John Krasinski begged Drew Barrymore not to show one photo from his past — she did anyway
'The Office' alum John Krasinski is still embarrassed by his high school photos! In May 2024, Krasinski appeared on an episode of Drew Barrymore's daytime talk show 'The Drew Barrymore Show' to promote his fantasy comedy film 'IF,' and at one point, during the episode, Krasinski was shocked after Barrymore showed a picture of him from his high school days. For the episode, Krasinski was also accompanied by his 'If' co-star Cailey Fleming, who had recently attended her prom and stated that she was looking forward to graduating a year early from high school. Soon after, Barrymore pulled up some prom pictures of Fleming on the screen.
As per Decider, Krasinski told Fleming, '“Come on! I was going to say—did you look that cool in high school? I did not." At that point, Krasinski had no clue that Barrymore would eventually display a picture of him weirdly posing against a tree. In the photograph from his high school days, Krasinski can be seen wearing a white shirt, a pair of beige pants, and a red tie. Then, Barrymore raved over Krasinski's photo and said, "You better stop it right now, by the way." In his response, Krasinski quipped, "No, you should stop; it is what you should do. Stop showing it.”
Barrymore, Krasinski, and Fleming burst into laughter after taking a look at the 'A Quiet Place' actor's high school photo. Speaking of the picture, Barrymore said, "I just love you casually leaning against a tree." Soon after, Krasinski jokingly remarked, "Oh, are you taking a picture? Let me find this tree over here. What? With, like, my dad’s tie on,” to which Barrymore responded, "You’re so cute and lovely, though. You look like such a sweet young gentleman.” Later in the episode, Krasinski's throwback photo again popped up on the screen during the “Final Five” segment. When the talk show host asked her guests to spill the beans on the most embarrassing moment in their lives that they can laugh about now. Krasinski playfully said, “Leaning on that tree." On the other hand, Fleming stated, "When I got this job, my stormtrooper pants—I'm so embarrassed."
While having a conversation with USA Today, Krasinski disclosed that his daughters Hazel and Violet inspired him to write 'IF.' For the unversed, let us share with you that 'IF' narrates the tale of a young girl named Fleming who reunites with her forgotten imaginary friends. “All the imaginary games that my girls were playing became fewer and fewer. I genuinely saw their lights starting to go out, and they started asking big questions like, ‘Are we going to be OK?’ I said to Emily, ‘This is the definition of growing up,' when you start to make that choice of, ‘Do I let go of all this childhood stuff to be in your real world?’” Krasinski told the media outlet.
With this story, Krasinski wanted to showcase that "you don't have to choose. That magical world you created is a time capsule you can always go back to." In the same interview, Krasinski mentioned that his daughters' imaginary friends became characters in the film. Krasinski further elaborated, “The pink alligator is Violet’s imaginary friend, and Hazel’s imaginary friend is the marshmallow that lights on fire. Hazel is a very empathetic person. We were making s'mores one day, and her marshmallow caught on fire, and she was emotionally destroyed.”