Thomas Montgomery "Tom" Haverford , born Darwish Sabir Ismael Gani, is a fictional character in the NBC

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 comedy Parks and Recreation

Parks and Recreation

Parks and Recreation is an American comedy television series on NBC that focuses on Leslie Knope , a mid-level bureaucrat in the parks department of Pawnee, a fictional town in Indiana. Created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, the series debuted on April 9, 2009; it has run for three seasons and...

. He is a sarcastic, underachieving government official for the city of Pawnee who is revered for his high levels of swagger and unmatched entrepreneurial skills. He is portrayed by Aziz Ansari

Aziz Ansari

Aziz Ansari is an American actor, writer, and stand-up comedian. He currently stars as Tom Haverford on the NBC show Parks and Recreation....

.

Background

Thomas Montgomery Haverford is an Indian American

Indian American

Indian Americans are Americans whose ancestral roots lie in India. The U.S. Census Bureau popularized the term Asian Indian to avoid confusion with Indigenous peoples of the Americas who are commonly referred to as American Indians.-The term: Indian:...

, who changed his name from Darwish Sabir Ismael Gani to be more appealing in politics. (It is possible Ansari chose the name "Darwish" for his character in honor of his cousin, with whom he is close. http://azizisbored.tumblr.com/post/4209699237/my-little-cousin-darwish-right-goin-ham-in) He is often assumed to be an immigrant by much of the Parks and Recreation staff, though, as he frequently reminds them, he hails from South Carolina

South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

, as does Ansari. He works as Leslie Knope

Leslie Knope

Leslie Barbara Knope is a fictional character in the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation. She is portrayed by Amy Poehler. Poehler garnered two Emmy Award nominations for Best Lead Actress in Comedy Series for her role.-Background:...

's immediate subordinate at the Pawnee parks and recreation department, often serving as her right-hand man. Tom displays an extremely sarcastic, mischievous and cocky attitude, and frequently attempts to secure favors from local contractors.

He takes his appearance very seriously, often donning office-casual polo shirts. He also buys clothing from the boys' collection at Brooks Brothers

Brooks Brothers

Brooks Brothers is the oldest men's clothier chain in the United States. Founded in 1818 as a family business, the privately owned company is now owned by Retail Brand Alliance, also features clothing for women, and is headquartered on Madison Avenue in Manhattan, New York City.-History:On April 7,...

 ("Telethon"). In "Go Big or Go Home," Tom also boasted about ladies' sneakers he bought from his workplace during Pawnee's government shutdown. Though it is not explicitly said, it's assumed Tom worked at Lady Foot Locker, where his friend Jean-Ralphio Saperstein

Jean-Ralphio Saperstein

Jean-Ralphio Saperstein is a fictional character played by Ben Schwartz in the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation. He is the cocky friend of Tom Haverford and, like Tom, believes himself to be a playboy and pickup artist, although he is looked upon with contempt by most people...

 has a job too ("Woman of the Year"). Tom married his college friend Wendy, a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 resident, to get her U.S. citizenship (a green card marriage

Green card marriage

Green card marriage is a neologism that refers to the phenomenon of a marriage of convenience between a legal resident of a country and a person who would be ineligible for residency but for being married to a resident.-Description:...

). Despite the marriage, Tom aggressively flirts with other women, which has prompted confusion from people unfamiliar with his arrangement with Wendy. He is constantly pursuing women even during his marriage, as far as going to strip club

Strip club

A strip club is an adult entertainment venue in which striptease or other erotic or exotic dance is regularly performed. Strip clubs typically adopt a nightclub or bar style, but can also adopt a theatre or cabaret-style....

s, hitting on Ann Perkins

Ann Perkins

Ann Meredith Perkins is a fictional character in the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation. She is a nurse and best friend of Leslie Knope. She is portrayed by Rashida Jones.-Season one:...

, and judging at the Miss Pawnee pageant. Tom has complete authority over the Pawnee tennis court reservation system, which has brought him into close contact with many attractive female tennis enthusiasts. Tom’s heroes include Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods

Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods is an American professional golfer whose achievements to date rank him among the most successful golfers of all time. Formerly the World No...

, Vin Diesel

Vin Diesel

Vin Diesel is an American actor, writer, director and producer. He became known in the early 2000s, appearing in several successful Hollywood films, including The Fast and the Furious and xXx...

, Michael Bolton

Michael Bolton

Michael Bolton is an American singer and songwriter. Bolton originally performed in the hard rock and heavy metal genres from the mid 1970s to the mid 1980s, both on his early solo albums and those recorded as the frontman of the band Blackjack...

, Flo Rida

Flo Rida

Tramar Dillard , better known by his stage name Flo Rida , is an American rapper and singer-songwriter. He released his debut album, Mail on Sunday, in March 2008. His debut single "Low", featuring T-Pain, was a #1 hit for ten weeks in United States in early 2008. Two other singles resulted from...

, Patrick Jane

Patrick Jane

Patrick Jane is the protagonist on the CBS crime drama The Mentalist, portrayed by Simon Baker. Jane is a consultant for a fictionalized version of the California Bureau of Investigation and helps by giving advice and insight from his many years as a fake psychic medium...

, and Jamie Foxx

Jamie Foxx

Eric Marlon Bishop , professionally known as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, singer-songwriter, stand-up comedian, and talk radio host. As an actor, his work in the film Ray earned him the Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Best Actor as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a...

.. He has a very high image of himself and brags that people view him as a "Brown Superman

Superman

Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...

 with a Beard".

Season one

Tom appears lackadaisical about his work at the parks department and regularly undermines Leslie. He plays online Scrabble

Scrabble

Scrabble is a word game in which two to four players score points by forming words from individual lettered tiles on a game board marked with a 15-by-15 grid. The words are formed across and down in crossword fashion and must appear in a standard dictionary. Official reference works provide a list...

 against his superior, Ron Swanson

Ron Swanson

Ronald Ulysses "Ron" Swanson is a fictional character played by Nick Offerman in the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation on NBC. Ron is parks department director in the Indiana city of Pawnee and the immediate superior of protagonist Leslie Knope...

, during work time and loses on purpose in order to further his career. Ron, who believes in as little government interference as possible, approvingly states of Tom, "He doesn’t do a lot of work around here. He shows zero initiative. He’s not a team player. He never wants to go that extra mile. Tom is exactly what I’m looking for in a government employee." Tom is often chosen to go on field projects with Leslie. He is also known for abusing his small amount of public power for self-benefit. Tom studies the culture of pickup artists and engages in a practice he calls "peacocking", which involves finding a visual element that makes him stand out in public like a peacock. In one such date, he wears a woman's orange hat, which others find ridiculous.

Season two

Ron discovers Tom's arranged marriage with Wendy, but agrees to keep it secret, especially after Tom discovers Ron secretly moonlights as a nightclub jazz musician. Tom and Wendy get a divorce shortly after she gets her citizenship. Although he initially appears fine, Tom realizes he did in fact harbor feelings for Wendy and regrets the parting. At the end of Season 2, Tom meets Lucy, a bartender at the Snake Hole Lounge. As of the finale, the two are dating.

Season three

At the beginning of Season 3, Tom is seen working at an apparel store as a sales associate while the government is on furlough. Lucy eventually breaks up with him, and reveals that their relationship ended because Tom spent too much time talking about his ex wife's relationship with Ron Swanson. As an attempt to exact revenge on Ron, Tom brings Ron's ex-wife Tammy as a date to an event organized by the Parks department. The night ends in chaos with Ron and Tammy being arrested and getting married. It is later revealed in the episode "Indianapolis" that Tom has created his own cologne scent called "Tommy Fresh". In the season finale, Tom quits his job at the Parks Department to work at Entertainment 720 with Jean-Ralphio.

Season four

Tom begins working at entertainment 720 and offers the shoeshinest at city hall, Andy Dwyer, a job, which Andy turns down. Entertainment 720 goes bankrupt and Tom decides to throw one last party which Lucy attends and he confesses to her that he is broke and jobless. Ron tries to persuade Tom to take his old job back. Tom initially refuses but eventually agrees.

Critical reception

Aziz Ansari, who was particularly acclaimed during the first season for his role as Tom Haverford, received similar praise in the second season as well. Alan Sepinwall, television columnist with The Star-Ledger

The Star-Ledger

The Star-Ledger is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to The Jersey Journal of Jersey City, The Times of Trenton and the Staten Island Advance, all of which are owned by Advance Publications.The Newark Star-Ledgers daily...

, described Tom as the funniest of the characters during the first season

Parks and Recreation (season 1)

The first season of Parks and Recreation originally aired in the United States on the NBC television network between April 9 and May 14, 2009...

, and Jonah Weiner of Slate.com, who was critical of the first season, said Tom was "the brightest spot."