Nick Offerman Is Showing a New Side in 'Margo’s Got Money Troubles'
Nick Offerman.
Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for IMDb
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Nick Offerman knows he has a type. Since his mid-career breakout as Ron Swanson in Parks and Recreation, the Illinois native has cornered the market on a certain brand of deadpan, handy, emotionally removed yet gruffly lovable steak eater. Offerman has happily leaned into that persona himself, but as often happens with iconic roles, any type tends to belie greater depth — and it’s certainly the case with Offerman, given his origins in Chicago theater and his range of work in indie films, that there’s long been more than meets the mustache.
The Last of Us changed things. In one 2023 episode of HBO’s apocalyptic drama, Offerman beautifully charted a standalone queer romance over decades opposite Murray Bartlett, going on to win a guest-acting Emmy for his wrenching turn. The industry started seeing him differently; peers and colleagues would commend his work there. This dynamic started changing the shape of the offers coming his way — arguably culminating in Margo’s Got Money Troubles, premiering April 15 on AppleTV+.
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The pedigreed new dramedy from Emmy winner David E. Kelley stars Oscar nominees Michelle Pfeiffer and Elle Fanning as dysfunctional single mother and daughter. Their relationship enters a dramatic new phase when the latter — also single, barely getting by with ambitions to become a writer — gets pregnant after sleeping with her married professor and decides to keep the baby. The tension is escalated when Fanning’s Margo chooses to make ends meet by cultivating a following on OnlyFans.
Offerman enters the picture as Margo’s estranged father, Jinx, a retired pro wrestler and recovering addict. His experience as a flamboyant performer, combined with his absence from much of Margo’s life, makes him an unexpected mentor for his daughter when she needs one most. That relationship allows Offerman to deliver one of his most surprising, tender performances to date — one that plays off of the archetype he’s spent years effortlessly playing to, while revealing all of that gloriously messy human stuff that’s long been lurking underneath.
In his first interview about the show, Offerman himself acknowledges it feels like new territory. And with it almost out in the world, that’s scaring him a little bit.
Nick Offerman in ‘Margo’s Got Money Troubles.’
I’ve watched all of Margo’s Got Money Troubles. It was such a nice surprise seeing you in this role.
It’s the most flavorful role I’ve ever had emotionally, and so I’m pretty excited and also terrified for the world to see me have feelings.
Say more about that. What’s the fear?
Well, I have had the good luck to be able to flourish some of the more dependable tools in my toolbox over my career. It was just interesting at age 54 to be like, “Oh wow, I’ve never been cast as someone where we care, across a series, about his emotional journey.” It’s wonderful as an artist to get to face things that still make me terrified. That seemed like a very daunting challenge. To face off professionally and artistically with Elle and Michelle made me feel wonderfully like a freshman, and I still have a lot to live for.
Why do you think they thought of you for it?
People always ask me questions about Ron Swanson and his effect on popular culture, and I enjoy the answer I came up with, which was: The clown is not aware from behind the makeup of why the children are crying. I was in Budapest shooting Death by Lightning for Netflix, which was also an incredibly gratifying and enjoyable job, when this offer came in. It had every aspect: David E. Kelley show, hot novel, Michelle Pfeiffer, Elle Fanning, Nicole Kidman. Shoots in Los Angeles. Former pro wrestler, everything — really delicious role.
The pitch came just with this resplendent banquet of dishes. I was like, “What am I missing here? What guy in the business is not killing for this part? This is the best part on TV for a guy.” I suppose Mother Nature gave me this body that could become a convincing former pro wrestler. And thankfully, my work in The Last of Us, particularly,showcased that I have hopefully enough range to cover the dramatic side of the character. Because I’m a human being with insecurities and I own a mirror, I’d be on set and people would say nice things to me about my work that day and I would say, “Well, thank you. I’m glad I’m not fucking it up.”
You won an Emmy for The Last of Us, which did track the kind of emotional arc you were referring to earlier — only, over a sin