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Nick Offerman on Learning He’s a Bear, Being “Mr. Mullally," and Playing Dad to a Lesbian Daughter

"When I read scripts, if there's any kind of humor that's misogynistic or homophobic or racist, that is just a red flag," he said.

Hearts don't beat louder than Nick Offerman's.

"Once you make the choice to go into theater...you immediately become aware that theater, film, and television are the storytelling mediums that often represent the underrepresented," the Parks and Recreation alum tells NewNowNext.

Offerman talked with us about the importance of being mindful of diversity when choosing roles, finding out he's a bear, being "Mr. Mullally," and starring in the upcoming dramedy-musical, Hearts Beat Loud, in theaters this month.

In the film, the 47-year-old actor portrays a widowed father eager to start a band with his lesbian daughter (out actress Kiersey Clemons) to stay connected through their shared musical passions as she goes off to college.

Hearts Beat Loud is remarkable in that it doesn't make queerness a plot point. Was that a characteristic that appealed to you?

Yeah, one of the things I love most about this film is both that my daughter's gay and there's a gay teenage summer romance, and also that she's biracial. That's where smart writing is going these days. We're all made up of all different colors of the rainbow, and let's get on with the story of the movie, which is a dad and his daughter dealing with some life issues.

Does your queer advocacy inform your career choices?

Once you make the choice to go into theater, which is how I got started, you immediately become aware that theater, film, and television are the storytelling mediums that often represent the underrepresented. So, in my lifetime that's been gender issues, queer issues, and race issues—and that's where my heart has gone. When I read scripts, if there's any kind of humor that's misogynistic or homophobic or racist, that is just a red flag. My wife and I both organically end up being offered projects that are more open-minded and more progressive in terms of simple human rights.

Some actors famously stay in character off-camera. How often have you witnessed Megan slip into Karen at home?

Oh, zero times. If Megan were a painter, that's her Picasso. When she's at home, she's not accidentally painting the refrigerator. She's nothing like Karen. That's all really high-end clowning. She doesn't sound like that. She doesn't drink. And she's very nice.

Mike Coppola/VF18/Getty Images for VF

BEVERLY HILLS, CA - MARCH 04: Nick Offerman (L) and Megan Mullally attend the 2018 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Radhika Jones at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on March 4, 2018 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Mike Coppola/VF18/Getty Images for VF)

If you guys are in a room full of gay men, who gets stopped first?

It all depends on the era. During the first go 'round of Will & Grace, I was unknown, so I was pretty invisible. I was just known as the bear on Megan Mullally's arm.

How did that feel?

It's fine. Mr. Mullally will always be the best gig of my life.

And gay men actually refer to you as a bear?

Sure. I learned from gay friends all about bears and cubs, and that I qualify much more as the former.

Where do you think gay fans of Parks and Rec stand on your character, Ron Swanson?

I did enjoy in the true sense of libertarianism that Ron was OK with everybody. A character like that has often been portrayed as more of a He-Man or a misogynistic, but Ron was actually a staunch feminist and supporter of everyone's rights across the board.

When was the moment in your life that you really started to give a damn about queer issues?

When I got to theater school in college and my fellow students, many of whom were gay, were going through having to come out to their peers and families, and there was no escaping the fact that they were getting a really raw deal from our entire civilization. And I lived through the plays of (gay playwright) Joe Orton and Angels in America. I'm a middle-aged white guy, so I get handed so much privilege. I can either go hang out on a yacht and enjoy it, or I can say, "Let's make some noise and we're all in this together, and let's try and give everybody a chance to get on the yacht."

Hearts Beat Loud opens in limited release on June 8 and expands nationwide on June 15.

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