That Margo Got Money Troubles character’s jacket? Nick Offerman says it has a real-life backstory
Nick Offerman says a hilarious moment from his past inspired an outfit in Margot Got Money Problem Character’s Jacket — and the real-life spark isn’t what you’d expect.
The black moto jacket worn by Nick Offerman as Jinx Millet on Margo’s Got Money Troubles isn’t a costume piece at all — it ’s his own jacket from college, complete with a hand-painted warning across the back: “Watch me burn.” Offerman says he pulled it out of storage because it fit the character’s bruised, larger-than-life swagger, and because there’s a wild origin story baked into the leather.
Speaking on the podcast Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso, Offerman explained that the words came from a teenage mishap on a construction site that singed off his hair and eyebrows and turned into a running bit among the crew.
“I was framing houses for these born-again Christian brothers. And I accidentally lit this big pile of refuse on fire and blew myself off of it and burned off my hair and eyebrows. And I was screaming, "Watch me burn, boys." is cuz I they used to admonish me jokingly for engaging in sin as a teenager, and so I was splashing gasoline on the fire,”
Offerman said on the show he was about 18 or 19 at the time. Two friends from back then — Rob Kimmel and Martin McClendon — airbrushed the artwork on the jacket’s back, which he then resurrected for Jinx, the former pro wrestler he plays in the series.
The jacket’s second act
For viewers, the choice adds a real scuff-and-scar history to Jinx’s look. Offerman, best known to many as Ron Swanson in Parks and Recreation, said wearing the same beat-up jacket he once wore as a kid made sense for a character who’s bombastic on the outside but tender with his family.
About the show
Margo’s Got Money Troubles follows Margo, a college dropout and aspiring writer who becomes pregnant after an affair with her married professor. As she struggles to raise her newborn, her estranged dad Jinx (Offerman) reenters her life to help, while the series also digs into Margo’s complicated relationship with her mother.
The series picked up three Emmy Awards this year, including recognition for its on-screen style:
- Outstanding Contemporary Hairstyling
- Outstanding Contemporary Makeup (Non-Prosthetic)
- Outstanding Contemporary Costumes for a Series