Emily Blunt Appreciates Jim Halpert Just As Much As Fans Of ‘The Office'

It's almost impossible to watch The Office (writer: Mindy Kaling) without falling in love with Jim Halpert, and there's one person who knows this fact better than anyone else: Emily Blunt. In a new interview for Vanity Fair, Blunt opened up about John Krasinski's acting in The Office, and even though she's married to the man who played him, it seems like she's just as obsessed with Jim as fans of the show are.

While talking to the magazine for her February cover story, Blunt talked about how her husband gets recognized the most for playing Jim, and how that's made her realize what an impact the show has had on people's lives.

"John is, like, six feet three, and was playing the most approachable man in the world,” Blunt said. “So people will be, like, ‘Jim!’ Guys want to high-five him."

It makes sense. On The Office (casting: Allison Jones), Jim was the kind of guy who was friendly to everyone, and after nine years of fans seeing him on screen, it can be hard to make that disconnect between John Krasinski, the real life human, and Jim Halpert, the TV character. Who wouldn't want to offer Big Tuna a high five if they ran into him on the street?

As a character, Jim was totally approachable, exactly the kind of guy you'd start a conversation with if you ran into him in public. Of course, Krasinski isn't actually Jim, but it just goes to show how beloved Jim was and still is.

But his recognizability isn't the only thing her husband's part in The Office has made Blunt realize. After witnessing Krasinski have these fan encounters, she's seen that the show has had a deeper connection with people, and that it's something so unique about working in this industry that both of them have chosen.

She said:

"I am always under the impression that I have a silly job for a living. But occasionally you will run into someone who deepens your feeling about it. Sometimes people will say they had cancer and The Office was the only thing that made their family laugh during that time. You realize when you are in something that really touches people that it does offer an escape.”

The Office lived on NBC for almost a decade, and now, it's continued to grab new fans through streaming on Netflix. So many fans have spent years watching and growing with a long-running show like this one, and like Blunt said, comedies like The Office have the potential to help so many people laugh during difficult times.

Blunt and Krasinski don't have silly jobs at all. As actors, they get to become someone else and use that talent to entertain and, like Blunt said, offer an escape to those who need or want one. Seeing Blunt in one of her many roles has that transformative power, as well. It's easy to put on The Devil Wears Prada after a bad day and see Blunt as Emily and laugh as she refuses to help Andy with her new job or fights through work when she comes down with the flu. It's not a silly job at all that Blunt is doing — it's an important one.

Jim Halpert may only be a character in a TV show (a sad fact, but a true one), but he's still having an impact on those who watch that show. Blunt is awesome for appreciating those high fives for Jim when they happen — and the rest of us can just appreciate the fact that she and her husband have "silly jobs" that have given fans the opportunity to see how talented they are.