John Krasinski stars with Robin Williams and Mandy Moore in License to Wed. He’s also set to make his directorial debut and will return for a fourth season of the TV hit The Office.

LOS ANGELES -- Robin Williams says him giving advice to John Krasinski would be "like a leper giving a facial."

Such praise. But merited, as much as praise is in Hollywood, when your prospering career includes acting in the much-admired Emmy-winning sitcom The Office, starring in big studio-greased romantic comedies and directing your own independent films.

"The dude is so far ahead of me," Williams says. "He's got the chops. There's nothing I can say to him."

Granted, even if Williams thought Krasinski was a talentless nitwit, he's not going to say so while the two are out shilling for their new movie, License to Wed; in it, Williams characteristically gargles with the scenery as a minister who puts Krasinski and Mandy Moore through the paces of a preposterously-gruelling marriage prep course.

But, Williams aside, Krasinski has other high-profile supporters as well, notably George Clooney who cast the 27-year-old in his next directorial outing, the 1920s-set football comedy Leatherheads.

Not bad for a guy who confesses, "I planned on being an English teacher; I don't know where that is."

Yes, we can all breathe a sigh of relief that there's one less teacher in the world because what we need is more actors. For that, blame, among others, late-night talk-show host Conan O'Brien, who Krasinski interned for in 1999 while still in college.

"And then to go back as a guest, I think I blacked out for 35 seconds. I don't remember much from the curtain to the seat. (O'Brien) reassured me everything would be fine. For him to say he's a fan of my show just doesn't make any sense; I don't think I'll ever compute that."

Post-Conan, Krasinski landed bit parts in such films as Jarhead and then was plucked from obscurity to star in The Office as Jim, the affable sales goofball who pines for secretary Pam (Jenna Fischer). So popular is the unrequited romance between the pair that online shrines have termed them -- a la Bennifer and Brangelina -- simply "Jam."

"The key (to the love story) is everyone can empathize with it -- it's sort of that long-lost love and we can all empathize with," Krasinski says. "My favourite scene on the show is on the booze cruise when I finally get the moment to talk to her and tell her and I react exactly how I would by saying nothing. I would have nothing to say. Having some amazing speech, that doesn't happen for me."

As for Fischer's recent injury -- in which she fractured her back in four places after falling down a set a stairs -- Krasinski says, "It's kind of crazy how well she's doing considering what happened to her. When I was sitting and talking to her, I actually forgot she broke her back.

"You hear those words and you think, 'Man she won't walk for years,' and here she is up and walking around with a huge smile on her face. I definitely wouldn't take it as well."

Fischer is expected back for The Office's fourth season, as is Krasinski. In the meantime, he's editing his aforementioned directorial effort, an adaptation of David Foster Wallace's Brief Interviews with Hideous Men.

Nevertheless, he insists, "I'm not trying to be the triple threat guy. I'm still working on the one threat -- acting."

Clooney a mentor to young up-and-comer

LOS ANGELES -- John Krasinski just wrapped work on Leatherheads, co-starring and directed by George Clooney.

"One of these days I'll work with a good director," Krasinski deadpans.

In the 1920s-era period piece, due in December, Krasinski plays a college football star drafted by Clooney's rugged team captain. The two professional allies become rivals, however, when they end up vying for the affections of Renee Zellweger.

"You can make jokes, but he's everything anyone has ever said about him," Krasinski says of the Oscar-winner.

"To be that big of a star and to be that grounded and that classy, he's a true mentor for me. As a director, he knows you've done a good job before you do, so after three takes he's like, 'Got it' and you're thinking, 'I'm still getting used to this. I shouldn't have done it in a Russian accent.' "

Like Clooney, Krasinski is hoping to capitalize on his small-screen success on The Office with a movie career. Remember when Danny Ocean was just a guy in scrubs on ER? Ken Kwapis, who directed License to Wed as well as the pilot episode of The Office, recalls helping cast Krasinski on the TV comedy. "From the moment I did John's audition for The Office, I knew he was a rare specimen -- someone who is a potential leading man but is also really funny."

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