This was posted by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog on Thursday, September 28, 2017
Nick Offerman broke big eight years ago as woodwork-loving, government-despising, meat-eating Ron Swanson on NBC's "Parks and Recreation" for seven seasons.
It helps that Offerman himself carries some of the key characteristics of said character. He runs his own professional wood-working shop on top of acting, writing books (his latest from 2016 “Good Clean Fun” is about woodworking) and hosting his current comedic stage show “Full Bush,” which comes to Cobb Energy Centre Oct. 19.
His last stage show from 2014, “American Ham,” is available on Netflix. Once that aired, he had to start over with new material. As he was designing his latest show, his agent asked what he wanted to call it. “I honest to God pulled it out of my fanny,” he said in a recent interview. “It’s called ‘Full Bush.’ I thought that sounded funny. I then reverse-engineered the show into the title.”
Presumably, the oft-bearded Offerman will discuss his grooming philosophy on stage. But unlike “American Ham,” he won’t start the show topless. “I’m actually in much better shape than I was during ‘American Ham,’ ” he said. “So the better I look, the less funny it is if I take my shirt off. Unless I beef up considerably by October, I’ll be shirted.”
He’ll “retire” this show as well by taping a special Dec. 3 in Chicago. He hasn’t figured out what network will end up taking it, with possible candidates such as HBO, Comedy Central, Showtime, Netflix or Epix.
“If I’m lucky, it will be a bidding skirmish,” he cracked. “I’m not quite bidding war material.”
The man likes touring but follows the "two-week rule" with his wife, Megan Mullally, a star of the returning series "Will & Grace" on NBC. That means the couple never separates for more than two weeks at a time no matter what projects they're doing.
“I am touring Thursday through Sunday,” he said. “I’ll fly someplace, drive to more cities, then fly home. I am home Monday through Wednesday and every Wednesday, I get to see a ‘Will & Grace’ taping.”
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
He is not set to appear on the show this season, though he did make an appearance 16 years ago as a plumber. “It sure wouldn’t hurt my feelings,” he said. ‘They have a lot of higher-profile guest stars to get on there first. If it sticks around long enough, maybe they’ll be in need of the service of a plumber again. I would certainly be over the moon.”
Offerman thinks the return of the show is appropriate in 2017. "It feels so much more classic and more like a work of art than modern multi-cam shows," Offerman said. "I think the nation is responding to the vacuum. There's been nothing like it. It makes sense people are craving it again. It's like some alt-rock band getting back together, but this is Pink Floyd."
He will be back on NBC mid-season hosting a reality competition show about folks who create crafts and reunites with his buddy Amy Poehler of "Parks & Rec" fame: "It's a show about people who are amazing at making things with their hands and hopefully will encourage others to do the same."
Offerman will also appear on another classic comedy that was on ice for many years: HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm." He plays a co-worker for whom Larry David does a good deed, but on that show, no good deed goes unpunished. He said he auditioned for the show many times back in his pre-"Parks & Rec" days and had no luck.
“Getting to be on ‘Curb” had become an absolute impossibility,” Offerman said. “So to get that call after all those years was a surprise. I’m so grateful they are making more.”
Offerman is no stranger to Atlanta. He was in the 2016 film "The Founder" about the creation of McDonald's and how Ray Kroc wrested the brand away from the McDonald's family. As a man who admires edifices, he was impressed by the ingenuity production designer Michael Corenblith, who took a single building and kept redesigning it to look like McDonald's stores from various eras.
“They would shoot it from different angles, and by just changing a couple of details, it would look like a completely different location,” Offerman said.
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Hopefully for his sake, by the time he comes to Atlanta October 19, the Cubs will be returning to the World Series after winning for the first time in 2016 in more than a century. "It's always fun to be a Cubs fan," he said. "Last year was baffling because October is usually a good time to travel or take in some football. It was so much fun to have such an incredible run through the post season. The fact a year later we're still pretty good is wonderfully gratifying. You know - win or lose, we love our team. If they win, that's a good time. If they lose, you still get to finish your beer."
COMEDY PREVIEW
Nick Offerman
7:30 p.m. Oct. 19. $36.50-$56.50. Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, 2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway, Atlanta. www.cobbenergycentre.com.
OTHER UPCOMING SHOWS
Rickey Smiley
8 p.m. Oct. 7. $40-$50. Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, 2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway, Atlanta. www.cobbenergycentre.com
Trevor Noah (sold out)
7 p.m. Oct. 14. Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, 2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway, Atlanta. www.cobbenergycentre.com.
Doug Benson (Doug Loves Movies podcast taping)
4:20 p.m. Oct. 15. $21. Variety Playhouse, 1099 Euclid Ave. NE, Atlanta. www.variety-playhouse.com.
Rodney Carrington
7 p.m. Oct. 21. $44-$179.50. Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, 2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway, Atlanta. www.cobbenergycentre.com.
CONCERT PREVIEW
Nick Offerman "Full Bush"
7:30 p.m., October 19
$36.50-$56.50
Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre
2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway, Atlanta
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