WATCH: ‘The Hollars’ Interview With John Krasinski & Margo Martindale

The Hollars is a film about the importance of family and John Krasinski and Margo Martindale want audiences to take that message home with them. “What I hope people see and experience is not only the need for family, especially in today’s world…but more importantly, what is it about your family,” Krasinski told us. “I think somewhere in the movie, at some point, it stops being the family on screen and you start to connect with these characters as your own family.”

Krasinski, who also directed the film, plays a soon-to-be father who learns his mother, played by Martindale, has suddenly fallen ill. He returns to his middle-American town after having moved to New York to pursue his career, and once back home, discovers more about the family he left behind, while rekindling his relationships with them.

We sat down with the onscreen son and mother to discuss the film and the apparent chemistry the cast, which includes Richard Jenkins, Sharlto Copley, Anna Kendrick, Charlie Day, Randall Park, Marie Elizabeth Winstead and Josh Groban, enjoyed while filming. “It was a real family…It was an unusual experience,” Martindale said. “It was a very weird thing. I personally never experienced anything like it in my career,” added Krasinksi. “And I hadn’t either,” Martindale agreed.

The pair have a history that dates back to when Krasinksi made his acting debut in a Marshalls’ commercial alongside Martindale while he was still a student at Brown University. Since both actors moved to New York early on in their careers, we asked what that experience was like for them. “I did everything. I was a private investigator; I was a spa consultant; I was a waitress…I did those things during the day and then did a play at night,” Martindale explained. “This city, to me, remained the core of my inspiration, so that kept me inspired and excited, so I had to be here,” Krasinski said.

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