According to an interview with TODAY, Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman have been friends since the ’90s. According to The Hollywood Reporter, they first met in 1996 in Chicago, where they were both involved in the comedy scene.
Regarding how they became friends, Amy Poehler described something similar to what happened with Leslie and Ron on “Parks and Recreation.” She told TODAY, “I had an amazing first impression of Nick because he was doing a play at the time.” According to the actress, Offerman was portraying a Satan-like figure and looked awfully scary with his dyed hair. “Nick has an incredible range of the warmest giggle and the warmest person, but he can also look very scary and so I met him when he was scary. I approached him slowly, and we became friends.”
Poehler added to The Hollywood Reporter, “He’s pretty much the only actor I know who I would turn to when the s**t goes down.” This should quell all doubts. Just like Ron Swanson and Leslie Knope are always there for one another, so are the actors who portrayed them.
