Jim O’Heir had lewd doodling sessions with “Parks and Rec” costars Aubrey Plaza and Chris Pratt

"Dicks on every piece of paper," O'Heir writes, remembering so much "dicking around" on season 1 "that the term 'dicking around' took on a literal context."

Shooting a television show is a fast-paced, hectic, and grueling affair — until it's not.

The experience of shooting Parks and Recreation's first season was defined more by inactivity than activity for some actors, Jim O'Heir confessed in his new behind-the-scenes memoir Welcome to Pawnee: Stories of Friendship, Waffles, and Parks and Recreation.

"I found plenty of time to browse the computer and make my character 'look busy,'" he explained. "So did Retta. She would shop — God knows how many purses she bought during that first season — while I’d play online games."

Related: Chris Pratt started 'breaking s---' to save Parks and Recreation from cancellation: 'I wanted to damage stuff'

O'Heir remembered "so much dicking around during this time that the term 'dicking around' took on a literal context." He explained: "In between takes, we would doodle at our desks. What is it about doodling that makes one feel compelled to draw a dick? That’s a serious question. The number of dicks drawn — by me, by [Chris Pratt], and even by [Aubrey Plaza] — would put Jonah Hill’s character in Superbad to shame. Dicks on every piece of paper you could find. It’s a miracle none ended up in any of the episodes. Even one of our camera guys, Will Emery, who also happened to be a fantastic artist, drew dicks. Oh boy, could Will draw a dick."

While Plaza started the show off on the main cast, O'Heir, Retta, and Pratt were all considered "recurring characters." Pratt would be promoted to main cast by the following season, but it would take a full five seasons for the Parks creative team to realize that O'Heir and Retta deserved the same full story treatment as everyone else, not to mention the same job security.

On the upside, it did mean a lot of extra time for handbags and dick doodles.

Related: Parks and Rec star talks going 'ultra viral' for 'don't be suspicious' line: 'I don't think people even know that it's me'

O'Heir recalls "a feeling of 'figuring it out as we went along' that went into the first season." Showrunner Michael Schur and Parks creator Greg Daniels "would have conversations on set with us about character development. It seemed most of us 'needed to find our rhythm,' especially when our six-episode order was renewed for a full-length second season."

This rhythm finding, though, primarily concerned the main cast, which included Amy Poehler, Nick Offerman, Aziz Ansari, Rashida Jones, and Paul Schneider alongside Plaza. O'Heir remembers sharing with Retta and Pratt "the circumstances of having guest roles with no clear future insight," an anxiety that intensified for the former two when the following year, not only was Pratt promoted, but Adam Scott and Rob Lowe were brought in for starring roles.

Related: Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally recall steamy Parks & Rec makeout: 'He pulled the table out of the wall'

Still though, O'Heir remembers using his down time to "make the crew laugh — there was always time to have some fun amid the hard work. During one shoot, I pretended to pick my ear with my little finger and then take a whiff of my fingers, which they kept in the final episode."

The "dicking around" spirit remains strong with the Parks cast, and with Plaza in particular. O'Heir goes into great detail in Welcome To Pawnee about the infamous makeout stunt the pair pulled during the Parks cast final visit to Late Night With Seth Meyers the night of the finale. Turns out the stunt was "100 percent not my idea."

Related: Li'l Sebastian was censored on Parks and Rec for real erection: 'That lil' guy was hard for hours'

Plaza even brought the pranks to the set of The White Lotus, arranging Blair Witch-style symbols on the floor of Adam DiMarco's dressing room and then gaslighting DiMarco into thinking he did the same thing to her.

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