“The Last Of Us” Shows Us New Shades Of Nick Offerman

Soon, we’re treated to a gleeful montage. Soundtracked by spangly country tunes, and always with spare ammunition strapped across his chest, Bill drives his pickup truck to the gas station, Home Depot, and the liquor store, loading up on survivalist supplies. He dusts off an old generator, lines his property with booby traps, and starts a garden next to a chicken coop. This is clearly a man who’s been waiting to put his skills of self-sufficiency to the test, who knows how to live off the land and derives great fulfillment from doing so.

It’s pitch-perfect casting. Offerman rose to fame as the gruff libertarian Ron Swanson on Parks and Recreation, which ran from 2009 to 2015. Ron was a macho loner with a fondness for hunting, fishing, , and , and a deep mistrust for government overreach. Though Offerman has put some distance between himself and his iconic character in recent years, he initially encouraged the comparison. His first book, 2013’s Paddle Your Own Canoe, included diagrams of acceptable cuts of meat (all pork and beef, no poultry or seafood) and styles of facial hair (yes to bushy, no to funny), in the vein of the famous . That same year, Offerman hosted an AMA on , during which he claimed to never giggle, only “sometimes utter a manly guffaw when I see something like football [or] ultimate fighting.” Though it was all a comedic persona, it cemented his reputation — onscreen and off — as a straight-shooting, middle-American dude.

Beyond Ron Swanson, Offerman has made a name for himself not just as an actor, comic, and writer, but as an all-around outdoorsperson. He regularly contributes to with tales of trapping raccoons and defending Thoreau. He runs a where he sometimes hosts , and he calls woodworking his “ ” aside from acting. He’s about his country-life upbringing in Joliet, Illinois, and his road trips across America’s national parks. If Offerman were to end up in a zombie apocalypse, it seems likely he’d survive basically the same way Bill did — at least, far likelier than your average famous actor.

But on The Last of Us, not long after his triumphant montage, Bill finds himself in a much more vulnerable situation. Four years into the apocalypse, handsome stranger Frank (Murray Bartlett) winds up in a hole in Bill’s backyard, hungry and alone. Bill hesitates to take him in, citing fears that every vagabond in a 100-mile radius will come calling if they hear he’s fed the last one. But he relents, and Frank’s sweet, earnest awe at the way Bill lives — the hot shower, the freshly seared rabbit paired with Beaujolais, the grand piano — endears him to Bill. They share a kiss, then they end up in bed together.

It’s easy to see why Offerman ended up playing tough guy Bill, whose rugged individualism allows him to outsmart the federal government. But it’s a thrilling surprise to see Offerman embody anxious, innocent Bill, falling in love with a man for the first time. In Offerman’s guarded body language, we see the limits of Bill’s self-sufficiency. He’s become lonely, and despite being very good at caring for himself, he’s forgotten what it feels like to have someone else care for him. As Frank and Bill’s commitment deepens, it’s moving to see Bill let their love change him. By the end of the episode, tough old Bill is more tender than anything.

Bill’s story arc may seem like a complete subversion of Offerman’s public image, but in truth, his loving heart has been on full display all along. His marriage to fellow comedian Megan Mullally, with whom he frequently collaborates, has been a cornerstone of his image for years. They’ve hosted and together. She played his ex-wife on Parks and Recreation; he wrote a about their relationship called The Greatest Love Story Ever Told. He is undeniably a . Even if this trait manifests most frequently in filthy jokes about their sex life, he’s always championed his respect for romantic commitment.