John Krasinski Told Me The Deep Personal Connection Louis Gossett Jr. Had With IF, And It Makes The Movie Even More Special
"He brought absolutely everything to it."
The cast of John Krasinski’s IF is legendary. In the film about a young girl helping a bunch of imaginary friends find homes, A-listers like Steve Carell, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Bradley Cooper, George Clooney, Emily Blunt and so many more voice the sweet animated creatures. However, at the heart of these IFs is a bear named Lewis, who is voiced by the late legend Louis Gossett Jr, and John Krasinski revealed the personal connection the Oscar winner brought to his movie that makes the project even more special.
John Krasinski Reflects On Having Louis Gossett Jr. In His Moving Following The Actor’s Death
During an interview with CinemaBlend, John Krasinski reflected on working with Louis Gossett Jr. and having the movie come out about a month and a half after his death. At the heart of the film, as I mentioned in my review of IF, is the moral that nothing you love can be forgotten, and the director/writer of it told me that having Gossett verbalize this lesson was “surreal and hard to process:”
Like Lewis the Bear says in IF, which is all about remembering and harnessing your childhood, nothing can be forgotten if you love it, and people will remember Louis Gossett Jr.’s and his work forever.
John Krasinski Explains Louis Gossett Jr.’s Personal Connection To IF
Along with reflecting on the actor’s legacy and the timing of his passing, Krasinski also told me about the first phone call he had with the An Officer and a Gentleman star about his loveable character in IF. It turns out, Louis Gossett Jr. understood the director’s vision on a deep level, because he lived it, as The Office star explained:
In the movie, Lewis the Bear has a conversation with Bea about the power of memory and why it’s important to embrace and invite memories into our lives. They are at Coney Island at that moment, and it turns out Louis Gossett Jr. grew up around there, and that boardwalk was just as special to him as it was to Bea and the IFs:
Hearing that Louis Gossett Jr. started telling the same story his character tells in the movie before reading the script is so touching, and it adds so much meaning to his part in the film. Krasinski was blown away when he found out the parallels between Louis and Lewis, and to him, this personal connection added an immense amount of meaning to IF. He said:
It’s so special to hear about the love and personal connection Louis Gossett Jr. brought to IF, and understanding how he related to the bear he played makes the movie even more heartfelt and special.
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To hear the late great Louis Gossett Jr. as Lewis the Bear in IF, you can catch the film in theaters now. To learn more about the making of the movie – like the time John Krasinski shoved a puppet in Ryan Reynolds’ face – stay tuned to CinemaBlend.
Riley Utley is the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. She has written for national publications as well as daily and alt-weekly newspapers in Spokane, Washington, Syracuse, New York and Charleston, South Carolina. She graduated with her master’s degree in arts journalism and communications from the Newhouse School at Syracuse University. Since joining the CB team she has covered numerous TV shows and movies -- including her personal favorite shows Ted Lasso and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. She also has followed and consistently written about everything from Taylor Swift to Fire Country, and she's enjoyed every second of it.