John Krasinski's Audition For The Office Is The Most Sitcom-y Story Ever
He was born to do this job.
It's hard to imagine The Office today with any other actor in any other role. The casting directors' job was done so perfectly that the remake of the British original became far more popular and earned the title of a truly iconic sitcom. However, there was a great possibility that not everybody was going to get to portray their desired characters.
This was especially true for John Krasinski, who almost blew his audition for the show before it even started. What's funny is that it was the real, heartfelt concern for the legacy of the British series that almost left the actor unemployed.
The details of the audition were recalled by the actor himself in Brian Baumgartner and Ben Silverman's book Welcome to Dunder Mifflin: The Ultimate Oral History of The Office.
Krasinski was out of luck from the beginning of the process, as he was scheduled to go last, and it was decided to take a lunch break before his audition. To break the ice, the 23-year-old actor decided to strike up a conversation along these lines:
“I’m terrified for the person creating this show because, I mean, I just feel like Americans have such a track record of taking brilliant shows and ruining them,” Krasinski said.
The man he was talking to, however, turned out to be none other than Greg Daniels, the show's executive producer. As a young actor who was almost certain he wouldn't be cast after such a failure, he allowed himself to relax and exhale, resulting in an amazing performance that landed him the role.
Not only did The Office launch Krasinski's Hollywood career, it also earned him two SAG-AFTRA awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series and an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Special Class - Short-Form Nonfiction Programs. So a little moment of shame was worth it in the end.
If you want to throw an Office binge party, you can stream the show on all the major streaming services, including Netflix, MAX, and Peacock TV.