Mike O'Malley recalls his 1990s Nickelodeon past and losing out on the Parks and Recreation Ron Swanson role

The A.V. Club

In the 1990s, O'Malley was host of Nickelodeon shows ranging from Nickelodeon Guts to Get the Picture. "What really took off was when I was cast to be the host of Guts," he says. "We made four seasons and 120 episodes, and that was great. It was a great time in my life. I was in my early-to-mid 20s—I think I worked for Nickelodeon from about the time I was 23 to about the time I was 27 or 28." As for Parks and Rec, O'Malley says: "I had met Mike Schur many years ago and always wanted to work with him because I think he’s so funny. I tested for the part of Ron Swanson. I didn’t get it, and that was a bummer. They cast the right guy, but I would have liked to have done that part. And so, I’d see Mike and I’d sort of joke like, 'Hey, man, was there nobody else I could have played on Parks?' But then Parks and Rec was on when I was doing Glee, so I wasn’t really available."