Chris Parnell’s Three Favorite Moments as Jerry on ‘Rick and Morty’
The whole point of Jerry on Rick and Morty is to be pathetic. His marriage to Beth is highly dysfunctional, his kids don’t respect him and his father-in-law Rick doesn’t care if he lives or dies. However, Jerry does have the occasional moment of brilliance or bravery. In fact, when I asked Jerry’s voice actor, Chris Parnell, what his favorite Jerry moments were, he cited three times when Jerry wasn’t such a chump after all.
Jerry Plots to Kill Rick
Episode: “The Whirly Dirly Conspiracy,” Season 3, Episode 5
“I loved when Jerry and Rick went off together on an adventure, and I briefly go along with the plot to assassinate Rick, then change my mind at the last minute,” Parnell tells me. “I like that one because you got to see a darker side of Jerry, and they explored a deeper side of Jerry and Rick’s relationship.”
Post-Apocalyptic Jerry
Episode: “Solaricks,” Season 6, Episode 1
“When we see Jerry in the woods as a wild man of nature, confronting Morty about how he left the family behind, that was something very different for Jerry,” Parnell says. “That whole episode, and how Jerry survived the apocalypse in Morty’s original dimension, showed that Jerry shouldn’t always be underestimated.”
Floaty Jerry Leaves Beth a Voicemail
Episode: “Rattlestar Ricklactica,” Season 4, Episode 5
“I loved the moment when we see Jerry leaving an emotional voicemail for Beth about how much he loves her and how he tried to be strong as he’s hanging from an airplane,” Parnell explains. “Anytime I got to do something more dramatic and emotional as Jerry, it was something you get more emotionally invested in yourself. You try to be invested anyway, but it helps when there’s something like that. Every now and then they’ll call for a lot more from Jerry.”
