John Krasinski has a confession, or eight. Thats the number of times he said if Im being really honest or to be honest or honestly or some other harbinger of sincerity during our half-hour conversation last week.

In each instance, this tic threatened to produce a profound revelation, and sometimes it did. Its an interviewers dream: Yes, please, do tell me your secrets. Show me that toothy grin, the one that won hearts on The Office and in Its Complicated, while divulging that which would otherwise remain undisclosed.

Among the topics John Krasinski talked about honestly: Paramount Pictures working to turn his latest movie, a gripping thriller about a family that remains silent to evade monsters roaming an unpopulated post-apocalyptic countryside, into a giant hit. A Quiet Place premiered to glowing reviews at South by Southwest in March, and on April 6 it opens in theaters across the United States, marking Krasinskis fourth directorial effort (and his first collaboration with wife and co-star Emily Blunt, who asked if hed cast her after reading the rewrite Krasinski did on Scott Beck and Bryan Woods original script).

The other two films Krasinski has helmed the David Foster Wallace adaptation Brief Interviews with Hideous Men (2009) and the Sundance dramedy The Hollars (2016) didnt triumph at the box office, and the 38-year-old multi-hyphenate was honest about that, too. But A Quiet Place is handily his best work yet, meaning Krasinski might, at last, be thought of as a bona fide director come opening weekend. We discussed that evolution, his permanent notability as Dunder Mifflin prankster Jim Halpert, how fatherhood has (and hasnt) influenced him creatively, and the horror movies that inspired this project.

Horror is having a moment right now. Did the It and Get Out phenomena intervene in this movies expectations at all?

We were shooting when It came out, so we were already into the movie, which is nice because, to be honest, I dont know if I would have been strong enough to not let that influence me on the set. Also, Im glad the studio didnt see what It did and come and say, OK, so we need a balloon.

I wasnt a big horror guy, but for the last year, leading up to directing this, I watched as much as I could. And the first thing I realized was how freaking ignorant I was to stay away from movies because I thought Id be scared. It was a decision I made a long time ago, when I was a kid. And now here I am watching all these movies for, yes, research, but realizing Get Out, The Witch, The Babadook, Let the Right One In all these movies are some of the best movies youre going to see. The best directing, the best stories, the best cinematography. And all of them have a more underlying theme; theres something much deeper there.

Not to say that a movie that just scares the hell out of you isnt great, too. But I think there was probably a moment again, being new to the horror party, I wont speak on everyones behalf where horror fans were frustrated because they were seen as B-movies. I would imagine, now that these movies are getting attention on a much bigger scale, its probably very reassuring. Im late to the party, but I want to stay for a long time. This is really fun.