Nick Offerman stole the show at 2025 Oscars with announcer role, ‘Parks & Recreation’ callback, and plenty of other gags

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There are some famous voices that have a legacy all their own, from Morgan Freeman to Julie Andrews, but with his recent Oscars announcer gig, Nick Offerman is coming for the crown. 

The Parks and Recreation star took on announcing duties for this year’s Academy Awards, using that trademark gravel to recite the names of presenters throughout the ceremony. At first, viewers might not have been able to place that vaguely familiar narrator, but a comedic bit with Oscars host Conan O’Brien allowed us to put a face to the voice. It all went down when O’Brien was midway through a brief segment on Dune: Part 2, when — seemingly out of nowhere — a disembodied voice interrupted the proceedings. 

“This is Conan O’Brien‘s first time hosting the Oscars,” Offerman interjected, mastering the authoritative delivery of the announcers who came before him. As the audience giggled, Offerman continued the bit, saying O’Brien was under “a lot of pressure” with his hosting gig and that the gravity of the ceremony “must weigh on a man’s soul.” After a brief tit-for-tat, the camera then cut to Offerman behind a microphone, saying in his signature deadpan that O’Brien is “one of the great comedians of our time.”

Fans were quick to react to the moment, believing Offerman stole the spotlight with his God-like vocal abilities. “I thought I was imagining things by hearing Nick Offerman voice at the Oscars but no I’m correct,” one onlooker wrote on X, before invoking his Parks and Rec character — “I recognize Ron Swanson’s voice anywhere.” Other fans counted Offerman’s narration alongside Kieran Culkin’s acceptance speech as the “peak” of the ceremony, or believed his announcing duties to be worthy of their own Oscar-level praise. 

“Honestly loving Nick Offerman’s conviction and authority in the room tonight as the ‘voice of god,’” they wrote, “fingers crossed he gets pulled into a bit tonight.” While Offerman stole the spotlight in that bit with O’Brien, there was a less attention-grabbing moment that Parks and Rec fans found equally hilarious, and of course it involved Amy Poehler. She was one of the multiple presenters throughout the evening, and in announcing her to the stage, Offerman’s voice-over intentionally mispronounced his former Parks and Rec co-star’s last name. 

“Amy Poe-ell-er?” Offerman said, seemingly forgetting the years of history between Ron Swanson and Leslie Knope. Naturally, this brief bit (and semi-Parks and Rec reunion) was also met with excitement among fans, with one writing that the pair are “my Parks and Recreation family forever.” Other fans said Offerman’s mispronunciation “had me cackling,” or that the moment “is exactly the kind of serotonin boost I needed.” 

Going a step further, one viewer even suggested another way for the Oscars to pay homage to the beloved sitcom. “Nick Offerman should’ve convinced the orchestra to play the Parks and Rec theme when Amy Poehler walked on the stage.” It was one of multiple buzzy moments from this year’s ceremony, which opened with a show-stopping (or rather, show-staring) duet performance from nominees Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. 

Other key takeaways included Culkin’s Supporting Actor win for A Real Pain, Zoe Saldana’s Supporting Actress win for Emilia Pérez, and Anora coming in at the last minute to sweep the Best Actress (Mikey Madison), Best Director (Sean Baker), and Best Picture awards. If there were an award for Best Announcer, I think we know who’d be giving a (perpetually deadpan) acceptance speech.

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