John Krasinski left "The Office" far behind him in the dangerous streets of Benghazi, Libya. The actor, who we're used to seeing wink at the camera as the charming and harmless Jim Halpert, buffed up to play the role of security contractor Jack Silva for the new Michael Bay-directed film 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi. The movie, which will be released by Paramount Pictures this Friday, allows us to see Krasinski's grittier side.
He did his homework for the role. Not only did Krasinski spend four months in intense training (watch below to hear him describe the painful Bulgarian split squat), but he also read the book behind the film, "13 Hours," to get a full account from three of the soldiers who were in the fight to defend the U.S. consulate. What the actor discovered was that he knew "embarrassingly" little about what actually happened on September 11, 2012. That, he suggested, is thanks to an overly politicized news cycle that does a disservice to the heroes who served that night. He shared with Townhall how grateful he was to portray one of the secret soldiers who willingly defied orders to "stand down" and put themselves in harm's way to save 36 American lives.
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