Nick Offerman Says He Got His Last Of Us Role For A Hilarious Reason
Nick Offerman says he got his role in The Last of Us because all of the good actors were busy that day.
Nick Offerman is primarily known as a comedic actor following his long-tenure as Ron Swanson in Parks and Recreation but he can do dramatic as well, which he showed in the third episode of The Last of Us. The HBO series adapts the hit PlayStation game but in the third episode, it deviated from the source material and instead of angering fans, it made them happy by expanding the backstory of two side characters. Of course, in true deadpan fashion, Offerman says he only got the role because of a very self-deprecating reason.
@ign Could they really have found a better actor for Bill though? #thelastofus #tlou #thelastofushbo #nickofferman ♬ original sound – IGN
Speaking with IGN, Nick Offerman said of his The Last of Us gig, “I’m very grateful I got to do it. I don’t quite understand how that came to be. Because Craig Mazin knows a lot of good actors. I’m guessing they were busy.” Of course, the award-winning star of Axe Cop is an amazing actor and with his brief tenure on the HBO series, has likely gained a new legion of fans. Starring opposite Pedro Pascal as Joel and and Bella Ramsey as Ellie, Offerman managed to steal an entire episode from the top-billed stars.
Nick Offerman played Bill, a character from The Last of Us video game that rescues Joel from a trap on his property. In the show, Offerman is joined by The White Lotus’ Murray Bartlett as Frank, his lover, with a long series of scenes highlighting the love and growth of their relationship culminating in a quiet marriage ceremony. Taking advantage of the opportunity to utilize flashbacks and tell more of Bill and Frank’s story, the heartrending tale of love found and held onto, even after death, is already being hailed as the best moment of the show so far.
The dramatic and happy, yet incredibly sad, sequence let Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett highlight the best parts of The Last of Us. Making viewers sob uncontrollably over two side characters from the video game raises expectations for what the rest of the season may be able to achieve. To date, every episode has been viewed by more and more viewers, a rare feat in the modern fractured world of thousands of entertainment options.
“Long, Long Time” had 6.4 million views in the United States alone on its first night, growing 12 percent from episode 2 and a whooping 37 percent above the already landmark first episode. Nick Offerman’s story in The Last of Us is already over, but the impact will be talked about for years, and the episode also had one more unforeseen impact thanks to the use of the song “Long, Long Time” by Linda Ronstadt.
Taking a page from Stranger Things and its ability to propel a song to the top of the Spotify charts, “Long, Long Time” saw an increase of 4700 percent after the episode aired. Nick Offerman may joke about how he landed his role in The Last of Us, but fans and Linda Ronstadt, are grateful all of those other actors were too busy to answer the phone.
