It turns out that A Quiet Place star and director John Krasinki played the monster in the film, in addition to his role as a man trying to save his family from mysterious blind creatures with hypersensitive hearing.
Produced for approximately $17 million, A Quiet Place was an immediate commercial success when it opened in theaters back in April, as well as a critical darling. The film’s unorthodox approach to the horror genre sparked conversations amongst moviegoers, most notably in regard to the film’s characters, themes, and filmmaking style. Krasinski stars opposite his real-life wife Emily Blunt in the movie as married couple Lee and Evelyn Abbott, with Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe playing supporting roles as the duo’s onscreen children. Over the course of its box office run, A Quiet Place earned nearly $335 million at the worldwide box office.
Related: A Quiet Place Honest Trailer: A Horror Movie About Shutting the F*** Up
During his recent appearance on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live, Krasinksi revealed his true involvement in A Quiet Place’s monster narrative. After discussing the cinematic “love letter to [his] kids” and how he received approval for the film from both Guillermo del Toro and Stephen King, Krasinski admitted that he was, in fact, the actual monster. On set, A Quiet Place’s director explained how the monster should crawl, and then wore a motion suit to provide his physical interpretation, as evidenced by a photographic reveal during his talk show appearance. So, with that information in mind, A Quiet Place becomes even more remarkable, as the monster detail further demonstrates Krasinski’s level of investment for his third feature film. During the interview, Krasinski noted that he wrote the female lead role specifically for his wife, only he was cautious about offering the part, given Blunt’s acting resume.
In 2009, Krasinski – the former star of NBC’s The Office – released his low-budget directorial debut Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, an adaption of David Foster Wallace’s 1999 short story collection. For Krasinski’s second feature, he enlisted Sharlto Copley, Anna Kendrick, and Charlie Day for The Hollars, a dramedy that failed to out-earn its $3.8 million budget during its theatrical run. Fortunately for Paramount Pictures, A Quiet Place succeeded through word-of-mouth, and a sequel is now in the works. Surprisingly, prolific horror-thriller producer Jason Blum revealed last June that Blumhouse would have rejected A Quiet Place because of budgetary concerns.
Now that A Quiet Place has become a cultural sensation, it will be interesting to see how Krasinski’s surprise hit fares during awards season.
