For the record, there is no living actor who could have played the passionately anti-government boss Ron Swanson on “Parks and Recreation” better than Nick Offerman. It is a performance that not only gave the actor worldwide recognition but also gave television one of the funniest sitcom characters of all time. It turns out that Jim O’Heir, who played the punching bag and butt-of-every-joke Garry “Jerry” Gergich on the show, was originally gunning for the same role.
According to a 2012 Backstage article, creators Mike Schur and Greg Daniels knew they wanted O’Heir the minute they heard his audition for Ron but weren’t quite sure what kind of character he’d be a good fit for. Schur said (via A.V. Club), “We didn’t know who Jerry was for a long time. We just liked Jim O’Heir as an actor.”
From an initially underrated supporting role, O’Heir became an absolutely delightful and sweet highlight of “Parks and Recreation” for the seven seasons the series ran for between 2009 and 2015 on NBC. Most fans wouldn’t name the clumsy and inept office punching bag as their favorite character. Still, over time, Jerry became just as essential a member of the Parks Department as anyone else.
O’Heir made the most out of a character whose identity was initially unclear
During the short six-episode debut season, Schur and Daniels were not sure what Jerry’s role would ultimately become. But once Season 2 kicked off, he quickly became the tame and lame imbecile in the office that everyone took a shot at all the time. It happened quickly after the character was told that his mother was arrested for marijuana possession and that he was actually adopted. O’Heir told Backstage, “I was shocked, and yet in my mind it was like ‘That’s awesome!’ Because if they’re writing for me, that means they found who I am.” He added, “I took the gamble of doing it because in my mind it wasn’t much of a gamble. These are the people who did ‘The Office,’ and look what happened to those characters.”
Sure enough, the risk of playing such a clueless yet lovely guy paid off handsomely. Jerry also turned out great because the writers realized they had to balance out all the mockery and misfortune that rained down on him with a stunning wife (an ongoing gag), three daughters who adored him, and, according to his doctor, a famously impressive physical endowment. He also received one of the most wholesome endings in the “Parks and Recreation” series finale.