<\/p>\n
Actor Nick Offerman is known not only for his work on stage and screen, but also for his work with tools and carpentry. <\/p>\n
His dry wit and love for woodworking are traits he shares with some of his on-screen characters, most notably Ron Swanson from the sitcom \u201cParks and Recreation.\u201d <\/p>\n
And, in his spare time, he also writes books.<\/p>\n
Offerman will come to Harrisburg on Oct. 15 for the kickoff of the Harrisburg Book Festival<\/a>, to support his latest book, \u201cLittle Woodchucks.\u201d <\/p>\n The kickoff event will be held at the Senators stadium on City Island starting at 7 p.m. Tickets are $57.50, which includes a signed copy of the new book.<\/p>\n Co-written with Lee Buchanan, \u201cLittle Woodchucks: Offerman Woodshop\u2019s Guide to Tools and Tomfoolery\u201d<\/a> is a collection of woodworking projects, complete with instructions, tool lists and step-by-step guidance for both young people and the adults in their lives. <\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a saying that we have: the lazy carpenter works the hardest,\u201d Offerman said. \u201cIf you\u2019re not doing your best \u2014 if you\u2019re trying to find shortcuts or sort of time-saving gadgets \u2014 you end up working three times as long fixing the mistakes that those things caused you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe subject of woodworking in general can be daunting,\u201d Offerman said. \u201cI think this book goes a long way towards assuaging that anxiety.\u201d<\/p>\n When it comes to any project, Offerman said, \u201cwe go in understanding that we\u2019re going to make mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n Breaking through that fear of failure, he said, is the key to success in any field. <\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re a human being, you\u2019re going to mess things up, whether it\u2019s in your relationships or at work,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s how we learn. That\u2019s how we achieve greater mastery. You don\u2019t just start anything by like shooting three pointers and just never missing. You got to learn the fundamentals, and in this case, you learn them together as a family. And it\u2019s incredibly powerful.\u201d<\/p>\n You\u2019re coming to Harrisburg to promote your newest book, one of several that you\u2019ve written. When you\u2019re not working on acting, you\u2019re crafting things, working on carpentry, things like that. Is it fair to call you America\u2019s Daniel Day-Lewis?<\/b><\/p>\n \u201c[Laughs] No, God, no. Daniel will, I think, always remain many floors above me in the in the tower of crafting thespians. I would be happy to apprentice at his shop. I\u2019d love to work with him as an actor, but maybe I have the edge on him when it comes to tool experience. He seems to flit a little more from interest to interest, which maybe bespeaks of his greater overall talent. But I\u2019m sort of stuck with the chisel and dovetail saw.\u201d<\/p>\n Can you talk about the subtitle: \u201cOfferman Woodshop\u2019s Guide to Tools and Tomfoolery.\u201d Generally, I don\u2019t associate tomfoolery with best practices, when working with tools.<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cFor sure, and you\u2019re right. Whenever we get anybody around tools or machinery in general, whether I\u2019m at home with with my family and my farmer uncles, or if we\u2019re at the wood shop and we\u2019ve got adults or kids, the first thing we do is say, \u2018Okay, here are all the things that can really hurt your feelings or your fingers.\u2019 We\u2019re going to be safety first, every time, and that\u2019s true in the book and in the shop.<\/p>\n \u201cBut then at the same time, I want to encourage a sense of fun. So once you know the safety guidelines and you know what you\u2019re doing, it\u2019s very important to any wood shop or any family activity, to never take it too seriously, and allow yourself to to be flawed humans. No matter what we\u2019re working on, you learn to live up to the professionalism that is required by the project. <\/p>\n \u201cThis is a life rule for me: you figure out how to get your work done in the best way you can. I think my life, my track record, if nothing else, speaks to the fact that that I have a very good work ethic. I do the best job I can every time, for better or worse. However it ends up being graded, I definitely gave it my best attempt.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd so by doing that, I\u2019ve learned then you\u2019re freed up to have fun. If you do things half-assed, then you\u2019re always scrambling to be like, \u2018I better do a little more. I\u2019ve procrastinated. I\u2019m lazy. My heart\u2019s not entirely in this.\u2019 Then your life is miserable.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I think anybody flipping through the book will see that it\u2019s a very serious book rendered with a great deal of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n Can you talk about that marriage between woodworking and the performing arts? I think a lot of people would see entertainment as the opposite of working with tools.<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s funny, because when I actually perform … I always insist that I\u2019m a humorist. I feel like I\u2019m not as funny as a stand-up. I don\u2019t write jokes like my friends, Zach Galifianakis and Sarah Silverman. They\u2019re geniuses at writing jokes. I amuse people, but my form is more of an essay than a setup and punchline.<\/p>\n \u201cI grew up in a family that felt like \u2018Little House on the Prairie\u2019 in the \u201970s in Illinois. I was brought up to be self-sufficient. Me and my siblings were taught to use tools and to sew our clothing, and to cook food and grow a garden, and maintain our vehicles. We were brought up to be very self-sufficient, good citizens. The humor that I glean out of that in this day and age is how most people weren\u2019t, which is the impetus for this book. <\/p>\n \u201cI also, through no fault of my own, wanted to just be the star of things from the time I started theater school at age 18. But it took me a long time to get good enough at naturalistic acting to start getting the parts that I wanted. And while I was waiting for that to kick in, I was able to lean on my tool skills and get paid to build scenery. <\/p>\n \u201cSo there was a time in my early to mid-20s in Chicago that I thought I was just going to be a professional scenery carpenter, which I was pretty happy about. It\u2019s the greatest theater community in the country, and I loved being part of making great Chicago theater. <\/p>\n \u201cBut then I sort of figured out how to effectively string a couple lines of dialogue together, and life had a different plan for me. It\u2019s the kind of thing people find surprising when you can do more than one thing. But I was just brought up that way, and it\u2019s something that is very attainable. <\/p>\n \u201cAnd part of this book is sort of a thinly veiled screed. It\u2019s not just \u2018teach your kids to make fun stuff.\u2019 It\u2019s also absolutely for the parents. Most people I know don\u2019t know how to swing a hammer, or they don\u2019t know which screwdriver to use if their doorknob is broken. It\u2019s really to empower everybody in a really fun way. <\/p>\n \u201cGet together with your family and learn how to use these tools. It feels incredible. The projects in the book are a blast, and they\u2019re wonderful gateway projects. But you might end up becoming a welder, or making stained glass windows, or specializing in lasagna, and all of those things are incredibly creative and delicious and edifying in ways that nothing you can order off your phone will ever be. That\u2019s the secret to this book: it\u2019s a secret recipe for powerful wizardry within your household.\u201d<\/p>\n How has it been since \u201cParks and Recreation\u201d for your acting career? Are you still getting roles that you really find interesting? Or are they like, \u2018Oh, we need a Nick Offerman type.\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s actually a great question, and the answer to it is kind of ever evolving. <\/p>\n \u201cI am so grateful. I already felt so lucky before \u2018Parks and Rec\u2019 because I was Mr. Megan Mullally. My wife is the goddess of comedy legends, and such a talented Broadway star. And I was getting to work pretty consistently as a dependable character actor. It was just once or twice a year I\u2019d show up on \u201dER” or something. But it was sporadic enough that I was making a living, and my health insurance, and for an actor that\u2019s that\u2019s winning the lottery. <\/p>\n \u201cSo then once \u2018Parks and Rec\u2019 happened, it changed my lucky category from \u2018working actor,\u2019 which is wild, to \u2018actor with clout,\u2019 where I\u2019m valued for my flavor, whatever that may be. So then I\u2019m getting to pick between stuff that I\u2019m getting offered, which is just bananas. Yeah, it\u2019s one in a gazillion for that to happen. <\/p>\n \u201cAnd the crazy thing is, by and large, since \u2018Parks and Rec\u2019 started in 2009, it\u2019s pretty much kept getting better. I got to do a season of \u2018Fargo\u2019 that stands out as an exceptional highlight. I got to do really good work on that show. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve always been able to work on things that I felt were interesting. I have this Netflix show coming out in November called \u2018Death by Lightning,\u2019 where I play [American president] Chester Arthur. It\u2019s the story of James Garfield and his assassination. That\u2019s an incredible role. And this movie, \u2018Sovereign,\u2019 that is available right now, is one of the most incredible pieces of art I\u2019ve ever gotten to work on. <\/p>\n \u201cThen I\u2019m on this new David E. Kelly show that\u2019ll come out next year. I\u2019ve got an incredible part on this wonderful show from a great novel by Ruthie Thorpe, called \u2018Margot\u2019s Got Money Troubles.\u2019 <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s wild. I\u2019m 55 and I keep thinking, every job, I\u2019m like, \u2018Wow, this is the greatest job I\u2019ve ever had.\u2019 And so it\u2019s this weird, inexorable, slowly rolling snowball. <\/p>\n \u201cI try to keep imposter syndrome at the door and keep my head down, and say, well, they apparently need my brand of clumsy jackass. I started where I couldn\u2019t get cast in the chorus. And so to sit there and do scenes with Michelle Pfeiffer? I\u2019m like, \u2018Just be cool.\u2019<\/p>\n If this acting thing doesn\u2019t work out, you can always fall back on carpentry and writing books.<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cYou know, part of the secret to whatever level I\u2019ve succeeded over these last, oh … sneaking up on a couple decades here, is that I can happily fall back on woodworking and writing books and theater, if my cheekbones ever go away and I quit getting cast as a cutie. <\/p>\n \u201cBut it\u2019s true: that gives me a confidence and a comfort. I\u2019ve never stressed out. I never worry about this horrible business, so full of rejection and greed and avarice and everything. But just good art. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m able to somehow deflect all of the toxicity and stay in this pocket of people who hug each other and say, Ssomehow we\u2019ve gotten the money to make this Alex Garland movie. Let\u2019s make it with love and respect everybody and see how that goes.\u2019<\/p>\n Do you have a quick list of the tools that every house should have?<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cSure. The book wonderfully has delightful, detailed pages and photographs of the toolkit suggested and required for each of the projects. And those are so much fun. They\u2019re called knolling, when you lay out all the things you need for the recipe or for the [project]. That\u2019s a term that I love.<\/p>\n \u201cBut every household should have fasteners. Hammer, nails, screw gun, screw tips, you know, screws, drywall screws, deck screws. You should have a socket set, open ended wrenches, screwdrivers. They make these great new screwdrivers that ratchet, and they have several different tips that are interchangeable. <\/p>\n \u201cAnd in this day and age you need one of those kits that has like, 50 different screw tips. Especially with technology, they\u2019re like, \u2019it\u2019s a mini torques,\u2019 or, like, \u2018a nine sided star that\u2019s one millimeter big.\u2019 <\/p>\n \u201cThose are the big ones. Those allow you to take everything apart and put it together, by and large. A crowbar, a little a mini crowbar, called a cat\u2019s paw. Those are really handy.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I recommend that you get a plank of wood and get a nice saw. You can find saws for free, wonderful old cross cut saws in junk shops. People don\u2019t value those. And it\u2019s actually really fun to get a little file and learn to sharpen it. You get this free saw, and you turn it into this incredibly powerful implement. It\u2019s like when you sharpen your kitchen knives, and you\u2019re like, \u2018holy cow, cutting these tomatoes is such a pleasure with such accuracy.\u2019 You can do that with a plank of pine, it feels like you\u2019re a super human. <\/p>\n \u201cBecause that\u2019s that\u2019s the secret to woodworking. Learning to properly sharpen your steel, which is totally easy. Any dum-dum, even me, can do it. I\u2019m telling you, you can spend a whole Saturday with a chisel, learning to sharpen it, and then suddenly you can carve a piece of wood like it\u2019s ice or butter. <\/p>\n \u201cAnd that ability, you know, it\u2019s not going to be for everybody. But there are definitely members of your family that are going to leap to it. And maybe other kids in your family will be great at measuring. They\u2019re going to end up being the accountants in the family, who we desperately need to take care of the sculptors.\u201d<\/p>\n It has been great to talk to you. Mr. Offerman, and we\u2019re looking forward to your visit to Harrisburg.<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cThank you for being generous with me. I have to say, I\u2019m quite excited and a little bit daunted. I have not played a baseball stadium. I\u2019m a man of the theater. They said \u2018we have this idea for a unique, original venue.\u2019 And I\u2019m one to say yes to life, and go in knowing that it could be an absolute train wreck.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I\u2019ve created a power ballad with which I hope to fill the ballpark. I\u2019m bringing everything I can to make it really fun. I\u2019m really excited, and I\u2019m very grateful to Harrisburg for giving me the chance to bust out my first Eddie Vedder performance.\u201d<\/p>\n If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.pennlive.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Actor Nick Offerman is known not only for his work on stage and screen, but also for his work with tools and carpentry. His dry wit and love for woodworking are traits he shares with some of his on-screen characters, most notably Ron Swanson from the sitcom \u201cParks and Recreation.\u201d And, in his spare time, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2089876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2089876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2089876"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2089876\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2089877,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2089876\/revisions\/2089877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2089876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2089876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2089876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}