Who plays Garfield’s Vice President in Death by Lightning? Actor’s career and notable projects explored

Netflix's Death by Lightning premiered in November 2025 and quickly became a critically acclaimed series that narrates the story of the presidency of United States President James A. Garfield and the circumstances that became the reason for his assassination by Charles J. Guiteau.

Popular Hollywood actors Michael Shannon and Matthew Macfadyen brought the two important historical figures James and Charles to life. However, they are not the only stellar performers in Death by Lightning, as Nick Offerman is also part of the star-studded ensemble cast.

Offerman plays another important character in the Netflix series. He portrays Chester A. Arthur, the Vice President, to President Garfield. He was one of the conspirators with Roscoe who wanted to overthrow James due to his trying to cut off Roscoe from spoiling the government further. While this was an important role for Offerman, the American actor has been in numerous more popular shows, such as The Last of Us and films, over his more than 3-decade-long career.

More on this in our story.

Who plays Garfield’s Vice President in Death by Lightning? Actor’s career and notable projects explored

In Death by Lightning, Nick Offerman plays the character of Chester A. Arthur, the 20th Vice President of the United States. While he was the Vice President during James Garfield's presidency, he still worked with the corrupt Republican politician, Roscoe Conkling (Shea Whigham).

He also helped Roscoe in threatening the senators that Garfield had chosen so that they would back out. He was also part of Roscoe's plan to overthrow James from the White House and the Government. Historically, Chester also became the next President after James's assassination.

While the 55-year-old actor played an important character in Death by Lightning, he has been in many more acclaimed TV shows and films. Born on June 26, 1970, in Illinois, and had a desire to become an actor from an early age. After appearing in brief roles in popular films and TV shows, Offerman's most prominent role came to be in NBC's mockumentary Parks and Recreation, where he played Ron Swanson.

Offerman's character was the Parks and Recreation Department's director and was known for his deadpan persona, who was the least interested in interacting with the public and working to make their lives and the government better. Like most of the characters of the satirical show, Swanson also has a cult following.

His other popular roles include Devs, Will & Grace, The Great North, Fargo, and The Umbrella Academy, among many others.

Another breakout role of Nick Offerman was in HBO's apocalyptic drama series, The Last of Us. In Season 1, Episode 3 of the series, Offerman and Murray Bartlett played Bill and Frank, respectively. The episode showed us a glimpse of how the characters found love amid an apocalyptic world and became one of the critically acclaimed episodes of the series, and Offerman earned an Emmy Award for his performance.

More popular roles of Nick Offerman from Death by Lightning

Along with roles in popular TV shows such as The Last of Us and Death by Lightning, Nick Offerman has also been a part of numerous fan-favorite movies, such as Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, The House of Tomorrow, Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning and voiced characters in The Lego Movie franchise, Sing franchise, and Ice Age: Collision Course.

Apart from appearing as the Vice President in a Netflix series, Offerman also appeared as the President of the United States in the 2024 film Civil War.

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Also Read: Death by Lightning soundtrack guide: A complete list of the music in the latest Netflix drama

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