The floppy hair that John Krasinski sported while playing Jim Halpert is a pretty memorable TV haircut, but a recent interview has revealed that hair was not always the real deal. In fact, Krasinski sported a wig for a chunk of the time he was filming The Office and the story about what happened and why is pretty classic.
You may not know Kim Ferry’s name off the top of your head, but she famously did a lot of the hair work on The Office, including creating Pam’s signature post-ponytail hair and making Michael Scott’s hair look passable. In the case of John Krasinski, that actor really grew out his hair, until one fateful day when he was offered a part in the George Clooney movie Leatherheads. The only problem? Creator Greg Daniels wouldn’t let the actor cut his hair for the gig.
In an interview with Mashable, Kim Ferry revealed she and John Krasinksi concocted a plan and created a wig out of human hair – one John Krasinski even paid for. She thought the wig would be their little secret, but it didn’t turn out quite like that. First, the two secretly made the wig and the actor did film in it.
He paid for the wig — a human hair wig made by a friend of mine, Natascha Ladek, who's the best wig maker in town. She came in to do a secret little fitting for him, she made the wig, we got it, and it looked amazing. [Krasinski] came in a little later that day, and I had the wig hidden in a little secret spot ready for him. When it was just him and I, I put it on him, and then he went out and filmed.
Unfortunately for Kim Ferry, he then immediately copped to the ploy and went to Greg Daniels’ office wearing the wig to make his case for Leatherheads. Ferry recalled feeling like she was about to get fired until John Krasinksi’s office co-star B.J. Novak weighed in, saying:
‘Hey Kim, is this about John's wig? Well, I've gotta tell you... I just saw John and I feel like we're gonna know if it's a wig or not.’ I'm thinking like, uh huh. He doesn't know John's wearing [the wig] right now. So it made me feel better. And I was like, 'Well, that's interesting.' I literally turned to B.J. and said, 'It was nice working with you BJ,' and I see Kent, and I see Greg sitting at his desk, and John is kind of sitting next to him, and I see the wig off sitting right in front of Greg.
Apparently, Krasinski had gone in to the studio office to argue with Greg Daniels about whether or not a wig would work for Jim Halpert. Greg Daniels didn’t think it would, but given Krasinski was already wearing the wig, he was able to rip it off in theatrical fashion and thus prove his point: the wig would work. Thus, he was able to tackle both Leatherheads and The Office at once.
John Krasinksi did go on to star in Leatherheads, where he sported a much shorter hair cut. But he stuck around as Jim as the series wrapped its run and still considers The Office to be “one of the greatest honors” of his life. There's even been talk of a reunion, though I dunno how a potential revival would explain Krasinki's newly fit physique, thanks to get buff for 13 Hours and Jack Ryan. At least that's not a problem Kim Ferry would ever need to deal with...
