A sudden illness brings a dysfunctional family together in the new film The Hollars, a touching comedy with dramatic undertones.

Anchored by a dynamic ensemble cast led by actor-director John Krasinski the movie also served as one of the breakout hits of this year’s Sundance film festival.

Krasinski may be best known for acting in TV’s The Office, but he has slowly built a second career behind the camera. This is his second feature as a director (after adapting David Foster Wallace’s Brief Interviews With Hideous Men) and is also continuing to learn his craft with each new film experience. He starred in this year’s political action thriller 13 Hours and will next be headlining a new Jack Ryan television series for Amazon.

To promote The Hollars, Krasinski recently traveled to San Francisco with lead actress Margo Martindale to talk about the movie with us. We discussed making movies and missed opportunities. The following is a transcription of that conversation.

Q: John, how much of your time and experience on The Office prepared you to make your own movies?

John Krasinski: I’m always learning, so being on The Office was film school to me. I spent all the time I could in the writers room and watching the directors. Directing my first movie was more of an art house experience, so this is my first linear movie. For me it was also about ensuring that this environment was safe and empowering for these actors. The only way to make this film relatable was to make it feel real.

Q: John, as a director what kinds of things do you look for in your actors to feel more comfortable on set, and Margo, as an actress, what do you look for in your directors?

Margo Martindale: The best thing a director can do is to make you feel you’re great. I know that’s obnoxious because everything I do is not great, but if he gives me that feeling, everything he asks me to do is great. It always makes your job better.

Krasinski: Well that made my job easy because she was great on set every day. For me, I remember asking Matt Damon about Clint Eastwood and the scariest thing about working with Eastwood is that he only does one or two takes. Matt finally asked him if he could do another take and he said, “Yeah, but I hired you to be the actor I knew you could be.” I took that to this movie because I hired actors that I rarely had to say anything to about their performance. One of the questions I get a lot is how did you navigate tone so well and so much of that is hiring the right actors. The job of an actor is to play the truth. Whether you think it’s funny or sad is up to you, but their job is to play the truth.

Martindale: John’s personality also sets the tone on set.

Q: How do you handle the opposite? How do you handle working on a chaotic movie set?

Krasinski: (silence) Margo, how do you do it?

Martindale: (yelling) Shut up!

Krasinski: You have to embrace whatever set you’re on; you can’t quit. Chaotic sets bring out a different vibe and I think a chaotic set can be read onscreen. Sometimes a chaotic set looks good on camera because that frenetic energy helps you onscreen. For this movie the energy had to feel organic and the people had to feel real. To me this isn’t a family movie; it’s a movie about family and I know that sounds derivative, but to me it’s not.

Q: Margo, you’ve been doing really great work on Bojack Horseman and having fun with your public persona. One of the running gags online is the public’s confusion of you and character actress Ann Dowd. How often does that actually happen to you in person?

Martindale: It’s not often, but it has happened. It’s only from The Leftovers because on that show she wears her hair like mine. But I’ve told Ann that I’ve taken some really good compliments for her.

Q: Hopefully she does the same for you as well.

Martindale: (laughs) Hopefully.

Q: John, I know you famously came close to being Captain America. Years removed from the experience, what are your feelings on your experience with Marvel?

Krasinski: For me, my feelings are nothing but excitement and pride that I got to do it. This whole life is a fantasy camp in a way. Sure, I work hard and I want to stay here, but the opportunity to be on The Office was a lottery ticket, so I try to take stock of every experience, good or bad. And getting to test for Captain America is a great experience I get to log in my memory. It was really fun to be a part of that world and for one day put on the suit. I’ve been friends with Chris Evans for a long time and without exaggeration when my agent called and said they were going to offer it to Chris, my true response was, “Of course they are.” Chris Evans is Captain America and he’s done such a great job at it, so for me I wasn’t even sure I was going to get the part. I was just happy to be in the suit with some lights and some cameras. I know it’s illegal for them to release it, but someday I’d like to have a picture of me in the suit (laughs). Certainly not filling it out like Chris Evans, but trying to.

Q: Hey, you got pretty jacked up for 13 Hours, so things worked out in the physique department.

Krasisnki: Thank you.

Q: Are you going to keep that same build for the upcoming Jack Ryan TV show?

Krasinski: Absolutely. Getting into the shape you want is brutal, but once you get there it’s easier to maintain. I remember reading an interview with Chris Pratt after he got in great shape and he said, “Why would I ever go back?” I feel the same way and having two kids, I love being able to pick them up and not have back pain. Now that I’m playing Jack Ryan, I would be doing the CIA injustice if I didn’t stay in shape.

The Hollars is now playing in limited release.