John Krasinski Reveals How He Saved Jim & Pam’s Marriage By “Putting My Foot Down” on The Office
In a new tell-all book, Welcome to Dunder Mifflin: The Ultimate Oral History of The Office, John Krasinski reveals the one thing he refused to do on the show. And we love him for it.
This would have been the worst 15–minute work break ever.
John Krasinski has revealed that the beloved sitcom couple Jim and Pam could have ended up just Jim. Can you imagine a TV world without this I heart you forever marriage? The show could have ended with fans crying tears as big as Niagara Falls.
The love story between the two characters may have been tested with a betrayal in their relationship if Krasinski (Jim) didn’t refuse to do one life-altering scene, according to Brian Baumgartner’s new tell-all book, Welcome to Dunder Mifflin: The Ultimate Oral History of The Office, obtained by E! News.
The book reveals that the show’s creator, Greg Daniels, proposed an idea to have Jim cheat on his dream girl in season eight.
The original “After Hours” script had Pam (Jenna Fischer) on maternity leave and her replacement Cathy (Lindsey Broad) goes with Jim on a work trip to Florida. “During a business trip to Florida, Cathy makes up an excuse to spend time in Jim’s hotel room, and the sexual tension is pretty apparent,” per the book. “According to John, there was talk that maybe Jim would go too far and actually have an affair with her.”
Krasinski read that Jim and his temp co-worker make out in a hotel room, and he closed that door right away.
Krasinski recalled, “That’s the only time I remember putting my foot down. ‘Cause [Greg] was saying, ‘You’re going to actually make out with her in this scene.’ I remember saying things that I never thought I’d say before, like, ‘I’m not going to shoot it.'”
He added, “I remember saying to Greg, ‘My feeling is there is a threshold with which you can push our audience. They are so dedicated. we have shown such great respect to them. But there’s a moment where if you push them too far, they’ll never come back. And I think that if you show Jim cheating, they’ll never come back.'”
The problem arose after Daniels suggested they needed a good Pam-Jim storyline, per the book. Krasinski said he chimed in, “I think we should get borderline separated, and I think we can do it and then come back,” adding the creator was “on board.”
Thank goodness Krasinski didn’t say “I do” to this scene.
E! News reached out to reps for Krasinski, Baumgartner and Daniels for comment but didn’t hear back.
