Danny Pudi's Main TV Roles Show Character(s) Community Abed Nadir Powerless Teddy

Main Movie Roles

BIOGRAPHY:

Daniel Mark "Danny" Pudi (born March 10, 1979) is an American actor and comedian, best known for his role as Abed Nadir on the NBC comedy series Community.

Pudi was born in Chicago, Illinois, where he grew up speaking Polish. He is of Indian and Polish descent. He attended Notre Dame College Prep in Niles, Illinois. He studied dance in Chicago and attended Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, graduating with a degree in Communication and Theatre in 2001. At Marquette University, Pudi won the Chris Farley Scholarship. Beyond paying for a year of school, the scholarship led to his performing at an improv comedy event featuring Jim Breuer and Dave Chappelle, increasing his interest in studying improv. Pudi performed in summer stock theatre in Wisconsin after Marquette, then studied at The Second City in Chicago. He became a recruiter for an executive search firm before moving to Los Angeles in 2005 to seek television and film roles. His home-based job permitted him to attend auditions, helping him avoid the "struggling actor thing in terms of waiting tables, temping and so on". He performed in several television pilots before joining the cast of Community.

Pudi has appeared in multiple television advertisements for such products as Snickers, Verizon, McDonald's, T-Mobile, and Pokémon. He portrayed Arash in the comedy film Road Trip: Beer Pong, which received mainly negative reviews, and starred in the comedy horror film Knights of Badassdom, which was one of the highlights of Comic Con 2011, according to HitFix.com. He starred in the Jones Street Station music video for "The Understanding". He has made cameo appearances in many internet videos, including BriTANicK's "A Monologue for Three".

In 2012, he appeared as a celebrity contestant on GSN's version of The Pyramid with fellow Community cast member Yvette Nicole Brown. In 2013, he gave the commencement address for Notre Dame College Prep.

Pudi married Bridget Showalter, whom he met in their freshman year at Marquette University. Their twins, James Timothy Pudi and Fiona Leigh Pudi (born January 12, 2012). He is a runner, and has completed several marathons.


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