The Intense Ritual Adam Scott Had When Flubbing A Line On Parks And Recreation (And The Funny Way Aziz Ansari Reacted)

During its seven seasons on the air, Parks and Recreation became a hit for its offbeat comedy and cast of hilariously oddball characters, both main and recurring. It turns out, though, that appearing on the beloved workplace sitcom (which you can revisit with a Peacock subscription) meant some intense moments for funny cast members like Adam Scott, who had a rather extreme ritual after flubbing lines, which Aziz Ansari had a very funny reaction to.

What Was Adam Scott’s Ritual After Flubbing His Parks And Rec Lines And How Did Aziz Ansari React?

While any Parks and Recreation fan obviously loves the main cast (which also included Amy Poehler, Aubrey Plaza, Retta, Chris Pratt, Nick Offerman, and more), the recurring cast and numerous guest stars were also A++ when it came to making audiences laugh on a regular basis. This includes Jay Jackson, who funnily portrayed Pawnee reporter Perd Hapley for Seasons 2 through 7.

While speaking with Entertainment Weekly recently and reflecting on his time with one of the best sitcoms of all time, Jackson opened up about watching Adam Scott (who can now be seen on the critically acclaimed Severance with an Apple TV subscription) flub his lines and what he did after, which seems a bit intense for someone who won’t rewatch Parks for a very sweet and emotional reason. When talking about the difficulty of keeping a straight face while filming the comedy, Jackson said:

Wow. Every actor must have some tactics they use to gather themselves when they mess up their lines, as no one wants to delay the already lengthy filming process or seem unprepared/unprofessional. Physical activity is a great way to clear one’s head, but it never really occurred to me that anyone would just break out the push-ups after flubbing their lines.

Plus, even though Scott has played some characters who are far less gentle and likable than Parks’ Ben Wyatt, I really wouldn’t have imagined him as someone who could be called an “intense actor.” Jackson, who spent over 20 years as a real broadcast journalist before becoming an actor, continued:

Again, everyone must have ways of getting into character and staying on task while acting, so it’s good that Jackson (as someone new to the business) was able to notice that even while Scott’s behavior caught him off guard, that was what he needed to do and he was able to “respect” it.

The same, however, can’t entirely be said for Ansari, who’d previously talked about breaking during another scene with Scott for a very funny reason. The Party Down actor’s co-star didn’t exactly give him grief for the push-ups, but he did have a response that’s very on-brand for the man who portrayed Tom Haverford. As Jackson said:

Knowing that Ansari would use his patented eye roll to display his feelings about Scott needing multiple rounds of push-ups might be the most Parks and Rec thing I’ve ever heard. And that definitely makes me want to go back and rewatch the show.