Have you ever been curious about the origin story of the Parks and Recreation cast? Each actor beautifully embodied their comedic characters on the NBC series that we’re still quoting Ron Swanson and thinking about Chris Pratt’s A+ comedic timing as Andy Dwyer. Jim O’Heir (aka Jerry Gergich) got the scoop on the making of the show for fans for his book Welcome To Pawnee: Stories of Friendship, Waffles, and Parks and Recreation, including how his funny character was truly born on the set of an episode in Season 2.
When CinemaBlend had the chance to chat with Jim O’Heir about his book, which he calls his “love letter” to the series, he recalled how the comedy first came to him. In his words:
At the time, my agents truly were only thinking about the best for me. They said, ‘We don't know if you're gonna wanna do this. Because it feels like it could be a little like, kind of like background work.’ And there's nothing wrong with background work, but at that point in my career, I'd been a pretty busy actor. And so I wouldn't be doing background work. But, in my mind, I was such a huge The Office fan, and I saw what happened to those background characters, you know? Your Kevin and your Phyllis and your Angela and your Oscar. And to me, it was a no brainer. I said, ‘Oh, no, let's give this a shot.’
While it sounds like his agents almost swayed him from being in Parks and Recreation, Jim O’Heir witnessed the unique success The Office cast created over time with all the employees of Dunder Mifflin, and decided to stick with it. O’Heir ended up absolutely right about his character, but it took the writers almost two seasons to figure out. As the actor continued:
What changed everything for Jerry was in Season 2, we did an episode where we were trying to find dirt on each other. And Jerry didn't wanna play because he's like, ‘No, this seems hurtful’. I don't think this is gonna be good. But then he ultimately does play along just to, because he is Jerry and he wants to go along with everything. And at the time, Paul Schneider played Mark Brandanowitz, and he walks in the room and Jerry says to Mark, ‘Oh, I hear you have some unpaid parking tickets’, you know, like, that's a big deal. Who cares? And he says to me, ‘Oh, well I heard that your adoptive mother smokes pot’ and you can see the look on Jerry's face. Like what? He goes, ‘Oh, you didn't know she smoked pot.’ And Jerry goes, ‘I didn't know I was adopted.’
And thus, Jerry Gergich was truly born! Jim O’Heir recalled the moment that creator Mike Schur figured out what to do with the actor when he spoke with him for his Welcome To Pawnee book. As he shared:
And they said, they realized right then and there, that's who Jerry's gonna be. He's gonna be that guy. And then Mike [Schur] said, it got to the point where in the writer's room, where they were like ‘We have to stop coming up with Jerry bits’. We have to write other stuff because it is fun to write those kinds of terribly mean bits, right? So, and then when it got to the point where Mike's like, if we want Jerry to stick around, we gotta give him some good stuff. And that's when we bring in Christie Brinkley and my daughters and all the good stuff.
Remember when Christie Brinkley played Jerry’s wife? She really was one of the best Parks And Recreation guest stars, especially for all the befuddlement it caused his coworkers or his family’s “Eggs, Bacon And Toast” morning song. The writers had tons of great bits for the character once the moment happened on Season 2’s “Practice Date,” but it just took some time.
During our conversation with O’Heir, he also teased other stories from the book, such as how he touches on how supportive his cast was. With CinemaBlend, he recalled one time when Chris Pratt checked in with him about a “rough’ joke on the show and how much he enjoyed the physical comedy of Jerry.
You can learn more about Jim O’Heir’s story with his book Welcome To Pawnee now, and stream Parks and Recreation with a Peacock subscription.
