“As Jeff Tweedy says, I just try and make things rather than destroy things. If you can finish your day having offered more flowers than you’ve stepped on, that’s a good goal.”
-Nick Offerman, episode 466 of Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso
These days Nick Offerman appears to be one of the few remaining men who enjoys “making things rather than destroying things.” Career-best performances, best-selling books, a wooden, cedar-strip canoe built out of his Los Angeles Offerman Woodshop. Nick does what he can (and then some).
He joins us this week on the heels of his double Emmy nominations to talk through his emotionally complex performance in Margo’s Got Money Troubles, its connection to his past (8:48), and the range of projects born from his tendency to keep busy (13:10). Then, we turn to the words of the late, beloved poet Wendell Berry (15:35), Offerman’s rural upbringing in Illinois (16:45), and his timely role in the crime thriller Sovereign (26:55)
On the back-half, we talk about masculinity in America (30:35), Ben Shapiro’s vexing response to Offerman’s Emmy-winning turn in The Last of Us (40:52), what Parks and Recreation symbolizes to its fans, new and old (56:00), and why he believes “if you can finish your day having offered more flowers than you’ve stepped on… that’s a good goal” (1:05:40).
As always, our email: talkeasypod@gmail.com.
Watch this conversation on YouTube:
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Show-notes:
- Watch Nick in Margo’s Got Money Troubles, Parks and Recreation, The Last of Us, Devs, and Death by Lightning.
- For his movie work, watch Sovereign and Civil War.
- Hear our previous talks with Nick from 2021 and 2024.
- Learn about the Offerman Woodshop.
- Follow Nick on Instagram and Twitter.
- Read his books.
- Order your Talk Easy mug in cream and navy or our vinyl record with Fran Lebowitz.
Photographs by Emil Ravelo. Design by Derek Gabryszak and Will Tuddenham.
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