Jack Ryan has been through the wringer in Prime Video’s adaptation of Tom Clancy’s successful book series. The titular hero has come a long way since he was first plucked from his desk job as a CIA analyst and thrown into the field. He’s stopped terrorist plots, been shot at and even been accused of treason. However, Jack’s greatest challenge yet is still to come in Season 3, when John Krasinski’s action hero is forced to go rogue.
As it turns out, the third season of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan had challenges in store for both its characters and its cast members. John Krasinksi and Michael Kelly spoke to Lifehacker Australia about death-defying stunts, keeping secrets for Marvel Studios and the “heartbreaking” plot of the new season.
In seasons past, Jack Ryan’s political plotlines have explored terrorist conspiracies and corrupt leaders, but in Season 3 the action will introduce a different world power: Russia.
At the time of filming Jack Ryan Season 3, the war between Ukraine and Russia was non-existent, but in 2022 it’s a tragic reality.
“It’s very surreal for us to see what’s going on in real life because when we came up with this idea about three years ago, we were thinking we would create a larger-than-life plot and also take our characters through something that’s basically unimaginable,” Krasinski said. “To think that the unimaginable is now not only imaginable but happening on a daily basis, it’s just heartbreaking at the highest level.”
Kelly added that the show keeps things pragmatic when it comes to the political storyline with Russia, rather than making it about binary forces.
“It’s not just, you know, Russia [vs] the U.S., there are factions within Russia,” Kelly explained. “This isn’t just ‘oh, Russia’s the bad guy,’ it’s a smarter show than that.”
“In a way, there’s probably a good thing to seeing a little bit of reflection of what’s going on,” Krasinski added. “I think that story of what’s going on in Ukraine, we need to keep talking about it over and over so that people don’t forget.”
Alongside the political storyline, Jack finds himself in some tense situations while on the run this season, which required a few heroic stunts from the actors.
The cast members confirmed they both do their own stunts on the show and an unplanned dive from a helicopter was a standout for Krasinski this season.
“I didn’t know that I was going to be thrown out of a Blackhawk helicopter into the ocean,” Krasinski said.
“They shot it with the stunt team all morning and then one of the Navy SEALs who was actually in the scene with us said, ‘are you going to do it?’ And I said ‘no’, and he said, ‘it’d be a lot cooler if you did it.’ Then I said ‘how would that look?’ And he says, ‘it would look like me unbuckling your seatbelt and throwing you out of this helicopter.’ And that’s what he did. Luckily, there was a camera guy to get it.”
Similarly to Jack Ryan’s turn from CIA analyst to field agent, Krasinski has expanded his professional repertoire over the past few years by turning from acting to directing. The star has successfully guided two A Quiet Place movies to the screen but said he never considered directing a Jack Ryan episode.
“I never did think about directing an episode because it just felt like it was really nice to jump into this character and kind of approach it just as an actor,” Krasinski said.
The actor did, however, jump into the Marvel Cinematic Universe in-between filming Seasons 3 and 4 of Jack Ryan.
After years of fan castings, Krasinski briefly appeared in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as Reed Richards. It was a cameo that was kept incredibly under wraps:
“I don’t think I’m allowed to say the word Marvel or I get a dart in the neck,” Krasinski joked. “There’s a guy in a suit that follows me around.”
“That was actually bizarrely right after Season 3 [of Jack Ryan]. I wrapped Season 3 and flew directly to L.A.. Kevin Feige just called and said ‘we have this fun cameo, would you ever want to come and play with us for a day?’ And I said, ‘yeah’. And that sandbox to play in for one day is pretty epic, pretty wild. So it was really fun to go from this show over there.”
Despite the intense secrecy, Krasinski maintained he’d still rather be a secret keeper for Marvel than for the CIA like Jack Ryan.
@lifehackerau Would you rather keep secrets for Marvel or the CIA? #johnkrasinski #marvel #jackryan
It remains to be seen whether Krasinski’s role in the MCU will continue beyond a cameo but, in the meantime, he and Kelly still have a few more missions to complete in Jack Ryan when Season 3 releases on Prime Video on December 21.
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