John Krasinski's 2 Brothers: All About Paul and Kevin

John Krasinski and his older brothers, Paul and Kevin Krasinski, grew up outside of Boston

Superfans of The Office will know that Jim Halpert, the beloved character played by John Krasinski, is the youngest of three sons on the show. That is also true for John in real life: The award-winning actor has two older brothers, Paul Krasinski and Dr. Kevin Krasinski.

However, much like the actor’s life with wife Emily Blunt and their two daughters, Hazel and Violet, John mostly keeps his family out of the public eye. Neither of his older brothers work in Hollywood (Paul’s career is in tech, while Kevin is a surgeon), they’ve never appeared on a red carpet with their famous little brother and John rarely speaks about them in interviews. However, when the Jack Ryan star does talk about his family, he has nothing but love for his parents and older siblings.

“I come from an incredibly loving family,” John told Boston.com in 2016. “We’re still really tight.”

The actor and filmmaker also openly praises his parents — Ronald and Mary Krasinski — for the job they did raising him and his brothers. He often refers to his parents as his “heroes” in interviews, and his appreciation for them has only grown since becoming a father himself.

“I really connected to my parents even more, thinking of them as young parents, as I am now,” John told TODAY shortly after becoming a father to his first child, daughter Hazel. “I think you look back and realize what an incredible job they did.”

So who are the “incredible” Krasinski brothers? From their basketball talents to how they influenced The Office, here’s everything to know about John Krasinski’s brothers, Paul Krasinski and Kevin Krasinski.

John and his brothers were born and raised outside of Boston

On Oct. 20, 1979, John became the third boy born to the Krasinski clan. Their parents worked in medicine: Ronald, their father, was a general practitioner and Mary, their mom, worked as a nurse at a nutritional research center at Tufts University, according to ELLE.

John, Paul and Kevin were raised in Newton, Massachusetts — a suburb about seven miles west of downtown Boston. The actor shared fond memories of visiting the New England city throughout his childhood and teenage years with Boston.com.

“We used to go to all sorts of different places,” he told the outlet. “I used to bike on the Charles River all the time. I took Duck Tours, which I’ve still done now with my nieces and nephews. Weirdly, going down to Faneuil Hall was always huge, because when you’re in high school that’s so busy and there are bars and restaurants and people.”

Growing up near Boston also contributed to John’s humble attitude, even as his career as an actor took off.

“There’s something about that with Boston,” he told Playboy in 2018 about his unassuming demeanor. “Everybody loves celebrating when you do well in Boston, but no one wants to hear you say you’re the best.”

John, Paul and Kevin all played basketball

The Krasinski brothers all played basketball in high school, according to ELLE — and John readily admits that both of his brothers were better than him at the sport.

“ ‘Did John Krasinski play basketball?’ Yes I did,” John revealed when answering the most Googled questions about him for Wired magazine. “Not great — I’m actually the smallest of my family.”

He continued, “I’m 6’3”, and my brothers are 6’8” and 6’9”, so as you can sort of surmise, I was not the best basketball player in my family.”

In fact, John’s lack of basketball skill is what initially led him to pursue acting. John had followed his older brother Paul to Brown University, where he played center on the basketball team from 1994 to 1998. Paul was captain of the team when John arrived at Brown, per ELLE, and John thought he would join as well.

“I remember the [gym] door opened and as it shut, I was like, ‘No,’ ” John recalled to Men’s Health. “It wasn’t only how good and how big they were — you could see the commitment ... I’m like, ‘This is not my college experience. I can’t do this.’ ”

John continued, “And I know this sounds convenient, but that same day, I’m walking back from the gym, now looking for a group to be part of, and there’s a leaflet on a tree.”

The leaflet was a recruitment flier for a sketch-comedy group, which he joined — and became the catalyst for convincing him to pursue comedy and acting, according to Men’s Health.

Paul and Kevin’s height inspired an episode of The Office

In season 5 of The Office, the audience was introduced to Jim Halpert’s fictional brothers Pete and Tom. When casting for the episode, John’s real-life brothers — and their towering heights — inspired the actors selected to play the roles, Jenna Fischer later revealed on the Office Ladies podcast.

Pete and Tom Halpert were played by actors Tug Coker and Blake Robbins, respectively. According to Fischer, the audition notes requested actors who were “six-foot-one or taller, preferably with brown hair.”

“There’s a reason for that,” Fischer explained. “John Krasinski has two very tall brothers in real life and they thought this would be a fun nod to his family.”

“They're like the tallest family,” Angela Kinsey, who played Angela on The Office, echoed.

John and his older brothers fought often as kids

Growing up with two older brothers came with plenty of rough-housing, John recalled on an episode of Late Night with Conan O’Brien.

“There’s one of those old stories that’s like, oh, you always get beat up when you have all brothers. That’s not a joke,” John said. “My brother one time was like, ‘I’m surprised we all survived.’ ”

John went on to share one particular instance that involved him and his big brother Paul. According to the actor’s retelling, Paul had come up to John when he was about 8 years old and began punching him for no apparent reason. John retaliated by grabbing a nearby toy and throwing it at his older brother.

“It was a giant lawn dart, which are called jarts,” John said about the object he threw, which struck his brother in the head. “It goes in the air and it just sticks in his head.”

He joked, “They’re now illegal in every state because of my case.”

The fighting amongst the brothers eventually dissipated as they grew older — but the incident with the lawn dart lived on in infamy, according to John.

“I was the best man at his wedding and at the rehearsal dinner, I gave him the lawn dart on a plaque,” John shared. “It had his wedding date and it said ‘Always remember.’ ”

Kevin is an orthopedic surgeon

Kevin is the only one of the Krasinski brothers to follow in their parents’ footsteps and pursue medicine. He currently works in North Carolina as an orthopedic surgeon, with specialties in sports medicine and shoulder and knee injuries, according to his bio.

Kevin attended Colgate University, where he majored in biology, and medical school at Tufts. After completing his residency at Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston, he received specialized training in orthopedic sports medicine at Duke University.

His specialty in sports medicine led him to serve as a team physician for Boston College athletics, and an assistant team physician for Duke University and the University of North Carolina. Kevin currently serves as the orthopedic surgery consultant for the Burlington Royals, a minor league baseball team associated with the Kansas City Royals.

Paul is a tech CEO

After attending Brown University and Columbia Business School, Paul went on to become a tech mogul. He is currently the founder and CEO of Epicenter Experience, a Boston-based company that “enables consumers and brands to communicate directly via mobile, share their in-location experiences and exchange value to make everyday interactions more valuable,” according to his LinkedIn profile.

Paul is also the founder of The Farmhouse, a 10-acre retreat in Massachusetts designed to help young people discover their passion in life and give them the tools to pursue their dreams.

“Until now, there really hasn't been a place where people who are struggling to find their path could go and interact with others just like them,” Paul told PEOPLE about the project. “The Farmhouse is this place."

Outside of his professional life, Paul lives in Boston with his two sons, according to his LinkedIn.

One of John’s brothers inspired a storyline for Jim and Pam on The Office

Paul and Kevin’s height wasn’t the only time they had an influence on The Office: John revealed that one of his brothers inspired a controversial storyline for Jim and Pam in the ninth and final season of the hit comedy show.

In season 9 of The Office, Jim and Pam experience marital troubles as a result of Jim taking a job at a startup that required him to be in Philadelphia — leaving Pam with their two kids in Scranton. The plot point was originally pitched by John, and was inspired by one of his brothers’ careers.

“The idea of him going to another city came from my brother actually,” John told DailyActor.com about Jim taking the job in Philadelphia. “In his work at the beginning of his job, he was traveling a lot all over the country for all his different clients and, you know it was definitely a strain on the family in a very new way.”

He continued, “Obviously, not a strain that was as dramatic as what we did on the show, but it was a thing where sort of seemingly simple things like basic spending time with your children and in the same city was becoming more and more difficult, and putting a strain on – you know just harder to do and – mentally.”

Though John didn’t specify which brother inspired the storyline, his brother Paul has spent his career working for various tech start-ups — similar to the role Jim accepted on The Office.

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