While Jerry Gergich may have never had the opportunity to become as addicted to TikTok as the rest of us are, the man who brought him to life feels pretty confident about which of the app’s trends would prove most enticing for the character.
In Jim O’Heir’s new “memoir-slash-Parks and Rec book” Welcome to Pawnee: Stories of Friendship, Waffles, and Parks and Recreation, while detailing the stark contrast between his co-star Aziz Ansari’s technological prowess and his distinct lack thereof, he jokes that “…it was apparent [the two] were never going to run a TikTok channel together (or in those days a Facebook page).”
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TikTok, of course, didn’t exist during the timeline of the beloved comedy series, but it feels like a sure thing that, if it had, Tom Haverford would have made it his whole personality. Likewise, Jerry would’ve easily been lured in by some of the more egregious trends, internet pranks, or snack hacks that sweep the app.
Nobody knows Jerry better than O’Heir, though—except, perhaps, his creators. “Oh, he’d be buying everything on there,” the actor told Parade in a new interview, feeling sure that the government employee would be sucked in by TikTok Shop.
He also thinks “Jerry would be on board with” any content that was “family-related and good-natured.”
“Have you seen the one where people put water in their mouths and they slap each other with a tortilla?” he asked. “Hysterical! I think Jerry would be all about that.”
Jerry and his daughters “would probably do the dancing ones where people have to do these wacky dances,” too.
Clearly, his internet know-how has grown over the years. “I’m embarrassed to say, just because I am 62 years old, that I am obsessed with TikTok,” he admitted. “It’s, like, not healthy.”
But, who amongst us isn’t?
Next: Jim O’Heir Reveals the Moment That Secured His Future as Jerry on ‘Parks and Recreation’ (Exclusive)