Likeable cutie John Krasinski from the US-based version of “The Office” is starring with Renee Zellweger in the 1920s romantic comedy Leatherheads about a professional football team. Krasinski’s character is a new draft to the team while Zellweger plays the fiance of the owner, George Clooney.

Unlucky in love Zellweger, who turns 38 on Wednesday, and young Krasinski, 27, are both in North Carolina filming and were seen out socially, sparking romance rumors. Zellweger and Krasinski sat together at an author’s performance show last Saturday, went to a movie afterwards, and then returned to their hotel together. They were also photographed out getting coffee together earlier that day.

Is Renee Zellweger scoring a hot new love match with The Office’s John Krasinski? On April 14, the duo - who’ve been filming the 1920’s-set romantic comedy Leatherheads in North Carolina - weren’t shy about displaying their mutual attraction when they took in a show together near the film’s Charlotte set. “They sat in the second row at a sold out matinee performance by humorist David Sedaris,” Liz Rothaus of the Blumenthal Performing Arts center tells Star. After the show, the couple seemed eager to make the night last… [Renee and John] then saw a movie before returnign together to their hotel!

[From Star Magazine print edition, April 30, 2007]

The article goes on to recount Renee’s romances with her co-stars. She dated Josh Pate, the director of 1998’s Deceiver, and Jim Carrey from 2000’s Me, Myself & Irene. She also met White Stripes’ Jack White while filming Cold Mountain in 2003.

In an inset to the article, Star gives us some background on Krasinski. He is from Newton, Massachusetts and wsa born in 1979. He formerly dated his “Office” co-star Rashinda Jones, and has worked in an office as an intern on Conan O’Brien’s show.

According to IMDB, Krasinski has several new films coming up, including License to Wed in which he stars alongside Mandy Moore and Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, which he directs and stars in. It seems like his star is rising, and although he’s young he could make a good match with Zellweger. She needs a reliable, good guy according to the article and maybe it will work out for them.

It seems like an odd match, but Renee doesn’t really have a type unless you count the general categories “unstable” and “musician.” A normal guy could be just what she needs to find happiness in a relationship.

In a revealing interview with Time in January, Zellweger revealed that she loves her job as an actress but has difficulty coping with the negative publicity and speculation that goes along with being famous. She sounded like a tortured soul to me, and said that it hurt her to see her divorce rehashed and dissected by the gossip rags.

Scan from Star Magazine.