Nick Offerman, Film Star and Glorified Roadie

NEW YORK — On a Friday evening in May, Nick Offerman walked into the Carlyle Hotel on the Upper East Side, wearing a red flannel shirt, red New Balance sneakers and heavy-duty work jeans. His bushy beard was the length of Wolfman Jack’s, with two graying patches.

“How many of you have seen ‘Nancy and Beth’ before?” said Offerman, 47, as he bounded onto the tiny stage, before a well-heeled audience dressed in suits, ties and pearls. He was there to introduce a two-woman music and comedy act featuring his wife, Megan Mullally, and her stage partner, Stephanie Hunt. “Those of you who are initiates are in for quite a treat.”

Offerman is used to playing a supporting part. After a decade toiling as a character actor in dozens of films and TV shows, he became famous for playing Ron Swanson, the gruff but lovable city bureaucrat on “Parks & Recreation.” That role lasted seven seasons, and Offerman was part of an ensemble cast that included Amy Poehler, Aziz Ansari and Chris Pratt.

He recently had his first starring role in a feature film, “Hearts Beat Loud,” a comedy about a father and daughter who form a musical act in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn.

Offerman is quite pleased with the effort and is in awe of his co-star and on-screen daughter, Kiersey Clemons. “She has one of those crazy talents that is ready to explode,” he said. “She makes the hair on your arm rise when you hear her sing. She’s no slouch in the acting department, either.”

For his wife’s tour, however, he is back to being in the shadows, appearing only briefly in the beginning and middle of the show as a glorified roadie.

Before doing so, on this night, he made what he considered a wardrobe change. Standing near the back of the room, he pulled off his flannel shirt and put on a “Nancy and Beth” T-shirt and a silly American flag wool hat with long braids.

About 30 minutes into the show, which included a cover of Tammy Wynette’s “No Charge,” Mullally asked for someone to help identify members of the band. “I know their names,” Offerman said, returning to the spotlight. “It’s me, your husband.”

“Hello,” she said. “It’s nice to see you.”

“Nice to see you,” Offerman said. “I feel very affectionate about you.”

“Thank you.”

“I’m sorry if that was too far,” he said.

“It’s a little soon,” Mullally said. “It’s only been 18 years. Let’s not rush anything.”

“I’m minding my manners,” he said.

Offerman has never been shy about expressing his love for Mullally. The two met in 2000, as actors in the play “The Berlin Circle,” at the Evidence Room in Los Angeles. She was already famous, playing Karen Walker on “Will & Grace.”

They married in 2003. Long ago the two made a rule that they would never be apart for more than two weeks.

At the Carlyle, Offerman chose to introduce the band members to this “swanky New York crowd” by comparing them to famous songs about New York City. He began with Datri Bean, the keyboardist, whom he described as “O Superman” by Laurie Anderson because “she always seems to have her benevolent fingers in the existential pudding.”

He saved the last introduction for his wife, quoting from “Coney Island Baby” by Tom Waits: “Every night she comes to take me out to dreamland. When I’m with her, I’m the richest man in the town.” It brought a collective “Awww” from the audience.

That is not the only love that Offerman is eager to share. His passion for woodworking is well-documented. He once gave “Ask This Old House” a tour of his workshop in Los Angeles, which is filled with vintage power tools and exotic lumber.

“My secret wish is my career will remain quiet enough that I can just stay in my shop, because that’s where I want to be all the time,” he said, during one of his breaks in the hotel lobby.

“I love working and entertaining but whenever I’m out of town, I’m constantly begging my shop crew for pictures, asking, ‘What’d you guys do today?'” he said. “And they’ll say, ‘Oh nothing — glued some stuff together.’ Well, ‘send me some pictures of the glue bottle! I want to see the clamps. I miss you guys.'”

He would see them soon enough. The next day, he and Mullally traveled to New Jersey for the Montclair Film Festival to talk about his movie, before returning to their home in Los Angeles.

For the moment, he had work to do. After the show ended, Mullally and Hunt exited through the back of the Carlyle. Offerman helped the crew clean up and escorted VIPs to a private reception upstairs.

As roadies go, he earns his keep. “I apologize for being so boring,” Offerman said. “I have to realize this fact every day, when I look into the mirror.”