown, he helped coach youth basketball at The Gordon School in East Providence, Rhode Island. He then attended the National Theater Institute in Waterford, Connecticut.^[7]

Career

Television and feature films

Krasinski's first stage experience was starring in a satirical play written and cast by B. J. Novak for Newton South High School.^[4][8] He decided to continue acting after doing a reading of David Foster Wallace's Brief Interviews with Hideous Men.^[9] Besides training at the National Theater Institute, he also studied at The Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon and The Actors Center in New York City. After graduating from Brown University, Krasinski went to New York City to pursue acting, appearing in commercials and guest spots on television shows, as well as doing readings of off-Broadway plays and working as a waiter.^[10] He starred in the play What the Eunuch Saw, which was written and directed by a former college classmate.^[11] In 2000, Krasinski was a script intern on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.^[12][13]

Krasinski filmed the footage of Scranton, Pennsylvania, for The Office, including the clips shown in the opening credits.^[14] Krasinski directed an episode of The Office, entitled Sabre, the fifteenth episode of The Office's sixth season.

Krasinski starred as Gideon in A New Wave, which was filmed before he was on The Office and released in 2007. He also starred as Brevin in the Gregg Araki film Smiley Face, filmed in 2006. More recently, he had major supporting roles in the films License to Wed, with Mandy Moore and Robin Williams, and Leatherheads with George Clooney and Renee Zellweger. From April to June 2008 he filmed Away We Go, directed by Sam Mendes and co-starring Maya Rudolph.^[15] He appeared with Meryl Streep, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin in the Nancy Meyers romantic comedy It's Complicated, released in late 2009.^[16]

In 2006 Krasinski wrote and directed Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, an adaptation of David Foster Wallace's collection of short stories. It premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.^[17]

In addition to his role on The Office, Krasinski's television credits include appearances on Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Without A Trace, Ed,^[18] American Dad!,^[19] and an episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. His feature film credits include Kinsey, Duane Hopwood, Jarhead, The Holiday and Shrek the Third. He also had minor roles in For Your Consideration and Dreamgirls.

Other work

Beginning in March 2006, Krasinski narrated a series of commercials for Ask.com. He has also narrated commercials for Apple TV, Verizon Wireless, BlackBerry Storm,^[20] My Coke Rewards,^[21] and Carnival Cruise Lines,^[22] and has appeared in print advertisements for Gap.^[23]

Personal life

In November 2008, Krasinski began dating english actress, Amy T, as they had been ´set up´ by Blunts´ The Devil Wears Prada co-star Anne Hathaway. On August 28 2009, Krasinski announced his engagement to Blunt.^[24]

He has also worked in endorsement deals, and appeared in ads for Gap clothing. Krasinski was featured in People Magazine's Sexiest Men alive issue of 2006. He is claims Los Angeles as his current home but travels to New York City and his hometown of Newton, MA frequently.

At 6' 3", very tall by regular standards, he is the shortest among his siblings, with his brothers being 6' 6" and 6' 10".

Filmography

Films

Krasinski at the 2008 Emmy Awards

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

• John Krasinski at the Internet Movie Database
• John Krasinski at TV.com
• John Krasinski interview for License to Wed and The Office at TheCinemaSource.com
• John Krasinski Interview at AMCtv.com