{"id":21439,"date":"2011-11-23T14:56:03","date_gmt":"2011-11-23T19:56:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/artofmanliness.com\/?p=21439"},"modified":"2025-12-15T14:25:45","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T20:25:45","slug":"the-art-of-manliness-podcast-34-an-interview-with-nick-offerman-aka-ron-swanson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/podcast\/the-art-of-manliness-podcast-34-an-interview-with-nick-offerman-aka-ron-swanson\/","title":{"rendered":"The Art of Manliness Podcast #38: An Interview With Nick Offerman (AKA Ron Swanson)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/player.simplecast.com\/16d45bf5-8e07-4ccf-84f8-8240a0d8621b?dark=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"200px\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" seamless=\"\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;ve been following the site, you know Kate and I are big fans of NBC&#8217;s <em>Parks and Recreation. <\/em>We&#8217;re especially fans of the character Ron Swanson on the show. Ron Swanson is the head of the Pawnee Parks and Rec Dept. in Indiana. He&#8217;s a conservative libertarian who loves woodworking, breakfast foods, hunting, and fishing, and he keeps a sawed off shotgun in his desk. His Pyramid of Greatness is pure awesome.<\/p>\n<p>While Ron&#8217;s idiosyncrasies bring humor to the show (as all the characters&#8217; quirks do), his manly ways aren&#8217;t mocked for laughs in the way of other TV shows. The show has a sort of sweet, good-natured tone, which is why we like it.<\/p>\n<p>What&#8217;s interesting is that the actor behind the character, Nick Offerman, is pretty manly in real life, too. Nick&#8217;s real passion is woodworking; <a href=\"https:\/\/offermanwoodshop.com\/\">he runs his own woodshop&#8211;the Offerman Shop<\/a>&#8211;where he builds tables, chairs, canoes, paddles and more. You can watch Nick talk about planking a canoe in this video:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Q7qiXZqrvfI\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>A few weeks ago I got on the phone with Mr. Offerman to discuss what makes Ron Swanson so manly, and the greatness of mustaches and woodworking.<\/p>\n<h3>Listen to the Podcast! (And don\u2019t forget to leave us a review!)<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/the-art-of-manliness\/id332516054?mt=2\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-49206 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2015\/07\/available-on-itunes.png\" alt=\"Available-on-itunes.\" width=\"250\" height=\"92\" data-pin-nopin=\"true\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-49207 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2015\/07\/available-on-stitcher.png\" alt=\"Available-on-stitcher.\" width=\"250\" height=\"92\" data-pin-nopin=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/artofmanliness\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-49208 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2015\/07\/soundcloud-logo.png\" alt=\"Soundcloud-logo.\" width=\"250\" height=\"127\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pcasts.in:443\/NwCI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-49655\" src=\"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/\/2015\/08\/pocketcasts.png\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" srcset=\"\" alt=\"Pocketcasts.\" width=\"225\" height=\"225\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/music\/managemusic?t=The_Art_of_Manliness\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-56926 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2016\/05\/google-play-podcast-e1464287132541.png\" alt=\"Google-play-podcast.\" width=\"250\" height=\"190\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/2vJHmWhhcMQRXtTruuFWTJ\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-81682\" src=\"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2018\/01\/open-graph-default.png\" alt=\"Spotify.\" width=\"248\" height=\"130\" srcset=\"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2018\/01\/open-graph-default.png 400w, https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2018\/01\/open-graph-default-320x168.png 320w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 248px) 100vw, 248px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/art19.com\/shows\/the-art-of-manliness\/episodes\/376b6b21-c0fa-47b1-822c-3e335c4c1a2d\">Listen to the episode on a separate page.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/rss.art19.com\/episodes\/376b6b21-c0fa-47b1-822c-3e335c4c1a2d.mp3\">Download this episode.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.omnycontent.com\/d\/playlist\/aaea4e69-af51-495e-afc9-a9760146922b\/6081eee7-c459-4e12-a1ab-aadc000fc4a7\/413a6904-4d72-4be8-9421-aadc000fc4ba\/podcast.rss\">Subscribe to the podcast in the media player of your choice.<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Read the Transcript<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Brett McKay:<\/strong> Brett McKay here, and welcome to another episode of \u2018The Art of Manliness\u2019 podcast. Well this week\u2019s edition is quite a treat for us. I sat down with actor Nick Offerman who plays the manliest character on TV right now, Ron Effing Swanson from NBC\u2019s <em>Parks and Recreation<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>During our interview Nick and I discussed, what makes Ron so manly mustaches in Nick\u2019s true passionate life woodworking.<\/p>\n<p>Well Nick welcome to the show we really appreciate taking the time to speak to us.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Nick<\/strong>: My pleasure. Thanks for having me.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Brett McKay<\/strong>: So Nick I know a lot of our readers and listeners are a big fans of Parks and Recreation and your character Ron Swanson you play on the show. For those who haven\u2019t seen the show, could you kind of describe Ron Swanson and why art of manliness readers would be interested in him?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Nick<\/strong>: Well, Ron Swanson is the director of Parks and Recreation department in a small Midwestern town and he is an American man who has remained refreshingly unaffected by the information age, though he lives a very simple life without the confusion of choice provided by the internet and social networking and cellphones and all of that. So let us throwback to a more of a <em>Little House on the Prairie<\/em> character.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Brett McKay<\/strong>: Yeah definitely. I mean he\u2019s got the mustache, he is really into freedom and liberty and self-reliance and that I think a lot of American men are attracted to. And I think a lot of people know men like Ron Swanson, that\u2019s what I have encountered when I talk to people. They go, I know a guy like that; it\u2019s like my grandpa or like my uncle who lives out in Montana.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Nick<\/strong>: Yeah I think it\u2019s something that \u2013 I think Ron\u2019s ideals are something that most suburban or urbanized people in this country can only dream of because we are sort of necessarily required to inspire our businesses, to take part in all of the modern technologies that Ron eschews.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Brett McKay<\/strong>: Yes, so do you think that\u2019s wide, there is the appeal for him because I mean since the show started a few year ago, the show has developed a really great following, but Ron Swanson has kind of becomes as almost cult hero, I mean there is Tumblr blogs dedicated to Cats that look like Ron Swanson. I\u2019ve seen like these magnificent oil paintings of the character Ron Swanson, I mean do you think that that\u2019s the appeal like people wish they can get back to that.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Nick<\/strong>: I think so, I mean it\u2019s hard for me to say being behind the incline and make up myself exactly what it is that \u2013 if I had to guess it would be that, that Ron sort of represents what we all idealize as a simpler time when I mean I myself don&#8217;t do Facebook or Twitter. I never have and it\u2019s all I can do just to keep up with my email inbox and drives me crazy that we are now that the part of me that wishes I could be more like Ron is the part that has to answer 80 emails a day. I was talking to my wife about it saying, what in the day of the telephone answering machine what would you think if you came home everyday and you had 80 messages, you had to listen to and attend to. And it\u2019s something that I feel enslaved by or certainly caged by my obligation to the information age. And so I longed for the freedom of Ron Swanson can shrug and say, I care nothing for any messages on my computer.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Brett McKay<\/strong>: So you know, Ron is known for his kind of iconic mustache, is that something you keep when you are not shooting or is that just for the show?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Nick<\/strong>: Throughout my career I have had every possible iteration of facial hair and head hair. I\u2019ve done Mr. T a full on Mr. T as well as an albino Mr. T. I love everything from shaved head to long hair. I love everything from huge full beard to you know mutton chops to clean shaving. And so over the years I have sported the mustache for different roles. It is especially effective of course for cop or sheriff. And you know for years I would be told by casting directors when you arrive at your sheriff years you are going to do very well. And so it was sort of one of the tools in my arsenal, one of the weapons I had at my disposal and when my Chair and I began talking about Ron that was kind of the first really the first decision we made was, well this guy has ridiculous kick-ass beefy mustache.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Brett McKay:<\/strong> That\u2019s awesome. And what does your wife think of the mustache, is she a fan or she\u2019s like yea.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Nick<\/strong>: Fortunately she is a big fan of my weirdness, my whisker weirdness. She not only is a big fan of the mustache but no matter what strange thing I do to my head, she usually comes down in favor of it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Brett McKay:<\/strong> You are a lucky man because I know a lot of guys wish they could grow a mustache but usually their wives, wife says no. So Ron Swanson is going to be like I don\u2019t care what my wife says.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Nick<\/strong>: Exactly, I mean, I think it\u2019s a shame, I know a lot of people in that predicament and I say to both of them, I think it\u2019s a shame that you are so close-minded whatever it is, you know, you are locked into whether it\u2019s your image of yourself or your husband or if it\u2019s some sort of hygienic, sometimes women are like, no, that\u2019s growth I don\u2019t want a bunch of crumbs or I don\u2019t know but I, you know, I tell people it\u2019s a really eye-opening experience at least try it. My daddy grew up whole beard and he was crazy about it. He used to like it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Brett McKay<\/strong>: So how similar is Ron Swanson to you because I\u2019ve heard Jim O&#8217;Heir who plays Jerry on the show, he\u2019s quoted saying is that you are as manly or manlier as Ron Swanson and it sounds like you kind of have a very similar, your approach to technology is kind of Ron Swanson Esq. is there any other things you\u2019ve infused in Ron Swanson that comes from your just personality and character?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Nick<\/strong>: Well, first of all, I should say that Jim O\u2019Heir was speaking erroneously to Nick, to me has been trying to avoid the glaring fact that he is very similar to Jerry Gergich, roundly detested on the set of our show and it could not be more than eyor.<\/p>\n<p>Now regarding the comment about me, you know, it\u2019s funny to me and I think kind of sad that manliness has become sort of this niche conversation much like you know, gourmet versus or custom made selvedge denim jeans, you know, it sort of speaks to me about how soft our society has gotten that someone would want to interview me about how manly I am. And I think it\u2019s because I grew up, like the man I grew up amongst, I am the sissy in my family, you know, I am the artist, my dad and my uncles and my grandfathers are farmers and firemen and these guys, these guys could crash the tractor into a canyon and pull up their pickup truck and rebuild the tractor into a combine and then drive it into a field and harvest enough grain to feed a small city and then drink a case of beer. And these guys are like superheroes of manliness compared to me. But I just happen to ventured into the big city, you know, into a field that\u2019s made up mostly of sort of simpering Shakespeare acolytes among which I count myself, I mean I enjoy putting on a pair of tights as much as man you know.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Brett McKay:<\/strong> And the codpiece, right.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Nick<\/strong>: Right.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Brett McKay:<\/strong> Of course. But there is I think one of things that I learned watching this show, there was an episode where Ron built a canoe, just like the night before and he gave it a gift to somebody, but you are actually a woodworker. I mean that\u2019s one of your, I guess a hobby or it\u2019s almost like a, I think a second career for you, is that right?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Nick<\/strong>: It is, yeah. I mean, I actually I am on the cover of the current Fine Woodworking magazine on the stands right now which is one of the, probably one of the proudest achievement I\u2019ll ever come up with it.<\/p>\n<p>That episode you are referring to was actually shot in my shop and those were my canoes that I have built, there were two of my canoes in that episode. Yeah, that\u2019s you know, again I grew up using tools, I framed houses one summer. I spent a lot of my career building sceneries as a supplement to my acting income and so you know, it\u2019s not something\u2026 I also spent a couple of summers blacktopping roads and driveways, parking lot. So which are you know, in hindsight those are all things you might consider manly but I wasn\u2019t trying to\u2026I wasn\u2019t setting out to lay the ground work for Ron Swanson or to try and become a guy who could grow a good mustache.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Brett McKay:<\/strong> Yeah, you are just trying to pay the bills.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Nick<\/strong>: Right. And my woodworking is sort of, is a sort of speaks to this conversation in that. When I got to Los Angeles and I saw, you know, your average actors off in a very sad personality because of they are so narcissistic and the business is so brutal and you know, the actor has a little power over their career path that is just incredibly emasculating. And I got to Los Angeles and I saw all those folks around me suffering, suffering terrible neurotic lives where everyday was you know, of what will become of me, what am I thinking, should I move back to Kansas city, you know, take that accounting position at my uncle\u2019s firm. And so when I sort of saw that my reaction was to make sure that I kept building things out of wood while I was auditioning and trying to get acting work so that I could just simply hold my head up around my family when I went home for Christmas.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Brett McKay:<\/strong> Yeah I guess it\u2019s kind of a therapeutic thing for you then in lot of cases?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Nick<\/strong>: Absolutely.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Brett McKay:<\/strong> And is there a website you have for your work, your shop, when you have these really fantastic pieces, very beautiful, is there a particular kind of project you would like to work on, I mean, is there a piece you like to make all the time for people.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Nick<\/strong>: I mean, I have made a lot of dining tables that are just one slab of a tree in the style of a guy named George Nakashima. But you know, I really just love making things out of wood, I mean, I\u2019ve made two canoes, I\u2019ll probably make a couple oceans kayaks. I have some ukuleles coming up which I am making in preparation to then try some acoustic guitars.<\/p>\n<p>And I think I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll ever become you know, a canoe shop or a guitar shop. I think I like making a couple versions of something until unlike okay, that is a kick-ass table, that is a awesome cabin, that is a canoe that I can keep the rest of my life. And then I sort of keep when I look for what\u2019s next. I like keeping it fresh. I have a couple helpers at my shop and they are the same way but they also, they kind of head up the operation where somebody wants us to reproduce the table or something, they jump in and keep their hands dirty.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Brett McKay:<\/strong> So your shop is a commercial shop, it\u2019s not just something in your house, it\u2019s like an actual working shop.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Nick<\/strong>: It is, yeah. And we are actually coincidentally just yesterday we put up, we finally got my website re-upped after a few years of dormancy so it\u2019s now \u2013 there is now some little items you can get on the website, you are getting a lot of client traffic and so you know, you just they is still not\u2026if there is a t-shirt and a cap, you know, because of lot of fans were coming and saying, hey I live in Ohio, is there anything I can buy from this shop that\u2019s not a $500 foot stool. And so we had a lot of that kind of traffic, so we put a few things up, like, yeah<\/p>\n<p><strong>Brett McKay<\/strong>: So what\u2019s the address for your webpage, for your shop so people can go and check it out?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Nick<\/strong>: So it\u2019s offermanwoodshop.com.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Brett McKay<\/strong>: Alright, I\u2019ll make sure to put that on LinkedIn post so people can check that out. One of the things, woodworking seem like a really involved trade, so I mean, how do you balance that with your acting career, I mean, is it like you only can, do you keep doing it year round or is there seasons where you are just acting then you are doing, in your other times you are doing just woodworking.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Nick<\/strong>: Well it used to be, I used to get less acting works so I spend a lot more time woodworking and last few years my shop time has been cut into considerably by Parks and Recreation but even so acting is not the most grueling schedule on the planet even when we are going for feed on the show, I\u2019ll have a week off every month or two and you know, I get days off when I am not in the story that we are shooting that day. But I still get into the shop with some frequency and you know, I definitely I am doing less work now but I am looking forward to, to continuing to work with my hands during my downtime.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Brett McKay<\/strong>: Definitely. So Nick last question, I know a lot of guys like have like the \u2013 like woodworking is like their fantasy hobby, it\u2019s like, oh I wish I had a food shop in my garage and I would build a table out of a slab of wood. But I think a lot of guys don\u2019t take it on because they just seem kind of intimated by it. Do you have any suggestions for those guys who want to get started but don\u2019t know how?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Nick<\/strong>: Yeah, I mean, I was looking enough to have a really firm foundation in tool skills, when I began what I would call fine woodworking. I had several years of being a professional scenery and prop builder under my belt. But regardless in general, I think the best advice I could give anybody is to start subscribing to fine woodworking magazine, that\u2019s what I did when I got hooked on actual like fine woodworking, that magazine was just my grad school and my PhD program.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s really incredible and I am not affiliated with it I mean, I just had an article published in it but I am simply a huge disciple of the magazine and the thing you\u2019ll discover is, there is stuff in there for woodworkers on every level and there is all kinds of different things you can try and tackle that don\u2019t take up as much room or don\u2019t take as much of an initial outlay financially. You know, you can get a little small lathes and just turn like anything from pens to lamps, the candle stick, bowls. There are certain things that take up less space if you find something you can specialize in.<\/p>\n<p>But you know, it\u2019s like anything that requires a little bit of gumption you just have to get off your ass and try, the most important thing. I mean, I still make mistake all the time and I read a quote that fine woodworking masters let\u2019s say, you know, the greater your mastery celebrated, it just means that you are that much better at covering up your mistakes.<\/p>\n<p>And it\u2019s really true, like, I read an article on fine woodworking many years and the article was, \u2018How to cover up your dovetail that you screwed up\u2019. And I said, oh, you can screw them up and you could cover them up. Well then I you know, I was intuitively scared to try a dovetails. But once I read that article I was like, oh, now I have permission as I can mess it up. I made a really beautiful shaker blanket chest with a ton of dovetails in it. And you know, I probably messed up 5% of them that no one will ever know.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Brett McKay:<\/strong> Very cool. So just get out there and try it then.<\/p>\n<p>Nick: Yeah, get off your ass. I mean that\u2019s I think. I think that\u2019s what the kind of people who admire Ron Swanson I think that\u2019s what they are craving to hear is get off your ass, put down video games controller and go look at a tree. Get a shovel and dig a hole, you will be amazed with the power you can wield.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Brett McKay:<\/strong> Well this is some wise words and wise advice from you and from the life of Ron Swanson. Well Nick I know you are busy, thank you so much for taking the time. It\u2019s been a pleasure.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Nick<\/strong>: Oh, my pleasure. Good luck with everything. And I\u2019ll see you around campus.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Brett McKay<\/strong>: Our guest today was actor Nick Offerman. Nick plays Ron Swanson in NBC\u2019s Parks and Recreation. And you can catch Parks and Rec Thursday nights on NBC. And to find out more about Nick\u2019s woodworking, you can check his website @ offermanwoodshop.com. Well that wraps up another edition of The Art of Manliness podcast. For more manly tips and advice make sure to check out the art of manliness website @ artofmanliness.com and until next time, stay manly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\ufeff If you&#8217;ve been following the site, you know Kate and I are big fans of NBC&#8217;s Parks and Recreation. We&#8217;re especially fans of the character Ron Swanson on the show. Ron Swanson is the head of the Pawnee Parks and Rec Dept. in Indiana. He&#8217;s a conservative libertarian who loves woodworking, breakfast foods, hunting, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":108807,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[502,42274,218,42272,156],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-21439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-character","category-entertainment","category-leisure","category-manhood","category-podcast"],"featured_image_urls":{},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21439","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21439"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21439\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":191939,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21439\/revisions\/191939"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108807"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21439"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=21439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}