heat meets... John Krasinski
There have been so many Jack Ryan films and actors playing him. What was it about this version that appealed to you?
I’ve been a Jack Ryan fan since I was a kid. I loved the books and the movies, and I think the appeal was that he was a hero who didn’t have a cape and couldn’t fly or anything like that. Instead, he used his brain and his instincts, so part of me always thought, “I could be Jack Ryan”. Anyone can be Jack Ryan. Having said that, it was nervewracking to take on a part that has been played by so many great actors in films that have done so well. The unique thing about this pitch was that Tom Clancy’s books are super-long and super-packed with detail, and now in this eight-hour series, we can follow in detail how Jack Ryan works. How his brain works.
Have you spoken to Ben Affleck or any of the previous Jack Ryans?
There have been other Jack Ryans? That’s so weird! [Laughs.] Bizarrely, I actually know all of them except Harrison Ford. The only one I’ve spoken to or emailed with about this is Alec Baldwin, and he was nothing but kind, as he always is. He’s one of my favourite humans.
What did he say?
He said, “Oh, that’s great, I didn’t know they were doing him again, that’s cool. Good luck!”
Having achieved such a triumph with your movie A Quiet Place, do you have an urge to write and direct the stuff you do now?
No. I mean, I loved writing and directing and I can’t wait to try it again. And with the success of A Quiet Place, many more doors have been opened to me, but I’m still trying to find that next project to do. It was a luxury to be just an actor in this show, and I was happy for the showrunners to do all that hard work.
Do you think this series is part of this “Peak TV” period we’re in, with big, ambitious shows?
I do. There’s so much great content, it feels like the Wild West of television, and I find that extremely liberating. It means everyone has to raise their game. I think that’s really exciting. This show is more like a commercial movie experience – I think this feels more like a movie than, say, Homeland, which I love, but this will be vastly different. I think this is more of a Game Of Thronestype experience in terms of it being like a big, epic movie.