John Krasinski interview

In the new Sam Mendes flick, Away We Go, John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph play Burt and his pregnant girlfriend Verona, who hit the road in search of a place to raise their kid. Last week, we ran my Q&A with Rudolph; this week, it’s Krasinski’s turn.

Time Out Chicago: Did you catch the New York Times piece that called you and Maya Rudolph “one of the most credible couples ever to grace a movie screen”?
John Krasinski: Yes, that was insane.

TOC: Small praise.
JK: Very small praise. I feel you just work your way up. No, that’s a comment you want to have at the end of your career, just before you die. All those compliments come back to Sam Mendes, who I think is the best storytelling director alive right now.

TOC: How’d you and Maya develop your onscreen dynamic?
JK: I had been to SNL a bunch of times because I’ve reached stalker status. And we had known each other through mutual friends. She’s been one of my favorite people to watch, period, for years. We basically just started hanging out all the time during rehearsals.

TOC: What insights did you get into Maya Rudolph?
JK: She is dangerous-funny. She can make you laugh so hard you hope you’re not driving a car—or you hope it’s a movie car being driven for you.

TOC: I’ll ask her when I talk to her in an hour, so I’ll ask you, too: the oral-sex scene. What were you doing underneath that blanket?
JK: I was completely between her legs, three to four inches away from ground zero. It was the first or second day we shot, so it was an incredible ice-breaker.

TOC: And between you and ground zero…?
JK: Some pretty severe wardrobe panties.

TOC: Playing a couple written by a couple, Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida—what was that like?
JK: They were shockingly very collaborative. It’s so good as a script that the fact they were willing to change anything to make it more organic was pretty astounding.

TOC: Did you make any changes in particular?
JK: I improvised that Casey Kasem speech in one take just because there was this weird dead time. I honestly don’t even remember what I said. I just got nervous that Sam Mendes had a camera and there was too much space…. The other thing I’ll say about Dave and Vendela: To me, they wrote one of the most romantic couples I’ve seen on film. Usually in romances or romantic comedies, there’s always these huge romantic gestures, like jumping from one boat to another to get someone.

TOC: The breakup and the makeup.
JK: Exactly, and the fact that there is no breakup and makeup and the only problem Maya and I have in the movie is that we’re too in love, there’s something so real about that. The greatest romance is not about flowers and diamonds but more about secret languages and understanding everything with a glance.

TOC: How did your own couple experiences inform this? You’re dating Emily Blunt now, right?
JK: Uh, yeah. I’m not gonna talk about the personal stuff.

TOC: Okay…. In another upcoming project, you costar with Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin. I’m gonna ask what it was like working with Meryl Streep, but you can’t say, “I learned so much.”
JK: [Laughs] Okay. Fair enough. We’re still in the midst of it now, so I’m still learning so much—boom! I got you. No, I’m just kidding. She’s someone who could potentially be your best friend; she’s so incredibly sweet. And then when they’re rolling camera, she turns into this incredible artist who can do anything she wants. Yes, she’s done incredible roles, but who she is as a person is what’s given her this long-lasting effect.

TOC: When’s it coming out?
JK: Christmas Day, which is wild.

TOC: Your first Christmas movie?
JK: I think it is, actually.

TOC: You’re moving on up, John.
JK: Am I? This is a big deal, right?

TOC: A Christmas movie with Meryl Streep? I mean…
JK: One of these days I’ll work with someone good, I promise you.

TOC: An Office question: Have you ever worked in a cube?
JK: I have. In college, I was at an advertising company in Boston one summer, making copies and getting coffee. Then I was an intern for Conan O’Brien. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life, and yet still only getting coffee and making copies.

TOC: I’m curious what your two older brothers said when People named you one of the sexiest men alive—not once but twice.
JK: [Laughs] Aw, man, you know how to bring up the real sore spots. It was straight out of a movie. We were playing pickup basketball the day after the first one came out, and one of my brothers—I forget which one ’cause I’ve tried to block it out—was, like, “Do you need a moment for makeup? Did you bring your entourage?” Pickup basketball is pretty much the opposite of sexiest man alive.

TOC: How’d you manage to play that day?
JK: I actually had a great day. I grew up with brothers who were 6’8” and 6’9”. I’m a mere 6’3”. I’m a runt. All I had to learn to do was shoot over them ’cause God knows I wasn’t going to go inside.

TOC: What do you think Maya will say about working with John Krasinski?
JK: She’s gonna either say something about the way I smelled or she’s gonna say something about Guitar Hero. If I’m right, let me know somehow.

You can find out here, John. Away We Go opens Friday 12.