It's hard to tell where Nick Offerman ends and Ron Swanson begins. The mustachioed character who Offerman popularized on Parks and Recreation speaks with the same distinctive cadence as the actor, boasts similar hobbies, and even drinks Offerman's favorite spirit. He's such a fan of Lagavulin whisky, Parks and Rec writers found countless ways to work it into scripts — enough times to catch the eye of the Scottish distillery and make him their spokesman.
[youtube ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHZGy1LXcA0&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]
We caught up with the actor on the phone on the heels of his new Lagavulin Thanksgiving ad to chat about all things holidays: why he can't stop at just one of his mom's famous dinner rolls, how he and wife Megan Mullally's Thanksgiving plates compare, and the story behind that yule log video that broke the internet.
In your Thanksgiving video for Lagavulin, you hustle through the turkey so you can drink whisky. In reality, what part of the meal do you look forward to the most?
As a kid it was a matter of testing the capabilities of the dinner plate. The staples to have were turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and gravy. Those are my headlines. I would fill around those with this baked mushroom and black olive dish and these incredible dinner rolls that my mom bakes. That's her gold medal winner. But you know, any delicious repast could be considered a whisky delivery system. It's like when I go running: It's really just to get me excited about having a beer at the end of it.
Do you still go back to Illinois for Thanksgiving every year?
I'll be there for this Thanksgiving, which I'm really excited about. Sometimes our families come to California, but the best, the goal, is always to get home to mom and dad's house. That's where the hearth is, as well as the heart. It's the big oak dining room table. It's all of the traditional accoutrements that come with Thanksgiving dinner. My mom and dad are both amazing cooks. It's my favorite place to show up and try to help with the dishes.
I have to ask: Is the giant oak dining table something you helped build?
No, it's an antique. My dad makes furniture but this even predates him. We're a practical family, so as long as I've been a woodworker, they haven't needed any furniture. My dad kind of has that covered.
Do you like to help out with cooking?
I do like to help out. There's a large group of like six or eight households, and any combination thereof can show up for a holiday meal. That means that each household is bringing one or two dishes. So there's not a lot of room, unfortunately, and it often falls to me to have to watch a football game or take the kids out. There's an old pass through a park that we go to and take a beautiful, brisk autumn walk. That's a favorite activity.
Are you a traditionalist? Do you wake up and watch the parade and the dog show and hang around while your family is cooking?
I guess I must not be a traditionalist because I did not know there was a dog show. That's news to me. That could be my new thing. I do love dogs, and I love to prance, so it could be an inspiration. I do often see the parade, but it depends. Megan [Mullally] and I, our lives are a constantly changing kaleidoscope. One Thanksgiving might find us in London working on a TV show, and then the next Thanksgiving might find us in Minooka, IL, and so on.
My platonic ideal for Thanksgiving is to take in the chilly November air of Illinois. I like to get outside. If there's anybody to play catch with, I'll do that, and then, ultimately, get into the family dinner. My dad makes one turkey in the oven and one on the grill, which is pretty impressive. It's always fun to stand out by the grill and have a beer with Dad while he's manning the coals.
Your yule log video for Lagavulin from a couple years ago went totally viral. Where did that idea come from?
That was this great writer named David Phillips who had worked on Parks and Recreation. He and Dave King are the two professional writers that we rope in and say, Hey, we need some more stupid slash funny ideas. We had no idea if the yule log thing would catch on or not; we just thought it was a funny fluke. My greatest talent is sitting still and remaining silent. I knew one day it would pay off.
Was that harder to do than something more active with a lot of lines to remember?
No. For some reason, I have a very calm demeanor. It's funny, people often say to me, "Holy cow, how can you sit still for 45 minutes?", and I say "That's my dream." I'm so busy, I'm such a workaholic. All I want to do is sit in a chair and not be bothered. I felt like I was really getting away with murder to do that as my actual job.
With that video and the gifts you have available in your woodworking shop, you've become an integral part of a lot of your fan's holidays. Do you hear from them this time of year?
We love our really particular niche in the world of woodworking shops associated with popular television comedies. I believe we're at the top of that list. It's really nice that these charismatic woodworkers at my shop can make a living making gift items for people who want a little piece of something associated with my work, either to slice up their own turkeys on, or serve a board of charcuterie, or a set of coasters for their own delicious single malt beverages.
BUY NOW: Offerman's Meat Paddle, $66; Offermanwoodshop.com
What are some of the most memorable fan encounters you've had?
I talk about this in my current touring show called Full Bush, but I do get a lot of blowback when fans of Parks and Recreation see me in other movies and TV shows without whiskers. They will say very mean things to me, and I just try to remind them, I understand that what they mean to do is compliment my mustache and/or my work on Parks and Rec. But I just want to remind them that it's my actual face that I was born with that they're purporting to be the cause for their nausea.
Are there any traditions you're looking forward to this holiday season?
It's been several years since Megan and I spent Christmas at home in Los Angeles. We both have been hustling a lot this year, so some months back we said, let's just stay home this Christmas season. We're very excited. We love to put up a tree. I made an angel for the tree out of a stuffed monkey that is a favorite of ours. And you know, we love to decorate the tree with funny and personal things. We're lucky enough to have these fun lives as entertainers traveling all over the place and getting to have a lot of fun dancing for the people.
I hear there's a family recipe you like to make when you have the chance.
I am so grateful for this community I grew up in, because my current family, we're about 30 people that live within an eight-mile radius. Megan and I are the only black sheep that don't live within that circle. Everyone grew up in this farm family, cooking together. But there's also a big church community and they all cook together for many different occasions. Many, many years ago, my mom got this recipe from her church friend, and it's for refrigerator rolls. They couldn't be more simple. They're just a straight dinner roll dough. They rise in the refrigerator, and you bake them, and slather them with butter. There's really no need for dessert if these dinner rolls are being served. [Editor's note: We scored the hand-written recipe from Offerman's mom, below!]
Megan has really similar taste to mine. If we were both sent into a Thanksgiving dinner, I think we'd come out with hilariously similar plates. A little bit of dark meat but most of the real estate would be taken up by the stuffing, the mashed potatoes, and the gravy. You should have two of the rolls, but we usually end up with more like five.
Thanks so much for chatting with me. We'd love to have you in the Delish offices, if you ever get the chance.
Well, it's my pleasure, and I hope we cross paths. An office called Delish sounds right up my alley.
We'll make sure there are dinner rolls.
I'm easy. I'm not picky. I'm not crazy about the cheeses derived from the goat for some weird reason, but if that's all we have, I won't complain.
All right, dinner rolls and no goat cheese. We'll see you there.
I'm a very good guest.
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