Nick Offerman has said he hopes his new film finds an audience in the UK as he fears it may be “too smart for the American audience.”
The Parks and Recreation star, 55, plays the lead role in Sovereign, a thriller set in the anti-government sovereign citizen movement.
Speaking to The Guardian, Offerman said: “The script is a work of art, about the ‘sovereign citizen movement’, which – like any other conspiracy theory – is based on the extreme edge of American thought.
“It made me think of the January 6 attack on the US Capitol; what drives normal working class Americans to make these life choices? I’m counting on the UK to celebrate this film, because I think it’s a little too smart for the American audience, frankly. A more European sensibility is going to respond more powerfully than an American one.”
The film from writer-director Christian Swegal also stars teenager Jacob Tremblay and Dennis Quaid.
An official synopsis reads: “Based on real events, the story follows a father and son (Offerman and Tremblay) who identify as Sovereign Citizens, a group of anti-government extremists, as they venture across the country and find themselves in a standoff with a chief of police (Dennis Quaid) that sets off an intense manhunt with tragic consequences.”
“I’m grateful to them because it allows me not to fall into the binary trap of just shaking my fist at them,” Offerman explained to The i Paper.
Offerman continued: “I have these conversations where I say, ‘Listen, you’re a great person and someone I admire, but I think you’re getting bad information.’
“And they shake their heads sadly and say, ‘Sorry, Nick, I’m afraid you’re getting bad information. Brainwashed by the paedophiles.’ Oh, boy.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Offerman took umbrage with super-right-wing voters who have attempted to use his Parks and Recreation character Ron Swanson as an icon for being a socially conservative gun enthusiast.
Offerman’s character Ron Swanson was gruff, manly, loved capitalism and hated the government. Although Swanson owned guns to hunt, he placed vital importance on gun safety and licensing.
“Many, many people with bad reading comprehension will use Ron’s image as their avatar when they’re super-right-wing.
“I can’t sit every one of them down and explain why they’re bad at watching television,” Offerman said.
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