‘The Office’: John Krasinski Calls This Actor the Show’s Secret Weapon; It’s Not Who You Think
When it comes to the cast of The Office, there’s no shortage of talent. Whether you’re watching the over-the-top antics of Steve Carell as Michael Scott or the icy judgment of Angela Kinsey as Angela Martin, the cast is adept at creating fun and unique characters that fans love to watch. But, while fans of The Office often debate on who was the real standout actor, John Krasinski calls one cast member the show’s secret weapon.
Krasinski, who played Jim Halpert on the show, has done plenty since The Office went off of the air. But still, he always cites his time on the hit NBC show as one of the best times of his life. Always stating how insanely talented everyone on the show was, he is still in touch with many of his fellow cast members today. Krasinski has given plenty of his Office alums credit over the years. But, there’s one person he cites as the show’s secret weapon.
John Krasinski praises fellow cast member, Melora Hardin
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Krasinski named Melora Hardin, who played Jan Levinson, as the secret weapon of The Office. Praising her for her ability to add levity by being no-nonsense and playing everything dead-on, he felt that she was the perfect contrast to Micheal’s ridiculous antics.
“Melora was so good on our show. She was really our secret weapon, because I think it’s hard to play the straight character in a show like that. She played the severe girlfriend so well and ended up being a great comedy duo with Steve,” The Office alum shared about his former castmate.
How Hardin made ‘The Office’ more hilarious
Krasinki also revealed that Carell found Hardin to be extremely funny. This, of course, is a compliment because The Office cast constantly raved about how funny Carell was. “Steve found her very funny and I think that, had she not been so hardcore, it wouldn’t have been nearly as funny. Her character had so much ambition and so much power in her, which was the exact opposite of Steve. It was almost like an S&M relationship, like he loved being tortured by her or something,” Krasinski shared about Hardin.
But just how was Hardin able to craft such an unflappable persona for Jan, at least for the first few seasons of The Office? The actress was able to build a background for her character that justified her harsh persona. Hardin also found humor in how utterly unamused Jan could be, especially when she was witnessing some of Michael’s more absurd moments.
Building the character of Jan Levinson
“When I first started to play Jan, she was incredibly straight and serious and kind of humorless. I found that aspect of her really funny because nothing could, in any way, sway her to feel like anything had any humor to it at all. I had this ongoing story going for myself that Jan had become more hard and more masculine by climbing the ranks in a man’s world and by almost putting aside her femininity,” Hardin admitted. Clearly, Hardin added something truly unique to The Office cast. The show wouldn’t be complete without her.
