The American version of The Office ended in 2013, and in the time since actor John Krasinski has continued to branch out and introduce himself to audiences in new roles. The actor will always be known as Jim Halpert, but he is slowly becoming known for more than that as he takes on different jobs in front of and behind the camera. But even though he has left Dunder Mifflin behind, John Krasinski still carries the things he learned during his time on The Office with him. In fact, it was a lesson he learned from The Office creator Greg Daniels that gave John Krasinski the confidence to make his breakout horror hit, A Quiet Place. The actor explained how The Office influenced his recent film, saying:
So when I asked to do the rewrite I really wanted to drill down on all that family stuff and make every single part of the movie come back to being a family. It's funny, on The Office, I remember Greg Daniels --- the creator of the show --- telling me 'your job is not to deliver these lines funny. Your job is to deliver these lines and if people think they're funny that's up to them. And if people think that what you say to Pam is emotional that's up to them too.' And I've got to be really honest with you, I never would have done this movie if it wasn't for that advice because I looked at this not as a horror movie but I looked at it just like Greg said. I said, 'If I can make you fall in love with this family then you'll be scared because you don't want anything to happen to them.' So I owe him a lot for that.
It sounds like what John Krasinski is saying here is that it all comes down to character, and when you deliver on character, you can trust that your audience will have the reaction you want, whether that be to laugh, to cry or to clench their fists until their nails dig in to their hands. As John Krasinski told The Lantern, it was that lesson from Greg Daniels that gave him the confidence to tackle his horror film. We know that the director's work on the script made a huge difference in the tension and structure of the A Quiet Place. It seems that it was that influence from The Office that made him tweak the script to focus on those family elements, resulting in a movie that is really about a family dealing with guilt and grief that fights to keep each other safe no matter what.
The Office was a beloved series that ran for nine seasons, so it is unsurprising that John Krasinski learned a lot during his time on it. If you think back to The Office, there was no laugh track to tell you when to laugh. The series relied on the script, its actors and the audience to create a harmony of humor and emotion. This is truly sage advice from Greg Daniels because if you trust the script and the work you've done, you'll get the laughs you want without trying to force them. Similarly, through little dialogue, John Kraskinski is able to make you care about the family in A Quiet Place, which in turn makes you fear for their safety.
The Office didn't just help John Krasinski with the script either; the director seemingly included a nod to the show and one of the best television romances of all time. The scene in A Quiet Place where Lee and Evelyn Abbott, in a world of silence, listen to music on shared headphones is reminiscent of a similar scene between John Krasinski's Jim and Jenna Fischer's Pam on The Office.
A Quiet Place is currently putting up solid numbers at the box office, continuing the recent streak of successful, unique horror films. While we are still waiting to see exactly what will happen with a potential revival of The Office, it is clear that the talent involved with that show were always destined for great things.
