Comedian and actor Nick Offerman will be giving a special tour of his home woodworking studio to host Kevin O’Connor on the episode of “Ask This Old House,” airing at 11 a.m. Saturday on WTTW-Channel 11.
Best known for his long-running role as Ron Swanson on “Parks and Recreation,” the Joliet native, who grew up in Minooka, currently can be seen co-starring with Michael Keaton in “The Founder.”
Beyond his skills as an entertainer, Offerman has carved out a second career as a professional boat builder and wood craftsman — making furniture, canoes and boats in his Los Angeles home’s wood shop. In 2008 he released an instructional DVD, “Fine Woodstrip Canoe Building with Nick Offerman,” and he released a book about woodworking in October titled “Good Clean Fun: Misadventures in Sawdust at Offerman Woodshop.”
The actor’s side business led the writers of “Parks and Recreation” to add love of woodworking to his Ron Swanson character on the sitcom.