Nick Offerman, widely recognized for embodying the gruff, mustachioed libertarian Ron Swanson in “Parks and Recreation,” has spent the past decade skillfully challenging this archetype. Since the show’s conclusion, he’s gravitated towards roles that subtly subvert or even undermine the ‘manly man’ image he’s cultivated. His recent triumphs include portraying a despotic U.S. president in Alex Garland’s “Civil War” and delivering an Emmy-winning performance as Bill, the gay survivalist, in “The Last of Us.”
Despite his critical acclaim, Offerman occasionally faces homophobic online slurs from some Ron Swanson fans who feel his portrayal of Bill was a betrayal. Responding to such criticism, musician and close friend Jeff Tweedy remarked, “Anyone who would go out of their way to criticize Nick for not being more like his character on TV is struggling with their own manliness and sense of self-worth.”
Recently, Offerman added to his impressive resume with a role as President Chester A. Arthur in Netflix’s forthcoming historical drama “Death by Lightning,” and a central part in Apple TV’s adaptation of the best-selling novel “Margo’s Got Money Troubles,” starring alongside Nicole Kidman and Elle Fanning. These high-profile projects indicate that at 55, Offerman has finally cemented the serious actor status he began pursuing over three decades ago. His acting journey started unexpectedly after accompanying his high school girlfriend to a dance audition at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he stumbled upon the world of theater school.
“There was no clear path,” Offerman recounted, reflecting on his limited perspective as a performing arts-curious high school student in rural Illinois during the mid-1980s. “I didn’t even know how to ask, ‘How do I get to be on ‘Taxi’ like Christopher Lloyd?’ I couldn’t articulate my career goal, but that was it. It was about figuring out how to use my unique quirks to entertain people.”
Nick Offerman is seen in character for “Parks and Recreation,” in the film “Civil War,” and the HBO series “The Last of Us.”
Before landing these coveted acting gigs, Offerman was perhaps best known in Los Angeles as the go-to guy for salvaging beautiful trees downed in the street. In 2001, four years after moving to L.A., he established Offerman Woodshop, a woodworking collective in East L.A. This venture, both in its ethical principles and meticulous craftsmanship, serves as a tangible representation of his life philosophy. It remains the emotional cornerstone of his diverse creative pursuits, which also include his work as a “humorist” (performing live shows that combine comedy with original songs) and authoring five best-selling books. His sixth book, “Little Woodchucks: Offerman Woodshop’s Guide to Tools and Tomfoolery,” a children’s woodworking guide, is set to be released on October 14.
Offerman shared his deep affection for creation: “What I love about making things is that you get your chisel or your yarn or your pasta and then you spend the weekend having spent $21, or whatever, and you come out of it with lasagna or a scarf and you haven’t given Jeff Bezos any money. It’s become a radical act to make something on your own.”
A Deep Connection to Wood
Offerman’s affinity for wood is a lifelong passion. He possesses an uncanny ability to identify a vast array of woods blindfolded, simply by scent, taste, or touch. This skill was famously demonstrated in a promotional clip for the craft reality competition show “Making It,” which he co-created with his longtime friend and “Parks and Recreation” co-star, Amy Poehler.
“It’s no surprise that Nick has such a love for woodworking, because he embodies many of the qualities found in wood,” remarked Amy Poehler. “There’s a sturdiness, a complexity — and when you strip away that hard exterior, you discover the soft, pliable material within, which creates truly beautiful things.”
Video by Damien Maloney for The New York Times
Offerman’s profound connection to wood and his inherent resemblance to its characteristics are deeply rooted in his family. His father, Ric Offerman – a retired teacher and the mayor of their Illinois hometown, Minooka – also possesses exceptional crafting abilities. He famously reassembled the farmhouse where Nick and his three siblings grew up, acquiring it from a neighbor in exchange for a set of custom-built cabinets and relocating it down the road.
In his youth, Offerman presented a more conventional, “corn-fed hunky” image. He excelled in baseball and basketball, captained the Minooka Community High School football team, and served as student council president. On Dax Shepard’s podcast “Armchair Expert,” Offerman humorously reflected on his teenage years: “Me and someone else close to me would go out and spray graffiti on the football field, and then the next day, I, as president of the student council, would form a committee to go clean up the graffiti. I was always figuring out, what can I get away with?”
Despite his popularity, Offerman harbored a secret passion for acting, participating in high school plays and leading the drama club. “Instead of not fitting in and dropping out, I pretended to fit in,” he admitted. He longed to be an actor with the fervent dreams of a child wishing to be an astronaut. “I kept telling my world, I think I want to be an actor, and my world was like, ‘I don’t think you can, it’s simply not done,’” he explained. “I was at an impasse because I didn’t have the wherewithal to go deeper.”
“What I love about making things is that you get your chisel or your yarn or your pasta and then you spend the weekend having spent $21, or whatever, and you come out of it with lasagna or a scarf and you haven’t given Jeff Bezos any money,” Mr. Offerman said. “It’s become a radical act to make something on your own.”
His fortuitous turning point arrived one spring day in 1987 when he dropped his girlfriend off at college. “I took her to the building that ended up being my temple, where I met Shozo,” Offerman recalled, referring to Shozo Sato, a Japanese professor, artist, and playwright. Sato would become his mentor and later officiate his wedding to actress and singer Megan Mullally. Offerman auditioned and soon enrolled in the program.
“I quickly learned that my suspicions were correct — I sucked,” Offerman candidly confessed. However, he possessed a unique and valuable talent among his more theatrically inclined peers: carpentry skills. “The world said, ‘Look, maybe you’re not going to get a lot of dialogue onstage,’” he explained, “but these people will value you if you build the scenery and the props.”
And so, Offerman diligently woodworked his way through college, ultimately graduating as co-valedictorian. He continued building sets and doing choreography for Defiant Theatre, the company he co-founded in Chicago, and for Steppenwolf, gradually making a name for himself in the theater world alongside emerging talents like Gary Sinise and Michael Shannon (who would later become his castmate in “Death By Lightning”). After moving to Los Angeles in 1997, he discovered he could build decks to cover rent between auditions. Eventually, his craftsmanship even played a role in the blossoming of his relationship with Megan Mullally, whom he affectionately calls a “goddess.”
Mr. Offerman described his relationship with his wife, the actress Megan Mullally, as “student-teacher.” Living with Ms. Mullally is ”like living with Mr. Miyagi or Obi-Wan Kenobi,” he said.
The romance ignited in 2000 during the production of a play called “The Berlin Circle,” featuring Megan Mullally, who was fresh off her second award-winning season as Karen Walker on “Will & Grace.” At that time, Offerman, also in the cast, was a struggling theater actor amidst peers more focused on securing roles on sitcoms like “Friends” than performing onstage. He was simply thrilled to be part of the production.
“I was essentially strapping my cleats back on, and she saw me with my tool bags,” Offerman reminisced. “You know, like, ‘Let me just brush off this sawdust and sweat and sit down and make you laugh at the table read.’” They married in the fall of 2003.
“I’m still learning”
During a leisurely hike through Griffith Park, the conversation naturally turned to Yoko Ono, a figure Offerman greatly admires. His 2015 book, “Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America’s Gutsiest Troublemakers,” dedicates an essay to Ono, and its cover provocatively features Offerman, chisel in hand, having re-sculpted Mount Rushmore to his own taste—replacing Abraham Lincoln with Willie Nelson and Thomas Jefferson with Yoko Ono.
“Megan said, ‘We’re going to an art show tonight of Yoko Ono,’” he recounted, recalling their first encounter with Ono in 2003. At the time, he admitted he was largely uneducated about her artistic contributions. “Yeah, I was still one of the ignorant hordes that had succumbed to the propaganda,” he confessed. “Megan was like, ‘Do you even know about her art?’ She hands me ‘Grapefruit.’”
Mr. Offerman woodworked his way through college. Then through the Chicago theater world and eventually working, in one way or another, alongside rising stars like Gary Sinise and Michael Shannon. Mr. Offerman moved west in 1997 and discovered that he could build decks to make rent in between auditions.
A recurring theme throughout his Griffith Park walk was the embodiment of his core philosophy, a mantra he learned from Professor Sato: Always maintain the mind of a student. He teared up recalling a moment during a tour of Japan with Professor Sato and the Illinois Kabuki Theater troupe, performing an adaptation of “The Iliad.” A now-deceased friend gave him his first piece of writing by Wendell Berry, who, alongside Professor Sato, became two pillars of Offerman’s personal “holy trinity.”
The third, of course, is Megan Mullally. Offerman frequently describes his relationship with his wife as “student-teacher.” Living with Ms. Mullally, he says, is “like living with Mr. Miyagi or Obi-Wan Kenobi.”
He elaborated: “My entire life with Megan has demanded me to be incredibly open in many respects.” He cited examples like “having a nice shirt put on me” and realizing, “I had to discover an availability to empathy that wasn’t there.” Like in many relationships, Offerman has found that whenever Mullally is upset, his instinct is either to fix it or avoid hearing about it. “I’m still learning,” he admitted.
This ongoing quest for earned empathy might explain why Offerman is drawn to characters that challenge both audience and self-perception. When asked if that’s why he pursues such roles, he replied with a slight smile, “I say this with half a smile, but it’s because I think it’s what Jesus would do,” nodding to a figure who, among his many historical roles, is arguably the most famous carpenter.