Krasinski finds a not-so-quiet place in CIA thriller
Will James Comey be watching?
That was my itching question while screening the first few episodes of Amazon’s much-anticipated new Jack Ryan series. Given that we are living in a time when the entire U.S. presidency often seems like the product of a Tom Clancy plot generator, and that the “intelligence community” is so stencilled into the consciousness that it is amazing that the vast public even knows the name of the ex-CIA chief at all, it is clear that the moment is ripe for a Ryan reboot.
All of this is not lost on John Krasinski, the guy wearing the shoes of the quintessential government agent, for what is the fifth screen adaptation (but first serialized take) on the righteous hero. Co-created by Lost producer Carlton Cuse, the eight-episode first season begins streaming Aug. 31 on Amazon Prime Video.
“I have the luxury of just being the actor on this one,” says the affable 38- year-old in a phone interview.
“But it was almost three years when they pitched it, so they were already writing this, and it was fully down the line. The fact that the political landscape has changed so dramatically, the Comey stuff, and everything Russia, is not something they expected. But I agree with you — it is interesting timing.”
Interesting, too, that the precise title of the series (already green-lit for a second season) is actually Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan. Busting with authorial ooh-la-la, it’s an obvious nod to the man who invented the so-called “technothriller,” but hearkens back to a trend from the 1990s when several movies flaunted the names of authors. Think Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, directed by Kenneth Branagh, or William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet, via Baz Luhrmann, or Bram Stoker’s Dracula, from Francis Ford Coppola.
It’s not a trend we see much anymore. Last I checked, for instance, a certain S&M saga was not called E.L. James’ Fifty Shades of Grey.
So is it merely a bit of branding bravado on the part of Amazon, which is reportedly spending $8 million per episode?
Rather, it may be an acknowledgement the title character — often referred to as the American answer to James Bond — has never burned into pop culture in the way Bond has, despite the twinkly hijinks of Alec Baldwin in Red October, or the stalwart workmanship of Harrison Ford in both Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger. Tom Clancy — who died in 2013, but whose books made millions — has always been more of an established brand than his most famous protagonist.
But not if Krasinski can help it!
As this new series begins, we meet Jack Ryan as a desk analyst — in an office cubicle, a place where Krasinski is clearly comfortable, having made his name as the droll Jim in The Office — some four years into his work in the CIA, and earlier than Clancy’s books envisioned him. A prequel of sorts.
“I wanted to be in the CIA as a kid!” Krasinski exclaims during our conversation.
Asked what explains the enduring appeal of the spy genre, he says it probably comes down to the fact “it’s exciting to see heroic acts on the front line.” And unlike a Bond, or even Jason Bourne, who both seem more like invincible superheroes — “with Bourne, specifically, because he has so many super-skills that … were implanted into him” — Jack Ryan remains an everyguy.
Watching him come into focus in the show, it is that latter-day, relatable Jimmy Stewart quality that seems like a slam-dunk — despite the admitted “dad bod” Krasinski traded in a few years ago for his current jacked-up status.
Somewhere in there — inside the guy for whom the word “lanky” was probably created — is the same dude who once interned for Conan O’Brien and graduated from Brown University with plans to become an English teacher.
As something of a Homeland superfan myself — the actionpacked Showtime series going into its eighth season, with a not-always heroic Carrie Mathison, played by Claire Danes, at its core — I men- tioned to Krasinski that I could not help but wonder, while watching his series, about a Jack-Carrie crossover. Especially after hearing repeated references on the new Amazon series to “Langley” (a quick reference to CIA headquarters), an established part of the Homeland vernacular, too. The two worlds are so interknit.
“I would be so down for it,” laughs a game-enough Krasinski. “Let’s call Claire!”
He goes on to paint the differences between the two spy narratives.
“Carrie Mathison is definitely more of an anti-hero … Jack is quite the opposite. He has a very strong moral code about what he is willing to do and not willing to do. Here, there was definitely a concentrated effort to do a more commercial version of a spy thriller. And give a bigger movie-like experience. Homeland, as you know, is a darker, grittier show …” “— more meds!” I interject. “More meds,” he agrees. Listening to Krasinski talk more about the experience of doing this new project — the first season was shot mostly in Morocco; the next in South America; how all eight episodes of the season were shot at once, like a movie, with “crossboarding” of everything — it strikes me that no one, arguably, is having a better 2018 than Krasinski.
He has successfully made the quixotic transition from TV nerd to A-list star.
His tense directorial debut, A Quiet Place, was widely acclaimed and did boffo box office.
He also starred in it opposite Emily Blunt — who happens to be his wife and the mother of his two children.
“Unexpected” is how he puts it, acknowledging all the opportunities that have come his way recently — including the action role he has embarked on with Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan. It’s a show he calls “a prolonged sense of suspense,” and it’s sure to keep this everyman actor in our sights for some time.