I’m ‘Uncomfortable’ With This ‘Office’ Theory

Not the bad guy! John Krasinski recently learned about the popular theory that claims his character Jim Halpert was The Office’s secret villain — and he was less than thrilled.

“Wait, what? Did you make that up?” Krasinski, 42, asked on the Tuesday, July 26, episode of The Tonight Show after host Jimmy Fallon broached the topic, stating that fans believe Jim “manipulated” his wife Pam (Jenna Fischer). 

“When you ask it like that, it makes me uncomfortable,” the Something Borrowed star said. “Can you imagine if that’s what it was? … Well, they’re on to me, because I played it as a supervillain. That’s why I did Fantastic Four, to balance it out, I had already done the villain.”

Krasinski made his debut as Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four earlier this year with a surprise cameo in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. Earlier in the interview, the Massachusetts native told Fallon, 47, how honored he was to take on the iconic role. 

“It was a big moment for me,” he explained. When asked if he might return for a Fantastic Four movie with real-life wife Emily Blunt costarring as Susan Storm Reid, the actor quickly replied that “they don’t tell you anything,” before pretending to get shot in the neck with a “Marvel dart.”

Krasinski has long since been vocal about his appreciation for the opportunities he’s been given in the industry. In May, he appeared on an episode of “The Office Ladies” podcast with former costars Fischer, 48, and Angela Kinsey where he praised the NBC sitcom for changing his life. “This show was my film school,” he said. “I mean, I was a waiter before I got the show. I had zero experience in this business in anything — acting, writing, directing, producing, any of that stuff. And there it was, right in front of me.”

He continued, “I was somehow lucky enough to drop right into the most immense pool of talent that I could ever ask for. So I guess what I’m trying to say is: I owe absolutely everything to this show. Directing this episode [‘Sabre’] was so very special, and I will truly never forget it.”

In February 2020, the Jake Ryan alum spoke about his willingness to participate in a reboot of the comedy if the idea was ever pitched his way. 

“The Office was absolutely everything to me. I mean it is my beginning and my end,” the Quiet Place star gushed during an interview with Esquire in February 2020. “I’m pretty sure at the end of my career I’ll still be known for [playing] Jim. That was my first experience with Hollywood. It was the first creative family I’ve ever had. In many ways, they will always be the most important people in that most important experience in my career. So yeah, if they did a reunion, I would absolutely love to do it.”

The Office premiered in March 2005, chronicling Michael Scott (Steve Carrell) and his fellow Dunder Mifflin Paper Co. employees’ day-to-day work experiences. The series — which aired its finale in May 2013 — also starred Rainn Wilson, Mindy Ealing, B.J. Novak, Brian Baumaartner, Ed Helms and Kate Flannery.