"They all love the idea" — John Krasinski on asking Bradley Cooper, George Clooney, and others to work on IF

American actor and filmmaker, John Krasinski, has lined up an all-star voice cast for his upcoming animated film titled IF. During his appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on May 10, 2024, Krasinski discussed how he managed to get major actors to sign onto the project.

“I gotta say, the most yeses of my career was on this movie and the fastest yeses because they all love the idea of imagination, going back to your childhood," Krasinski stated.

He also talked about having A Star Is Born actor Bradley Cooper voice the character of an ice cube in his upcoming film, to which he explained:

“I don’t know why when I created this guy, in my head, I was like, ‘He’s from Philly, and he’s a little bummed to be living in Arizona.’”

IF is a forthcoming live-action animated fantasy comedy movie that is written, produced, and directed by John Krasinski. It features an ensemble of Hollywood A-listers, including Blake Lively, Emily Blunt, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Matt Damon, Steve Carrell, Chris Meloni, Richard Jenkins, and Jon Stewart.

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John Krasinski shares how he signed renowned Hollywood actors for the animated film titled IF

During his recent interview, John Krasinski elaborated on what he had to do to rope in some of the biggest Hollywood names for the film, IF. When the show host Jimmy Fallon pulled up a photo of ‘Octopuss,’ Krasinski described the character as:

“A cat who’s getting over her fear of water, so she dresses like an octopus.”

"IF" - UK Premiere (Image via Kate Green/Getty Images)

Fallon also asked Krasinski if he got Blake Lively to voice the character of Octopuss because her husband actor, Ryan Reynolds, was also in the film. John Krasinski jokingly responded:

“Yes, it was emotional blackmail. I was like, ‘Everybody’s doing it.’”

He also added that Lively was “so nice to jump on board.”

Another notable mention was George Clooney, who dubbed the character of the Spaceman. Talking about Clooney's role, The Office actor said:

“This is sort of a deep, deep-cut Easter egg. That’s his character from Gravity in my head, that he’s still just floating around.”

When asked by Jimmy Fallon for confirmation that he already knew Clooney, John Krasinski was affirmative. He even pointed out that the Gravity actor was the first person to say that he would become a director. Krasinski further stated:

“He would take me to dinner while we were shooting Letterheads and he would show me, on a drawing, ‘This is what I’m going to shoot tomorrow. I’m going to put the cameras here’ and I said, ‘That’s amazing.’”

John Krasinksi also talked about the inspiration for the film, sharing that he got the idea for it around a decade ago. However, he only started writing the film script during the COVID-19 pandemic. Talking about what influenced the storyline, the actor-director stated that it came from seeing his daughters immersed in their own imaginary world while playing.

John Krasinski recounted the event when he discussed this situation with his wife and fellow actress, Emily Blunt. He added:

"It wasn't just like the joy that was on their face, it was how authentic they were. They could be anything they wanted in this world, and I said, 'Em [Emily], that would make a great movie.'"

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The animated movie IF is slated to release in theaters on May 17, 2024. The plot revolves around a young girl (Cailey Fleming) and her neighbor (Ryan Reynolds) who can see everyone’s imaginary friends.