Nick Offerman | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Offerman in 2022 | |
| Born | Nicholas David Offerman (1970-06-26)June 26, 1970 (age 55) Joliet, Illinois, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (BFA) |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1994–present |
| Spouse | |
| Website | nickofferman |
Nicholas David Offerman (born June 26, 1970) is an American actor, comedian, carpenter and writer. He became widely known for his role asRon Swanson in theNBC sitcomParks and Recreation (2009–2015), for which he received theTelevision Critics Association Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy and was twice nominated for theCritics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
Offerman has also appeared in thesecond season of theFX seriesFargo (2015), for which he received a nomination for theCritics' Choice Television Award, as well as theFX on Hulu seriesPam & Tommy (2022) and theHBO seriesThe Last of Us (2023), for which he won thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. He has acted in numerous independent films, includingThe Kings of Summer (2013),Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015),The Founder (2016), andHearts Beat Loud (2018).
Offerman's other work includes executive producing and starring in the filmThe House of Tomorrow (2017). He also played thePresident of the United States in the movieCivil War (2024), directed byAlex Garland. He voiced Agent Powers onGravity Falls (2012–2016) and has provided voice acting work forThe Lego Movie franchise (2014–2019),Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015),Ice Age: Collision Course (2016), the two films of theSing franchise (2016–present), andSmurfs (2025). He also hostedHave a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics (2020).
He began co-hosting the NBC reality competition seriesMaking It (2018–2021) withParks and Recreation co-starAmy Poehler; the duo received three nominations for thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Competition Program.
Nicholas David Offerman was born inJoliet, Illinois, on June 26, 1970, the son of nurse Cathy (née Roberts) and social studies teacher Ric Offerman.[1] His father taught at a high school inMinooka.[2] Offerman was raisedCatholic[3][4] in nearbyMinooka,[5] where he attendedMinooka Community High School.[6] He received aBFA from theUniversity of Illinois Urbana–Champaign in 1993.[5] That year, he and a group of fellow students co-founded theChicago theatre companyDefiant Theatre.[5] His parents were initially bewildered on his desire to become an actor, stating “It was bizarre to them…Nobody in our town had ever gone into the arts. So when I said: ‘I think I want to be an actor’, everybody kind of shook their head and said, ‘I don’t think you can get there from here.’”[7]
Offerman lived in Chicago in the mid-1990s, where he participated with theater companies such asSteppenwolf,Goodman, and Wisdom Bridge. At Steppenwolf, he also worked as afight choreographer andmaster carpenter, having been trained in carpentry by his father.[8] During this time, Offerman became acquainted withAmy Poehler, who was heavily involved with the Chicagoimprov comedy scene.[5] Offerman can be seen on the big screen briefly as a construction worker in City of Angels (1998) and later in other films such asNovember (2004),Cursed (2005),Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous (2005),Sin City (2005),The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009) and He also appeared in the 2006 filmWristcutters: A Love Story as a cop who attempts to arrestShannyn Sossamon's character, Mikal.
In 2003, he marriedWill & Grace actressMegan Mullally. Offerman has also appeared on her talk show,The Megan Mullally Show. At the same time, he began appearing on television as a plumber onWill & Grace on its fourth season'sThanksgiving episode, onThe King of Queens, in three episodes of24, and in an episode ofThe West Wing. Prior toParks and Recreation, his most prominent role was as a factory worker andBenny Lopez's love interest Randy McGee onGeorge Lopez. He appeared twice onGilmore Girls, in 2003's "The Festival of Living Art" and 2005's "Always a Godmother, Never a God" and in the third-season episode ofMonk, "Mr. Monk and the Election" as a helper for the campaign of Natalie Teeger. In 2007, Offerman co-starred in theComedy Central seriesAmerican Body Shop.
In 2009,The Office producersMichael Schur andGreg Daniels offered Offerman a series regular role in theirNBC sitcomParks and Recreation for the characterRon Swanson, the deadpan, government-hating,libertarian head of a city parks department and boss ofAmy Poehler's characterLeslie Knope.[5]Slate magazine declared Offerman "Parks and Recreation's secret weapon", and said he regularly stole scenes and "has a gift for understated physical comedy."[9] The role weaves antagonism and political philosophy with humanity, while the intense libertarian philosophy the character lives out is often played off against the equally intense social liberalism and "do-gooder" mentality of Poehler's character. Offerman said that supporting parts such as that ofParks and Recreation are his ideal roles, and that he draws particular inspiration from ReverendJim Ignatowski, the character played byChristopher Lloyd in the sitcomTaxi.[5]
Offerman has also been featured in theAdult Swim seriesChildrens Hospital withRob Corddry andRob Huebel. He is the voice of Axe Cop in the animated series of thesame name that premiered on July 27, 2013.[10] In the same year, Offerman portrayedJohnny Cool in the "Boston" episode ofDerek Waters'Drunk History onComedy Central. In 2014, he portrayed a lovesick German talk show host inThe Decemberists' video,Make You Better. The same year, he also appeared in a short filmThe Gunfighter directed byEric Kissack. Offerman played the role of the narrator of the film where the actors of the film break the fourth wall and are able to hear the narrator.[11]
2012 saw him in two film roles, as21 Jump Street's Deputy Chief Hardy and inCasa de Mi Padre as DEA Agent Parker. He reprised his role as Deputy Chief Hardy in22 Jump Street two years later. Additionally, he starred in and produced an independent film,Somebody Up There Likes Me (2012), shot in Austin, Texas. He appeared in the 2013 comedyThe Kings of Summer (2013), andWe're the Millers, which starredJason Sudeikis andJennifer Aniston, and voiced MetalBeard inThe Lego Movie. Offerman conceived of and starred in punk bandFIDLAR's 2013 video for their song "Cocaine".[12] Offerman also played an alcoholic college guidance counselor inBelieve Me. In 2014, Offerman and Mullally starred alongside each other in the off-Broadway one-act play,Annapurna. The two play an estranged couple that reunites one last time.[13] In 2015, Offerman starred as Ignatius J. Reilly in a theatrical adaptation ofA Confederacy of Dunces with the Huntington Theatre Company.[14] Offerman played therecurring role Karl Weathers in the second season ofFargo(2015). Offerman voiced Grandpa Mike alongside wife Megan Mullally who voiced Grandma Linda inHotel Transylvania 2 (2015).
He portrayed the first establisher of McDonald's,Dick McDonald, inThe Founder (2016). In 2017, Offerman launched hisFull Bush Tour which consisted of 28 shows across the U.S. and Canada.[15] HisAll Rise Tour kicked off on July 20, 2019, in Thackerville and continued through the rest of 2019, hitting major cities: Chicago, San Francisco, Washington DC, Philadelphia, New York, Detroit, and Atlanta. Offerman also starred in alternative rock bandThey Might Be Giants' 2018 video for their song "The Greatest".[16] In 2023, Offerman appeared in thethird episode of theHBO seriesThe Last of Us asBill. His performance, along with that of his co-starMurray Bartlett, was critically acclaimed, with some critics naming it a career-best performance, and Dais Johnston ofInverse labelled them as "Emmy-worthy".[17][18][19] He went on to winGuest Actor in a Drama Series at the 2023Creative Arts Emmy Awards.[20]
In 2025, Offerman starred with Jacob Tremblay and Dennis Quaid in the crime thrillerSovereign.[21][22] Offerman was the Show Announcer for the97th Academy Awards.[23] He appeared in the 2025 filmMission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.[24]
Offerman has released four semi-autobiographical publications: the first,Paddle Your Own Canoe: One Man's Fundamentals for Delicious Living was released in 2013; his second,Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers, was released May 26, 2015; the third,Good Clean Fun: Misadventures in Sawdust at Offerman Woodshop, was released October 18, 2016. His fourth book,Where the Deer and the Antelope Play: The Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant American Who Loves to Walk Outside, was released October 12, 2021. He has also narrated all four as audiobooks.[citation needed]
Offerman has run the Offerman Woodshop with a crew of six craftsmen and women in Los Angeles since 2001.[25][26] He has said that acting in TV and movies is "cramping my style at the woodshop" and "if I just had a life of woodworking and live theater, that'd be perfectly fine with me". He educated himself about woodworking with books and periodicals and has written several books about woodworking. He emphasizes that literature about the craft tends to be too somber and sober and actually it's important to know going in that you're supposed to make mistakes.[27]
Offerman married actressMegan Mullally on September 20, 2003.[28] They met while co-starring in the playThe Berlin Circle with the Evidence Room Theatre Company in the summer of 2000.[29] They have worked together on series and films such asWill & Grace,Parks and Recreation,The Kings of Summer,Smashed,Hotel Transylvania 2,Bob's Burgers,You, Me and the Apocalypse,The Great North andThe Umbrella Academy. They began a live comedy tour in 2016, the theme of which was their sex life.[30] In 2019, they startedIn Bed with Nick and Megan, a podcast discussing their personal lives while interviewing guests.[31][32]
When asked whether he is alibertarian like his characterRon Swanson, Offerman said in 2017, "While I admire the philosophy of the libertarian mindset, I think it's proven to be ineffectual in actual governance. So no, I'm not. I'm a free-thinking American."[33] He describedDonald Trump as racist and sexist during the2016 U.S. presidential election, but also mocked Trump's opponentHillary Clinton for herprivate email controversy.[34] Upon voting in the2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, hetweeted a photo of himself with an"I Voted" sticker, adding the caption "#VoteWarren" in reference to Democratic presidential candidateElizabeth Warren.[35] That year, he also tweeted his support for Democratic candidateCharles Booker in theU.S. Senate Democratic primary in Kentucky.[36]
Although some political commentators likened Offerman's depiction of the US President inCivil War to Donald Trump, Offerman denied that his performance was based on Trump and argued that politics did not serve as an influence on the film.[37] In an April 2024 GQ interview, Offerman described himself as "progressive", but also "conservative in many ways". In the same interview, he said he believes the "semantics" of the political spectrum "have lost their meaning."[38] On August 27, 2024, he endorsedKamala Harris for the2024 presidential election with a song titled "Proud to Be a Kamala Man" a parody of "God Bless the USA" byLee Greenwood.[39]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | ER | Rog | Episode: "Ambush" |
| 1998 | Arliss | Packers Fan | Episode: "Fans First" |
| Profiler | Bobby | Episode: "Double Vision" | |
| KaBlam! | Colonel Kudzu | 2 episodes | |
| 1999 | The West Wing | Jerry | Episode: "The Crackpots and These Women" |
| 2001 | Will & Grace | Nick the Plumber | Episode: "Moveable Feast" |
| 2002 | The Practice | Charles Rossi | Episode: "Manifest Necessity" |
| 2003 | Good Morning Miami | Officer Nick | Episode: "About a Ploy" |
| 24 | Marcus | 3 episodes | |
| The King of Queens | The Man | Episode: "Thanks, Man" | |
| 2001–2003 | NYPD Blue | Steven Debrees / Billy | 2 episodes |
| 2003–2004 | George Lopez | Randy | 8 episodes |
| 2004 | Deadwood | Tom Mason | Episode: "Deep Water" |
| 2005 | Life on a Stick | Greg | Episode: "The Gods of TV" |
| Monk | Jack Whitman | Episode: "Mr. Monk and the Election" | |
| 2003–2005 | Gilmore Girls | Beau Belleville | 2 episodes |
| 2006 | CSI: NY | Joe Green | Episodes: "Cool Hunter" |
| 3 lbs | Dr. Coffey | Episodes: "Lost for Words" | |
| 2007 | American Body Shop | Rob | 10 episodes |
| 2008–2015 | Childrens Hospital | Chance Briggs | 14 episodes |
| 2009–2020 | Parks and Recreation | Ron Swanson | 125 episodes |
| 2012–2019 | Bob's Burgers | Cooper / Pete / Clem Clements (voices) | 3 episodes |
| 2012 | The Cleveland Show | Harris Grundle (voice) | Episode: "Tis the Cleveland to Be Sorry" |
| 2013 | Conan | Ron Burgundy | Episode: "Occupy Conan: When Outsourcing Goes Too Far" |
| Out There | Doug (voice) | Episode: "Viking Days" | |
| Drunk History | Johnny Cool | Episode: "Boston" | |
| 2013–2015 | Axe Cop | Axe Cop (voice) | 22 episodes; also executive producer |
| 2014 | Comedy Bang! Bang! | Himself | Episode: "Nick Offerman Wears a Green Flannel Shirt & Brown Boots" |
| Kroll Show | Vanya | Episode: "Krolling Around with Nick Klown" | |
| 2014–2015 | Gravity Falls | Agent Powers (voice) | 4 episodes |
| 2014–2021 | The Simpsons | Captain Joseph Bowditch (voice) | 2 episodes |
| 2014 | Sofia the First | Whiskers (voice) | Episode: "Winter's Gift" |
| 2014–2025 | Last Week Tonight with John Oliver | Guest actor and voice | 5 episodes[42][43][44][45][46] |
| 2015 | Fargo | Karl Weathers | 5 episodes |
| The Muppets | Himself | Episode: "Bear Left Then Bear Write" | |
| You, Me and the Apocalypse | Buddy | Episode: "Still Stuff Worth Fighting For" | |
| Brooklyn Nine-Nine | Frederick | Episode: "Ava" | |
| 2016 | Life in Pieces | Spencer | Episode: "Annulled Roommate Pill Shower" |
| Son of Zorn | Dr. Klorpnis (voice) | 2 episodes | |
| 2017 | Comrade Detective | Captain Covaci (voice) | 5 episodes |
| Curb Your Enthusiasm | Cody Goodger | Episode: "Fatwa!" | |
| 2018 | Will & Grace | Jackson Boudreaux | Episode: "Friends and Lover" |
| 2018–2021 | Making It | Himself (host) | 22 episodes |
| 2018–2019 | 3Below: Tales of Arcadia | Commander Varvatos Vex (voice) | 26 episodes |
| 2019 | Good Omens | Thaddeus Dowling | 2 episodes |
| 2020 | The Good Place | Nick Offerman | Episode: "Whenever You're Ready" |
| Devs | Forest | Miniseries; 8 episodes | |
| 2021–2025 | The Great North | Beef Tobin (voice) | Series regular |
| 2021 | Cinema Toast | Don Doolittle | Episode: "Familiesgiving" |
| Duncanville | Zeb (voice) | Episode: "Das Banana Boot" | |
| Colin in Black & White | Rick Kaepernick | 6 episodes | |
| 2022 | Pam & Tommy | Uncle Miltie | Miniseries |
| 37th Independent Spirit Awards | Himself (co-host) | Television special[47] | |
| The Resort | Murray Thompson | Main role | |
| A League of Their Own | Dove Porter | 3 episodes | |
| 2023 | The Last of Us | Bill | Episode: "Long, Long Time"[48] |
| Party Down | Dermott | Episode: "First Annual PI2A Symposium" | |
| 2024 | The Conners | Adam Chestnut | Episode: "The Publisher Cops Show Pilot" |
| The Umbrella Academy | Dr. Gene Thibedeau | 6 episodes | |
| 2025 | 97th Academy Awards | Announcer | Television special |
| The Daily Show | Himself | Segment: In My Opinion | |
| Last Week Tonight with John Oliver | Husband | ||
| Death by Lightning | Chester A. Arthur | Netflix miniseries | |
| TBA | Margo's Got Money Troubles | Jinx | Upcoming miniseries |
| Year | Title | Role | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Annapurna | Ulysses | Acorn Theatre, New York City |
| 2015 | A Confederacy of Dunces | Ignatius Reilly | Huntington Theatre Company, Boston |
| Year | Title | Voice role |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Club Dead[49] | Lewis Scudder |
| 2015 | Lego Dimensions | MetalBeard |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | The Lego Movie: 4D – A New Adventure | MetalBeard (voice) |
| Year | Awards | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Astra Creative Arts TV Awards | Best Guest Actor in a Drama Series | The Last of Us | Won | [50] |
| 2011 | Critics' Choice Television Awards | Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series | Parks and Recreation | Nominated | |
| 2012 | Nominated | [51] | |||
| 2015 | Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie | Fargo | Nominated | [52] | |
| 2023 | Independent Spirit Awards | Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series | The Last of Us | Won | [53] |
| 2019 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Host for a Reality or Competition Program | Making It | Nominated | [54] |
| 2020 | Nominated | ||||
| 2022 | Nominated | ||||
| 2023 | Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series | The Last of Us | Won | ||
| 2023 | Saturn Awards | Best Guest Star in a Television Series | Nominated | ||
| 2010 | Television Critics Association Awards | Individual Achievement in Comedy | Parks and Recreation | Nominated | [55] |
| 2011 | Won[a] | [56] | |||
| 2012 | Writers Guild of America Awards | Comedy Series | Nominated | [57] |
