<Li> Rashida Jones as Ann Perkins, a nurse and political outsider who gradually becomes more involved in Pawnee government through her friendship with Leslie . Jones was among the first to be cast by Daniels and Schur in 2008, when the series was still being considered as a spin - off to The Office, where Jones had played Jim Halpert's girlfriend Karen Filippelli . </Li> <Li> Aziz Ansari as Tom Haverford, Leslie's sarcastic and underachieving subordinate, who eventually begins to consider leaving his city hall job to pursue his own entrepreneurial interests . As with Jones, Daniels and Schur had intended to cast Ansari from the earliest stages of the development of Parks and Recreation . </Li> <Li> Nick Offerman as Ron Swanson, the deadpan parks and recreation director who, as a libertarian, believes in as small a government as possible . As such, Ron strives to make his department as ineffective as possible, and favors hiring employees who do not care about their jobs or are poor at them . Nevertheless, Ron consistently demonstrates that he secretly cares deeply about his fellow co-workers . </Li> <Li> Aubrey Plaza as April Ludgate, a cynical and uninterested parks department intern who eventually becomes the perfect assistant for Ron . The role was written specifically for Plaza; after meeting her, casting director Allison Jones told Schur, "I just met the weirdest girl I've ever met in my life . You have to meet her and put her on your show ." </Li>

Where was the parks and rec unity concert filmed