John Krasinski Reveals the Major Impact ‘The Office’ Had on ‘A Quiet Place’

The monster movie A Quiet Place delivered audiences plenty of surprises, not only with its thrilling narrative but also in its release, as the film scored $50 million in its opening weekend. The massive box office haul was even more surprising given it was director/star John Krasinski‘s first foray into the horror genre. Adding to the surprise is the actor revealing just how helpful his time on the sitcom The Office proved to be while making the film.

“So when I asked to do the rewrite I really wanted to drill down on all that family stuff and make every single part of the movie come back to being a family,” Krasinski shared with The Lantern. “It’s funny, onThe Office, I remember Greg Daniels — the creator of the show — telling me, ‘Your job is not to deliver these lines funny. Your job is to deliver these lines and if people think they’re funny that’s up to them. And if people think that what you say to Pam is emotional that’s up to them too.’”

The film was originally written by Bryan Woods and Scott Beck, with Krasinski being allowed to give the script a re-write as part of his deal to direct. How different the finished product is from the previous draft is uncertain, but with the film sitting at 95 percent positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, whatever combination of creators exists behind the story has paid off.

“And I’ve got to be really honest with you, I never would have done this movie if it wasn’t for that advice because I looked at this not as a horror movie but I looked at it just like Greg said,” Krasinski confessed. “I said, ‘If I can make you fall in love with this family then you’ll be scared because you don’t want anything to happen to them.’ So I owe him a lot for that.”

With the film being such a huge success, audiences are already wondering about whether more films will exist in this world of creatures from another world who can hear, and attack, even the softest of sounds. Woods and Beck have already teased many more stories exist, while Krasinski has set his sights on collaborating with Quiet Place producers Brad Fuller and Andrew Form on Life on Mars, an adaptation of Cecil Castellucci’s sci-fi short story We Have Always Lived on Mars.

A Quiet Place is in theaters now.

Are you surprised to learn the influence the sitcom that made Krasinski famous had on the monster movie? Let us know in the comments below or hit up @TheWolfman on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!

[H/T The Lantern]