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Ronald Ulysses Swanson is a fictional character portrayed by
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 ...
in the political satire sitcom '' Parks and Recreation''. The character was created by Michael Schur and
Greg Daniels Gregory Martin Daniels (born June 13, 1963) is an American screenwriter, television producer, and director. He has worked on several television series, including writing for ''Saturday Night Live'' and ''The Simpsons'', adapting '' The Office'' ...
with inspiration from a real-life
Libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...
elected official. Offerman provided creative input, and aspects of his own personality were folded into the character. Despite the creators' intentions, NBC was initially reluctant to cast Offerman in the role, until the network finally agreed five months later. Swanson is the director of the Parks and Recreation Department of Pawnee, Indiana, and the immediate superior of the deputy director Leslie Knope ( Amy Poehler). He has a
deadpan Deadpan, dry humour, or dry-wit humour is the deliberate display of emotional neutrality or no emotion, commonly as a form of Comedy, comedic delivery to contrast with the ridiculousness or absurdity of the subject matter. The delivery is meant t ...
personality and actively works to make the government less effective. He despises interacting with the public and claims to not be interested in the lives of those around him, but he is shown to care for his colleagues and has particularly strong respect for Knope. He secretly performs as a
saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...
named Duke Silver and fronts a band called the Duke Silver Trio. Offerman's portrayal of Swanson has received widespread critical acclaim. The character developed a
cult following A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, boo ...
and is widely considered the
breakout character A breakout character is a character (arts), character in Serial (literature), serial fiction, especially a member of an ensemble cast, who becomes much more prominent, popular, discussed, or imitated than expected by the creators. A breakout c ...
of the series. He was described by some critics as one of the best characters in a comedy television series in decades, and his platonic relationship with Knope has been compared to that of
Mary Richards Mary Richards, portrayed by Mary Tyler Moore, is the lead character of the television sitcom ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show''. Character biography Mary Richards, born in 1940 in Roseburg, Minnesota, is the only child of Walter and Dottie Richard ...
and Lou Grant in ''
The Mary Tyler Moore Show ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (also known simply as ''Mary Tyler Moore'') is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns and starring actress Mary Tyler Moore. The show originally aired on CBS from September 19, 1970 ...
''. For his performance as Swanson, Offerman won the TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy.


Development

Ron Swanson was created by ''Parks and Recreation'' creators
Greg Daniels Gregory Martin Daniels (born June 13, 1963) is an American screenwriter, television producer, and director. He has worked on several television series, including writing for ''Saturday Night Live'' and ''The Simpsons'', adapting '' The Office'' ...
and Michael Schur. While researching for the show in Burbank, Schur met a Libertarian elected official who favored as little government interference as possible, becoming an inspiration for some of Swanson's traits. Swanson is also partially inspired by political appointees of former president
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
who were perceived to be opposed to the branch of government they were overseeing. Nick Offerman had some input into the character's creation, and many aspects of the character were based on the actor's, such as the character's deadpan personality, which Offerman cultivated when he was a lector. Other aspects included his woodworking abilities and experience in
stage combat Stage combat, fight craft or fight choreography is a specialised technique in theatre designed to create the illusion of physical combat without causing harm to the performers. It is employed in live stage plays as well as operatic and ballet pr ...
and
kabuki is a classical form of Theatre of Japan, Japanese theatre, mixing dramatic performance with Japanese traditional dance, traditional dance. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily stylised performances, its glamorous, highly decorated costumes ...
. Like Swanson, Offerman played the saxophone, but the writers were not aware of the fact when developing the character. According to Offerman, NBC was initially reluctant to cast him as the character, despite Schur and Daniels' intentions. After the creators refused to find other actors for the role, the network finally acquiesced five months later. Ron became more heavily involved in ''Parks and Recreation'' storylines during the second season, and Offerman largely credited Schur with the development of the character. Ron's second ex-wife, Tammy, was played by Offerman's wife, actress and comedian Megan Mullally. Ron's hatred towards Tammy was established early in the creation of the character, and it was Schur who conceived the idea of casting Mullally, to which Offerman responded positively.


Character role

In the first six seasons of ''Parks and Recreation'', Swanson served as the director of the Pawnee City Department of Parks and Recreation, a role he had for six years when the series began. In the first eleven episodes of the seventh season, in which the show is fast-forwarded to 2017, it is revealed that he had quit his job two years prior and started his own company called the Very Good Building Company. In the last two episodes of the seventh season, which partly takes place in the future, Swanson had resigned from the company, and Knope in turn made him the superintendent of Pawnee National Park. Offerman appeared in all 125 episodes of the show except for "
Beauty Pageant A beauty pageant is a competition in which the contestants are judged and ranked based on various physical and mental attributes. Per its name, beauty pageants traditionally focus on judging the contestants' physical attractiveness, sometimes sol ...
". He reprised his role in a 2020 special featuring the original cast, titled ''
A Parks and Recreation Special "A ''Parks and Recreation'' Special" is a special episode of the American comedy television series ''Parks and Recreation'' and the 126th episode overall. It was originally broadcast on April 30, 2020, on NBC. It was written by series co-cre ...
'', which served as a fundraiser for
Feeding America Feeding America is a United States–based Nonprofit organization, non-profit organization that is a nationwide network of more than 200 food banks that feed more than 46 million people through food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, and other c ...
's COVID-19 Response Fund.'


Personality

Swanson is known for his deadpan personality and adherence to many stereotypically masculine traits, like supposedly only having cried two times. Being an extremely private person, he goes so far as to redact his birthday from government documents to keep others from holding parties for him. He enjoys outdoor activities such as hunting, fishing, camping, and woodworking, as well as eating breakfast foods and red meat. He is also able to drink heavily without getting hungover and can chug an entire bottle of alcoholic beverages in one go. Swanson lacks awareness about popular culture; in " Andy and April's Fancy Party", he only recognizes Julia Roberts as the "toothy gal from '' Mystic Pizza.''"


Director of the Parks and Recreation Department

As director of the Parks and Recreation Department, Swanson puts almost no effort into his job and purposely hires people who are bad at their jobs, like
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 ...
) and Andy Dwyer ( Chris Pratt), so they will slow down the government. He believes that parks should be
privatized Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation w ...
and run entirely by corporations for profit, and thus originally did not intend to help the deputy director Leslie Knope ( Amy Poehler) with the park project. He is a strong advocate for small government and believes that the government model should be abolished. He also despises talking to members of the public, choosing to mount a
shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, peppergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which discharges numerous small ...
on his desk to scare people away. He occasionally demonstrates himself as a good manager; although he has claimed to not be interested in the lives of those around him, he cares for them more than he does himself. In " The Bubble", after Chris Traeger (
Rob Lowe Robert Hepler Lowe (born March 17, 1964) is an American actor, filmmaker, and entertainment host. Following numerous television roles in the early 1980s, he came to prominence as a teen idol and member of the Brat Pack with starring roles in ...
) enacts numerous changes to the parks department that Swanson thought did not play to his staff's strengths, he makes a deal for Traeger to undo the changes after he has spent one more week interacting with the public. Swanson develops an avuncular relationship with Andy Dwyer, and pays for Dwyer's college course when he cannot afford it in " Smallest Park". Despite sharing opposite views, Swanson gets along well with Knope, and the two share a strong mutual respect. Swanson has stood up for Knope on multiple occasions, such as in " Freddy Spaghetti", where upon learning about the auditors' plan to fire Knope, he refuses and offers her his job instead.


Personal life

Before the start of ''Parks and Recreation'', Ron had two ex-wives, both of whom were named Tammy. Ron despises and fears both of his ex-wives, and they are among the few people who can break his usually unwavering
stoicism Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy that flourished in ancient Greece and Rome. The Stoics believed that the universe operated according to reason, ''i.e.'' by a God which is immersed in nature itself. Of all the schools of ancient ...
. Nevertheless, Ron shares an extremely passionate sexual connection with his second ex-wife ( Megan Mullally). In " How a Bill Becomes a Law", Swanson meets Diane Lewis (
Lucy Lawless Lucille Frances Lawless (; born 29 March 1968) is a New Zealand actress and director. She is best known for her roles as Xena in the television series ''Xena: Warrior Princess'', as Number Three (Battlestar Galactica), D'Anna Biers on the re-im ...
), the vice principal of a middle school. In the season six series premiere "
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
", it is revealed that Lewis is pregnant, and the pair gets married. Lewis subsequently gave birth to a baby boy named John, as revealed in " The Wall". Swanson secretly performs at out-of-town bars as a saxophonist named Duke Silver, which he keeps secret from his colleagues in Pawnee. He fronts a band called the Duke Silver Trio and has released such albums as ''Memories of Now'', ''Smooth as Silver'', and ''Hi Ho, Duke''. His music is especially popular with older women, who find Duke Silver attractive. Eventually, in the two-part season six finale " Moving Up", he publicly reveals his secret identity at the Unity Concert.


Reception

The character of Ron Swanson received universal acclaim; he developed a
cult following A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, boo ...
and is widely considered the show's
breakout character A breakout character is a character (arts), character in Serial (literature), serial fiction, especially a member of an ensemble cast, who becomes much more prominent, popular, discussed, or imitated than expected by the creators. A breakout c ...
. Joel Keller of
TV Squad Weblogs, Inc. was a blog network that published content on a variety of subjects, including tech news, video games, automobiles, and pop culture. At one point, the network had as many as 90 blogs, although the vast majority of its traffic could b ...
called Swanson "one of the more inspired sitcom characters of the last decade", and Geoff Berkshire of '' Variety'' said that the character would "go down in TV history as one of the all-time comedy greats". Gail Pennington of the ''
St. Louis Post-Dispatch The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' is a regional newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, serving the St. Louis metropolitan area. It is the largest daily newspaper in the metropolitan area by circulation, surpassing the '' Belleville News-Democra ...
'' called Nick Offerman "the funniest guy on TV". During the second season, Alan Sepinwall called Swanson "easily the show's best creation so far", and during the third season he wrote, "Swanson being both awesome and hilarious is something Nick Offerman and these writers can do in their sleep by now." Sal Basile of
UGO Networks UGO Entertainment, Inc. was a website that provided coverage of online media in entertainment, targeting males aged 18–34. The company was based in New York, New York, United States. History The company started in 1997 as Unified Gamers Online ...
wrote, "How anyone can make Ron Swanson of ''Parks and Recreation'' likable is beyond us, but Offerman does it effortlessly. Before we knew it we couldn't wait to see Swanson's reactions to the slightest of problems." While initially critical of the character at the start of the show, by the second season, Matt Fowler of ''
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'' thought that the character had improved and became "an absolute stand-out in the series." Offerman was particularly praised for his subtle minimalism and facial expressions, particularly the use of his eyebrows. Jonah Weiner of ''
Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...
'' said Swanson "has regularly stolen his scenes" and that Offerman has "a gift for understated physical comedy", and Steve Heisler of '' The A.V. Club'' said Offerman was not only funny but capable of expressing a surprising range of emotions. The second-season episode "Ron and Tammy", which predominantly featured Ron and his second ex-wife, is widely considered one of the best ''Parks and Recreation'' episodes. A quote from Swanson from " The Stakeout": "I was born ready. I'm Ron fucking Swanson," led fans and reviewers to call him "Ron Fucking Swanson." Several reviewers have praised the platonic relationship between Swanson and Knope, which has been compared to that of
Mary Richards Mary Richards, portrayed by Mary Tyler Moore, is the lead character of the television sitcom ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show''. Character biography Mary Richards, born in 1940 in Roseburg, Minnesota, is the only child of Walter and Dottie Richard ...
and Lou Grant in ''
The Mary Tyler Moore Show ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (also known simply as ''Mary Tyler Moore'') is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns and starring actress Mary Tyler Moore. The show originally aired on CBS from September 19, 1970 ...
''. Josh Jackson of '' Paste'' ranked him No. 2 in his list of the 20 Best Characters of 2011, saying: "In four seasons, Ron has become the standout in a cast of incredible characters, and already seems poised to join the elite list of TV’s greatest comedic characters." Fans created websites based on him, like "Cats That Look Like Ron Swanson", and after Swanson misunderstood a turkey burger to be "a fried turkey leg inside a grilled hamburger", the food website '' Eater'' created and posted a recipe for it. An image of a fake Ron Swanson-themed Ben & Jerry's ice cream was circulated online, to which the company responded positively. For his performance as Swanson, Nick Offerman received two nominations for a TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy in 2010 and 2011, winning the latter with Ty Burrell of '' Modern Family''. Offerman was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy at ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'''s EWwy Awards in 2010. Despite critical success, Offerman never received an
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
nomination for his role. Several reviewers expressed particular surprise that he did not receive a nomination for the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards in 2011, which many considered the biggest snub of the season. Amy Poehler in particular was outraged by Offerman's snub and said it was "a hot load of bullshit that ffermandidn't get nominated." Multiple other actors, including Michelle Forbes and Ty Burrell, stated that they believed Offerman should have been nominated, and Burrell added that Offerman deserved the nomination more than he did.


References


External links


Nick Offerman biography at official ''Parks and Recreation'' site
at NBC.com
DukeSilver.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swanson, Ron Parks and Recreation characters American male characters in television Fictional businesspeople Fictional carpenters Fictional United States government officials Fictional animal hunters Fictional jazz musicians Fictional park rangers Television characters introduced in 2009 Fictional civil servants