John Burke Krasinski is the youngest of three sons born on October 20, 1979 in Newton, Massachusetts to internist Dr. Ronald Krasinski and his wife, Mary, a nurse. Educated at Brown University, he graduated as a playwright with honors. He then moved on to the National Theater Institute in Waterfort, Connecticut.
Krasinski broke into the acting scene when he was hired as an intern on Late Night with Conan O'Brien in 2002. He then moved on to appear in various television shows, including Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Without A Trace , Ed, American Dad ! and CSI . Aside from acting on television, he also worked on feature films Kinsey, Jarhead, Duane Hopwood, and The Holiday.
In 2005, the Polish actor was cast for the role he is most known for, Jim Halpert in the NBC series, The Office. His character on the series is the love interest of Jenna Fischer 's Pam Beesly. "I think the relationship in the office has been an interesting story to follow from the beginning. I can't give the writers enough credit for how incredibly realistic they have been with this storyline. It's an incredibly difficult thing to balance and they have dealt with it with such care and subtlety it's been amazing," he said of the relationship of the two characters.
Krasinski has also lent his voice to Lancelot on the 2007 film, Shrek the Third. "It's a tiny little franchise that I think is really going to catch on. It's gonna be a big deal for DreamWorks. Seriously, it's a blast," the actor said about his experience working on the animated film. "As a kid I always wanted to be a cartoon more than anything else. And I got my chance."
John Krasinski has also gotten supporting roles in films like License to Wed, starring Robin Williams and Mandy Moore, and in Letterheads with George Clooney and Renee Zellweger. He is also known for narrating a series of commercials for Ask.com, for Apple TV, and Best Buy, as well as appearing in advertisements of Gap. In 2008, he wrote and directed the film adaptation of David Foster Wallace’s Brief Interviews with
Hideous Men.