John Krasinski credits his daughters, Hazel and Violet, for making his new movie, "IF," possible.
During a May 9 appearance on TODAY, Krasinski talked about his new film about a little girl who can see everyone's imaginary friends who have been left behind. While discussing his flick with TODAY's Savannah Guthrie, Krasinski said he made this movie for his kids.
"It is a movie for my daughters and I've always wanted to make a movie for my kids, but I just didn't know what to do," he said. "And then I found myself spending hours in the threshold of a doorway watching them disappear into some magical world that us as parents aren't invited into. And I just thought that would be a great movie."
Krasinski shared that he noticed a change in how his girls' played once the pandemic hit.
"I started to see that they were doing fewer and fewer imaginary games. Their light seemed to be going out and you could see fear setting in and they said, 'Daddy, are we going to be OK?' And I was like, stop. I got to make a movie about how that magical world you created; you can go back anytime you want," he shared.
When it came to making the imaginary friends, aka "ifs," for the movie, Krasinski said he modeled two of them after his daughters' made-up friends.
"Both of my daughters' 'if' is in the movie," he said. "So, the pink alligator is my daughter Violet's and the marshmallow is my daughter Hazel's because she's such an empathetic person."
"One day, we were making s'mores and it burst into flames, and she was destroyed," he said. "I went, 'Oh no, that's what he does. He catches on fire and then he puts himself out ... And she went, 'Really?' I said, 'Yeah,' and that became her 'if.'"
Krasinski shares his two kids with his wife, Emily Blunt. The couple maintain a fairly low profile and don't share many family photos or details. But in July 2023, Blunt announced that she was taking a break from acting to focus on her family.
On the “Table for Two With Bruce Bozzi” podcast, Blunt said, "I just feel there are cornerstones to their day that are so important when they’re little. And it’s, ‘Will you wake me up? Will you take me to school? Will you pick me up? Will you put me to bed?’ And I just need to be there for all of them for a good stretch. And I just felt that in my bones.”
Like many mothers, Blunt has battles with mom guilt. She told Bozzi, "You’re just prone to feeling bad for, God forbid, wanting something outside of being a mother. I am huge advocate for it — I’m a huge advocate for women being ambitious. It’s just dreams with purpose, it’s not an ugly word.”
Blunt and Krasinski have joked that their daughters don’t really know what their parents do for a living. In fact, Krasinski suspects that his kids think he’s an accountant. He told Stephen Colbert during a December 2022 appearance on his show that there’s likely a specific reason for that.
Krasinski explained, "I was walking [the girls] to school one day, and this guy came up, and he was very nice, he came up and he went, ‘John! From “The Office!”‘ I went, ‘Yeah,’ and he goes, ‘Oh, my God, it’s so good to see you,’ and I said, ‘Thanks,’ and he kept walking."
Read on to learn more about Emily Blunt and John Krasinski's kids.
Hazel
Krasinski officially announced his entry into the "dad club" on Feb. 16, 2014. “Wanted to let the news out directly. Emily and I are so incredibly happy to welcome our daughter Hazel into the world today! Happy bday!” he tweeted.
Though he was delighted by his daughter, he admitted to People that becoming a father threw him into an "existential crisis."
“I went through some really serious stuff,” he said. “There is a mirror that is held up to me now. You have someone watching you. You have to lead by example.”
Blunt told Jimmy Fallon that what Hazel was a young toddler, she had a bit of an English accent, which Blunt loved. She feigned disappointment at the fact that Hazel ultimately began saying, "waaaaterr" instead of "wuhhtah."
Violet
Krasinski again took to Twitter to announce the birth of his second daughter on July 4, 2016: “What better way to celebrate the 4th... than to announce our 4th family member!!!” the excited father, who was 36 at the time, tweeted. “2 weeks ago we met our beautiful daughter Violet #Happy4th"
Blunt discovered that her second pregnancy was a bit different than her first.
“I think we are more laid-back this time,” the actress explained on TODAY. “We know what to expect. It is the great unknown with the first child.”
But a second pregnancy has its own set of challenges. “The first pregnancy is the most self-indulgent thing in the world because you get massages and prenatal yoga and hypnotherapy CDs,” she told C Magazine. “During this one I forget that I’m even pregnant. I’m hoisting my 2-year-old around!”
The parents were over the moon with their family of four. Shortly after Violet's birth, Krasinski talked to People about 2 1/2-year-old Hazel's relationship with her newborn sister.
“It’s a great age because she’s still young enough to not feel competitive with the baby, but still old enough to recognize how adorable the baby is. I think she’s in heaven,” said the proud dad. “When Hazel gives a hug to Violet, right there in that moment you can see this huge relationship that will last much longer than I’m around … it’s so beautiful.”