Amazon is expanding its original television efforts, and one of the series’ it has commissioned is Jack Ryan. It’s based on Tom Clancy’s iconic book character, who went from office worker to CIA agent and a two-term president during his run in Clancy’s novels to date.
Getting the right person to play such a role on a television series was likely no easy undertaking. So perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising to hear of an actor familiar with iconic television characters getting the role.
The actor picked to play Jack Ryan is none other than John Krasinski. Of course, he is most famously associated with NBC comedy The Office, playing the part of Jim Halpert. However, that was a comedy role and this will be a much different animal.
Since the show went off the air, Krasinski has expanded his resume and been seen in plenty of varying roles. He has also dipped his toes in to doing things behind the camera and in the executive roles as well.
His selection shouldn’t be a surprise either, considering the director of this show is Michael Bay, who previously worked with Krasinski on 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi.
As for Krasinski, he’ll have some large shoes to fill thanks to Ryan having been played well on the big screen before. Perhaps no one has made the Clancy novel character come to life better than Harrison Ford, who played Jack Ryan in the movies Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger.
There certainly are big names associated with all of Clancy’s work in the Jack Ryan saga, but this could be the most interesting experiment of them all.
[AV Club]
