From 'The Office' to 'Ghost War,' Krasinski keeps pushing himself

But his career is more than that.

“I’m living a lottery ticket life,” the former “Office” star admits. “I got an opportunity at the beginning of my career that was so huge and so massive and set me on a path I never could imagine. So, I’ve just been spending the rest of my career trying to deserve it.”

While starring in the new film, “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War,” Krasinski flew back to New York to rehearse a one-man show, “Angry Alan,” and write another screenplay.

“I don’t understand how he can do it … and then he’s got directing lined up, too,” says Sienna Miller, his “Ghost War” co-star.

Krasinski says the work ethic began early in life. He played Daddy Warbucks in a sixth-grade production of “Annie” and co-starred in a play written by his high school classmate (and “Office” co-star) B.J. Novak. At Brown University, “I was painting sets and hanging lights and just fell in love with the people that you get to be around. What got me into this business was falling in love with being part of the circus.”

“Angry Alan,” he says, “was the most terrifying thing I’ve ever done. The fact that the play did well and got recognized is just mind-blowing.”

While he’s the fifth person to play Jack Ryan, Krasinski claimed ownership when it moved from film to television. He’s also the one to bring the franchise back to the feature-length format.

“I wasn’t sure how to get back into the world,” he admits. “I loved playing the character but we had to figure out the right way. And it turns out Jack Ryan was in the same exact situation — he had jumped out of the CIA, but he wasn’t done yet, so he had to have a way to go back in.”

As a feature, “Ghost War” could be the way to broaden Ryan’s world.

Who to write it? Krasinski, of course.

“The smartest thing I’ve ever done as a writer in this universe is write a character for Sienna Miller,” he says. “She’s a huge part of this universe that we’ve been missing.”

Miller plays an MI6 officer who is key to Ryan exposing a conspiracy.

“He’s a very persuasive person and he would have talked me into it,” Miller says of Krasinski. “Part of the excitement of doing something like this, which is so different from anything I’ve done before, was to jump in and have those experiences. I’ve never really done action, which was thrilling.”

Hanging from precarious places in Dubai and other locations? “It’s challenging and hard, but very rewarding,” she says. “I had John on set beside me every time to make sure I looked cool while I was doing it.”

With Miller in tow, co-star Michael Kelly says more films could be in the offing. “This is literally one of the greatest jobs I’ve ever had in my life,” he says. “I love being part of this family and I love the product that we put out to the world.”

An addition in the second season of the television series, Kelly had such fun he appealed to the producers: “Are you sure this character doesn’t stick around? And luckily, they liked me enough to keep me around.”

Director Andrew Bernstein says it’s not difficult to get actors to join the franchise. “We have a lot of fun making these movies.”

For “Ghost War,” it started with Krasinski. As soon as he gets the next edition of “The Quiet Place” in production, it could be time for another installment. “I would love to do another movie,” he says. “That’s the goal … especially if Sienna will have us back.”

Some good news?

The web series Krasinski developed and hosted on YouTube during the pandemic taught him plenty.

“The mind-bending thing about ‘Some Good News’ was not only how much joy it brought me and how it was my security blanket, but it made me realize that the world is completely and totally dominated by good people doing great things. I’ll never find myself waking up on a cloudy day because I always know that the people out there are watching over me and watching over us all.”