Parks & Rec: The Character Nick Offerman Auditioned For (Before Ron Swanson)
Parks and Recreation wouldn’t have been the same without Nick Offerman as Ron Swanson, but this character wasn’t Offerman’s first option.
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Parks & Recreation wouldn’t be the same without Nick Offerman as Ron Swanson, but Pawnee’s whisky loving director of the Parks Department wasn’t Offerman’s first option when he auditioned for the series. Created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, Parks & Recreation followed eternal optimist Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) and her friends and coworkers from the Parks and Recreation Department in the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana.
Over the course of seven seasons, viewers got to know some of Pawnee’s most colorful and peculiar citizens, among those Leslie’s boss Ron Swanson, who is best known for his deadpan and stereotypical masculine personality, although he often showed how much he cared about his colleagues (and had a lot of respect for Leslie). Ron was masterfully played by Nick Offerman, who gave the character the perfect amount of seriousness and comedy, making him one of the most beloved characters of the series.
But Ron Swanson wasn’t in Nick Offerman’s mind when he first auditioned for Parks & Recreation, and had things gone as initially intended, he most likely wouldn’t have even made it to the series – or at best he wouldn’t have lasted much.
Nick Offerman Originally Auditioned For The Role Of Josh
Nick Offerman auditioned for a character that didn’t make the cut – at least not as it was originally written. The role was that of Josh, who was intended to be Rashida Jones’ love interest, but Offerman was turned down because he wasn’t “handsome” enough. Josh as he was didn’t make it to the series, but it’s believed he ended up turning into Mark Brendanawicz, played by Paul Schneider. Mark only lasted two seasons, with Schneider leaving due to creative differences about his character, as it seems the creators weren’t completely sure on what Mark was supposed to do. Maybe he was Josh after all.
It seems like Josh was a popular character during the casting process of Parks & Recreation, as Adam Scott also auditioned for the role. Scott has said that he “kinda blew” his audition and was pretty upset after that as he really wanted to be part of the series. Scott got a second chance and was cast as Ben Wyatt, a government official and Leslie’s husband, with Offerman getting the role of Ron Swanson. In the end, things worked out for the best for both actors, as they got much bigger, entertaining, complete, and lasting characters than Josh could have been, and gave the audience some truly unforgettable moments.
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