As the lanky, lovelorn cog Jim Halpert on NBC's remake of the British mockumentary The Office, John Krasinski has won a devoted female following. Turns out the slightly shambling, beagle-eyed actor is also a sensitive lit'ry man. A 26-year-old graduate of Brown University, Krasinski is preparing to direct his own movie adaptation of David Foster Wallace's collection of short stories Brief Interviews With Hideeous Men. "This book changed my life," he says earnestly.

So did a fateful decision by Brown's basketball coach, who wouldn't let the 6'3" Krasinski on the varsity team midseam, after he returned from a semester in Costa Rica. Krasinski pursued performance instead, joining an indie sketch comedy group and studying at the O'Neill National Theater Institute, where he learned that "when you're in the middle of a Bernard Shaw scene, it's generally not a good idea to go into a Chris Farley impression." He's been toggling effortlessly between satire and sincerity ever since. This fall, those crazy for Krasinski can catch him in Nancy Meyers' romantic comedy The Holiday, Christopher Guest's Oscar spoof For Your Consideration, and the hotly anticipated Dreamgirls. He's also filming his big-screen leading role, opposite Mandy Moore in the romance License to Wed. "It's rare that someone this talented has so much class and humor," Moore coos.

""There's no way to say no to a big studio at this stage in the game," Krasinski says. Besides, "it's this really sweet, heartfelt movie... and I'm a guy who wears his heart on his sleeve."

-- Elle Magazine September 2006

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