'Parks and Rec' Would've Been Very Different Had These Actors Been Cast Instead

Could Donna have been played by anyone other than Retta? The stand-up comedienne is so good as the treat yo self-ing office manager that it's hard to imagine there could have been anyone else considered for the part. But...

Can you just imagine the Oscar winner as a Pawnee parks person? You know she'd be awesome, but something tells me she wouldn't have the same chemistry with Aziz Ansari that Retta has. But it's not like Octavia's licking her wounds over allegedly losing the role... pretty sure that golden statue makes everything better.

Conclusion: Retta as Donna was the right choice.

It is going to be very hard to convince me that Nick Offerman wasn't born to play Ron Swanson, but let's see who else was up for the role.

The funny man is now on Welcome to the Family and is still on Glee, which is great, because he just wouldn't have been a good fit for the Parks gang. Ron is a subtle man; Mike is not. He and Nick weren't the only guys competing for the role, though...

The founder of the Upright Citizen's Brigade likely had an in with Amy Poehler, but I'm glad he was passed on for the part. Walsh is terrific on Veep, and even had a guest spot on Parks — he was Leonard Tchulm, the jerk at the wedding/fundraiser at the end of last season — but I don't think Pawnee would've been the best place for him to settle down.

The Reno 911! star was also up for the part of Ron, and while he makes more sense than Walsh and O'Malley (his droll sense of humor would've meshed well opposite Leslie Knope), still, he can't hold a candle to Nick.

Conclusion: Thanks for playing, everyone, but Nick Offerman was the right choice.

The lovely Ann Perkins is played by the lovely Rashida Jones, but apparently, NBC was courting an Office star for the part, as well.

Ellie went on to star as the adorably hilarious office manager on The Office, but she would've made a great Ann. A GREAT Ann. She's funny, she's relatable, and she has a personality, which is something Rashida sometimes seems to lack.

Conclusion: It could've gone either way. Thankfully, we got to see Ellie on another NBC comedy — glad to see her talents have been put to good use.

The delightfully odd Aubrey Plaza got the part, but it's sort of a chicken or the egg scenario with her. Did she always march to the beat of her own drummer, or did she just steal that from April? Either way, she's pretty great on the show, and in real life, too.

Kulap Vilaysack auditioned for, but obviously did not get, the part of April, but she was so well liked, she was invited to play Ben's dad's new wife. Ben's dad, of course, was played by none other than Breaking Bad's Jonathan Banks. Kulap also played one of the Benihana waitresses Michael Scott invites back to the Office on The Office.

Conclusion: Could've gone either way. Both Kulap and Aubrey make great Aprils.

Adam Scott originally auditioned for the role of city planner Mark Brendanawicz on Parks — he was Ann Perkin's ex boyfriend, and Leslie's colleague. The role went to Paul Schneider, but he only lasted two seasons. Brendanawicz had an open exit, and could come back if need be, but come on. It's not like anyone really sits around and wonders whatever happened to Mark.

Clearly, Adam Scott won out in the deal. He's played Ben Wyatt now for four seasons, and just married the main character.

Conclusion: It was the right choice to hire Schneider for the smaller role, and give Adam Scott a bigger one.

And finally, according to Uproxx, Chris Pratt was only supposed to star in one or two episodes as Ann Perkin's stupid boyfriend, but they liked him so much, he stuck around. Thank god he did, right? Because he's amazing on the show. Not sure what it would've been like without him.

Conclusion: Chris Pratt needs to be in everything.