Nick Offerman Is a Positive Masculinity Icon. He Thought He Was ‘A Goofy Theater Actor’

Nick Offerman never set out to comment on masculinity. But this year, he nabbed two Emmy nominations doing just that. On paper, the two roles couldn’t be more different. In Apple TV’s “Margo’s Got Money Troubles,” Offerman stars as Jinx, a former pro wrestler and absentee father who re-enters his daughter’s life after he exits rehab and she has a baby. In Netflix’s “Death by Lightning,” Offerman portrays veep-turned-president Chester A. Arthur as a drinking, brawling, boisterous crony of Stalwart leader Roscoe Conkling (Shea Whigham). “I saw one message from somebody that said something plural,” said Offerman, who didn’t watch the Emmy nomination broadcast. “I was like, hang on, was that a typo? I was gobsmacked.” Death By Lightning. Nick Offerman as Chester A. Arthur in episode 102 of Death By Lightning. Cr. Larry Horricks/Netflix © 2024 The two characters may seem wholly distinct on the page, but they each echo notes Offerman has performed skillfully throughout his career. From the gruff libertarian Ron Swanson in “Parks and Recreation” to the isolated survivalist Bill in “The Last of Us” (a role that won him an Emmy for guest actor in a drama series), Offerman has a habit of playing manly men whose exteriors belie hidden tenderness—masculine characters experiencing slow awakenings to their emotional truths. “I didn’t even realize that I would be accused of masculinity until Ron Swanson and ‘Parks and Recreation’ started and people were like, ‘You’re an example of masculinity!’” he said. “I was like, ‘OK? I thought I was a goofy theater actor.’ I’m so grateful, that being said, for the opportunity to weigh in on the side of empathy.” The double nominee Zoomed in from his dressing room at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre, where he currently stars in the play “Iceboy!” with his wife, Megan Mullally. Offerman moved to the city in the ’90s, pursuing a career on the stage. When life later brought him to Los Angeles, he initially struggled to appreciate its theater scene in comparison to Chicago’s. But those feelings soon went away, particularly after he met Mullally, who was cast as the lead in the first L.A. play he was ever in. “I’ve been in a pretty good mood ever since,” he said. Before he became a staple of the screen, Offerman needed to get some of his stage instincts out of his system, to “turn down my bombastic theatrical volume.” The actor recalled feeling like “a total circus clown” while shooting a scene opposite Ben Affleck in his first film, “Going All the Way.” “With all due respect to circus clowns,” he added. “A noble profession indeed.” Thankfully, Jinx allows him to mix the best of both worlds. His “Margo’s Got Money Troubles” character is a total showman one moment and an open wound the next. He’s a onetime wrestling superstar who, with his glory days in the rearview, simply tries to move past his pain. Nick Offerman, Elle Fanning and Michelle Pfeiffer in “Margo’s Got Money Troubles” (Apple TV) “I’m doing my best to achieve the raw humanity, the emotional honesty that’s been written into these beautiful scripts,” Offerman said. “I’m so grateful when they’re like, ‘By the way…he’s a professional wrestler.’ Thank God, I can work out my bombast. I can bring a little vaudeville, even if it’s jumping off the top rope.” “Margo’s Got Money Troubles” may be a comedy, but Offerman spoke of the show’s rich themes just as he would any drama on the stage. He described Elle Fanning’s Margo, attempting to pay for childcare by becoming an OnlyFans model, as “an Arthur Miller character who looks like Venus.” “Jinx represents the other side of the coin, podcast guys who are selling testosterone like, ‘Buy my supplements so that you can dominate women.’ No, man, that may be on the surface a wrestling facade of macho masculinity, but everyone should understand — I think by now they’re coming to — that these are all broken, needy people, just like anybody else, that just happen to be putting on a cape and playing a superhero, or a unitard and playing a wrestler.” To embody Jinx, Offerman worked with various professional wrestlers and was struck by the generosity required for the sport. “Everyone is hurt,” he said. “They’re all these incredible athletes that are beating themselves up for our pleasure, and so they really help each other as much as they can. While they’re playing the most vicious of enemies, they’re secretly like, ‘You OK, brother? I got you.’ I found that really moving.” It’s this camaraderie and empathy that keeps the world turning in Offerman’s eyes. The idea is just as present in “Death by Lightning,” which centers on the belief that politics and decency need not be antithetical. The actor wishes he saw some more of that in the real world. Death by Lightning. (L to R) Nick Offerman as Chester A. Arthur, Shea Whigham as Roscoe Conkling in episode 104 of Death by Lightning. Cr. Larry Horricks/Netflix © 2025 “Empathy is simply evolution,” he said. “Everybody knows it — all those jerks, the secretary of defense, that are like, ‘Violence is the answer to everything. Aggression. We need to be big, tough, macho guys.’ We all know by now that that’s a cry for help, that he’s a weak, sad little boy. I feel so bad for your lovers — if you can get one — because you’re just announcing that you’re not open, that you’re not vulnerable to lovemaking or negotiation or civilization or, you know, progressive thought. I’m as stupid as the next guy, but at least I know to listen to you and say, ‘We are neighbors. We are friends. Whoever we are, we’re sharing this creation.’” It isn’t lost on Offerman that “Margo’s” marks the first time he will be a series regular for two seasons of a TV show since “Parks and Rec.” He also acknowledged the privilege of filming such a show in Los Angeles as local production continues to struggle: “It’s so weird that they built this place and that’s where they keep all the cameras and stuff, and that’s where all the people made their lives to learn how to make film and television, and then our governments and culture have allowed it to go everywhere else.” So when he gets parts like these — roles he compared to hearty, filling meals — he knows not to take them for granted. “It makes me keep my head down and say, ‘Man, just keep minding your manners and don’t screw this up,’” he said. “Because this is a very beautiful platter of beef wellington that’s being set in front of you.” This story first ran in the Down to the Wire Comedy issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine.