Jean-Ralphio Saperstein is a

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...

al character played by

Ben Schwartz Benjamin Joseph Schwartz (born September 15, 1981) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his recurring role as Jean-Ralphio Saperstein on the NBC sitcom '' Parks and Recreation'', his starring role as Clyde Oberholt on the Sh ...

in the American

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

television series '' Parks and Recreation''. He is the cocky friend of

Tom Haverford Thomas Montgomery "Tom" Haverford (born Darwish Sabir Ismail Ghani) is a fictional character on the NBC series '' Parks and Recreation''. He is a sarcastic, underachieving government official for the city of Pawnee who—in his own mind—is rev ...

(

Aziz Ansari Aziz Ismail Ansari ( ; born February 23, 1983) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He played Tom Haverford on the NBC series '' Parks and Recreation'' (2009–2015) and created and starred in the Netflix series ''Master of None'' (2 ...

) and, like Tom, sees himself as a

pickup artist Pickup artists (PUA) are people whose goals are seduction and sexual success. Predominantly heterosexual men, they often self-identify as the seduction community or the pickup community. This community exists through various channels, including ...

and " baller", although he is looked upon with contempt by most people around him except Tom.

Ron Swanson Ronald Ulysses Swanson is a fictional character portrayed by Nick Offerman in the political satire sitcom '' Parks and Recreation''. The character was created by Michael Schur and Greg Daniels with inspiration from a real-life Libertarian ele ...

(

Nick Offerman Nicholas David Offerman (born June 26, 1970) is an American actor. He became widely known for his role as Ron Swanson in the NBC sitcom '' Parks and Recreation'' (2009–2015), for which he received the Television Critics Association Award fo ...

) happily invests in Tom's "Rent-A-Swag" venture when he learns that for once Jean-Ralphio is not involved. He tries to dress stylishly, makes up and raps spontaneous rhymes but usually fails due to adding an extraneous word after the rhyme, and often speaks in slang terms, such as variations of the suffix -izzle as popularized by American rapper

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

. For example, while comforting Tom at one point, Jean-Ralphio encourages him to "Turn that frizown upside-dizzity." At the end of the third season, Tom leaves his city hall job to start an entertainment company with Jean-Ralphio. Their venture quickly falls apart due to extravagant spending, and they both move on to other schemes. Jean-Ralphio's twin sister Mona-Lisa and their obstetrician father are also introduced in later seasons.

Character biography

Jean-Ralphio is first introduced in " The Set Up,” when Tom brings him in for an interview to be

's new assistant; Jean-Ralphio is quickly rejected. In "

Woman of the Year ''Woman of the Year'' is a 1942 American romantic comedy drama film directed by George Stevens and starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. The film was written by Ring Lardner Jr. and Michael Kanin (with uncredited work on the rewritte ...

,” when Tom is trying to find investors to help him buy a share of the Snakehole Lounge nightclub, Jean-Ralphio contributes $5,000 of the remaining $6,000 Tom needs. Unable to raise the rest, the two approach

Donna Meagle Donna Marie Meagle is a fictional character in the NBC comedy '' Parks and Recreation''. She is portrayed by Retta and has appeared in the show since the pilot. For the first two seasons of the show she appeared as a recurring character; she beca ...

(

Retta Marietta Sangai SirleafJung, E. Alex Vulture.com, May 23, 2018. rchived https://web.archive.org/web/20180523214634/https://www.vulture.com/2018/05/retta-has-a-story-to-tell.htmlon 05-23-2018

) about investing along with them, but after a sales pitch from Jean-Ralphio, Donna rejects them and tells Tom, in front of Jean-Ralphio, "I hate that guy." Jean-Ralphio also appeared in " The Master Plan,” wherein

April Ludgate April Roberta Ludgate-Dwyer, Lady Ludgate-Dwyer née Ludgate, is a fictional character in the NBC political satire mockumentary sitcom '' Parks and Recreation''. She is portrayed by Aubrey Plaza. She is first seen as an apathetic college student ...

(

Aubrey Plaza Aubrey Christina Plaza (born June 26, 1984) is an American actress, comedian, and producer. She began performing Improvisational theatre, improv and sketch comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. After graduating from New York University ...

) flirted with him at the Snakehole Lounge to make Andy jealous, prompting Andy to say about him, "That

Ralph Macchio Ralph George Macchio Jr. ( , ; born November 4, 1961) is an American actor. He is known for portraying Daniel LaRusso in the ''Karate Kid'' films (1984–1989, 2025), a role he reprised in the martial arts series ''Cobra Kai'' (2018–2025). F ...

guy's a total douche." Jean-Ralphio also appears in " The Fight,” wherein he helps Tom raise awareness for his new drink, Snakejuice, at the Snakehole Lounge. At one point, after drinking Snakejuice and having a fight with

Ann Perkins Ann Meredith Perkins, RN, portrayed by Rashida Jones, is a fictional character in the NBC comedy '' Parks and Recreation''. She is a nurse and Leslie Knope's best friend. Ann is originally from Ann Arbor, Michigan, moving to Pawnee sometime ...

(

Rashida Jones Rashida Leah Jones ( ; born February 25, 1976) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is best known for her roles as Louisa Fenn on the Fox drama series ''Boston Public'' (2000–2002), Karen Filippelli on the NBC comedy series ''The Offic ...

), a drunken

Leslie Knope Leslie Barbara Knope ( ) is a fictional character portrayed by Amy Poehler and the main protagonist of the NBC sitcom '' Parks and Recreation''. For most of the show's run, she serves as deputy director of the Parks and Recreation Department of ...

(

Amy Poehler Amy Meredith Poehler ( ; born September 16, 1971) is an American actress and comedian. Known for her roles in sketch comedy, sitcoms and comedy films, she has earned acclaim and several accolades including a Primetime Emmy Award (out of 26 nom ...

) demands to Jean-Ralphio, "Dance up on me.” which request he immediately and excitedly fulfills. In the third season finale, " Li'l Sebastian,” Tom encourages Jean-Ralphio to start a multimedia entertainment company called Entertainment 720. After their first successful job organizing a memorial event for celebrity miniature horse Li'l Sebastian, Tom decides to quit his city hall job to work with Jean-Ralphio and the company, which opens a warehouse-sized modern office with strange decor, completely stark-white walls, and overpaid staff. Within six months, the company blows through its entire $450,000 start-up money, and is quickly defunct. In the episode "Bailout,” Jean-Ralphio's sister Mona-Lisa Saperstein (

Jenny Slate Jenny Slate (born March 25, 1982) is an American actress, stand-up comedian, and writer. After early acting and stand-up roles on television, Slate gained recognition for her live variety shows in New York City and for co-creating the children's ...

) begins working for, then enters into a sexual relationship with, Tom. In season 6, Jean-Ralphio and Mona-Lisa's father, Dr. Saperstein (

Henry Winkler Henry Franklin Winkler (born October 30, 1945) is an American actor, producer, director, and author. Widely known as Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli on the sitcom ''Happy Days'' (1974–1984), Winkler has distinguished himself as a character acto ...

) – an obstetrician who is often lied to by his children – makes an appearance. Under the impression that Tom unfairly drove Jean-Ralphio out of their business and took Mona-Lisa's virginity, Dr. Saperstein opens a competing apparel store across from Tom's store, Rent-a-Swag, in order to drive him out of business. In the series finale "One Last Ride,” Jean-Ralphio fakes his and Mona-Lisa's deaths, and tries to get insurance money to build a casino in

Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...

. The twins are spotted by the funeral-goers and run away in panic. In another flash-forward scene in the same episode, Jean-Ralphio's name is visible on a bottle of champagne being served to Craig Middlebrooks and his husband. Jean-Ralphio also confesses that he has been in love with Leslie for years. In 2016, Schwartz and show creator

Michael Schur Michael Herbert Schur (born October 29, 1975) is an American television writer, producer, director, and actor. He started his career as a writer for ''Saturday Night Live'' (1998–2004) before gaining acclaim as a writer and producer of the si ...

jokingly confirmed a fan theory that Jean-Ralphio's real father is ''

Stranger Things ''Stranger Things'' is an American television series created by the Duffer brothers, Duffer Brothers for Netflix. Produced by Monkey Massacre Productions and 21 Laps Entertainment, the Stranger Things season 1, first season was released on N ...

'' character

Steve Harrington Steve Harrington is a fictional character from the Netflix television series ''Stranger Things'', portrayed by Joe Keery. Though initially characterized as a stereotypically unlikeable jock, Steve has progressed throughout the series into a mo ...

(

Joe Keery Joseph David Keery (born April 24, 1992), known professionally in music as Djo, is an American actor and musician. He became known for playing Steve Harrington in the science fiction series ''Stranger Things'' (2016–present), and has since sta ...

), given the similarities between the two characters.

Development

Schwartz originally met with ''Parks and Recreation'' co-creator

to discuss playing a different role on the show, and Schur liked him so much that the character Jean-Ralphio was created specifically for Schwartz. Schwartz said the character had "just a couple of lines" at first, but was eventually expanded. After making his first few appearances in the second season, Schwartz began to appear less frequently because he was cast in the NBC action spy series '' Undercovers'', but he was able to return more often after it was cancelled. Schwartz was later cast in the

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

series ''

House of Lies ''House of Lies'' is an American comedy drama television series created by Matthew Carnahan. The show, which premiered on Showtime on January 8, 2012, is based on the 2005 book of the same name by Martin Kihn. It follows a group of manageme ...

'', but Schur said they hoped to have Schwartz back "early and often.” Like other cast members, Schwartz improvised a great deal during filming.

Reception

In May 2011, Jean-Ralphio was placed number 7 on

SplitSider ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Clay Felker and Milton Glaser in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'' and ...

's "The Ten Funniest Recurring Characters Currently on TV.”

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saperstein, Jean-Ralphio Parks and Recreation characters American male characters in television Fictional American Jews Fictional businesspeople Fictional bisexual men Fictional characters from Indiana Fictional twins Fictional unemployed people Television characters introduced in 2010