Community Wiki
Advertisement
Community Wiki
Production ID
All Access Pass
@dannypudi IMDb Wikipedia
 
Danny Pudi close up
Danny Pudi
Full name: Daniel Mark Pudi
Birth date: March 10, 1979
Occupation: Actor, comedian
Also known for: "The Tiger Hunter", "DuckTales", "Mythic Quest"
Work on Community
Title: Main Cast Member
Portrays : Abed Nadir (Joey Elkins)
Acting debut: Pilot
Active on Community: 2009-present



Bio[]

“
It’s such a wonderful, beautiful thing to be in a comedy where you’re working and watching amazing actors, working with amazing material, and you’re able to jump in and bounce off it.
”
— Danny Pudi, AV Club interview



Danny Pudi 2
Danny Pudi

Danny Pudi (born Daniel Mark Pudi) is the American actor and comedian who portrays Abed Nadir on Community. He was born on March 10, 1979 and was the child of Indian and Polish immigrants. His parents divorced not long after he was born and his father left him with his mother Teresa Pudi. Danny was raised in a Polish community by his mother and grandparents. Exposure to both Polish and English cultures made him fluent in both languages. After graduating high school he attended Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In his junior year, Danny was awarded the first Chris Farley Scholarship Award. Named after the late comic actor and Marquette graduate, it was given to students who displayed exceptional creativity and positive use of humor. In 2001, he graduated college with a degree in Communication and Theater. He then returned to Chicago where he was accepted into the Conservatory Program of the famous improvisational comedy troupe The Second City. Alongside two other Indian comedians named Ranjit Souri and Rasika Mather they formed their own sketch comedy group, "Siblings of Doctors". In 2004, Pudi married his college girlfriend Bridget Showalter whom he had met in his freshmen year at school. She worked as a teacher while he worked at home as an actuarial recruiter. The newlyweds left Chicago the following year in 2005 for Los Angeles so Pudi could pursue an acting carer. He appeared in a few commercials (see T-Mobile section) and began landing a few notable roles on "ER", "Gilmore Girls" and "Greek". In 2009, Danny auditioned for and was eventually offered the role of Abed Nadir on "Community". During filming of Season Three on January 12, 2012, Danny and his wife Bridget became parents after she gave birth to twins; son James Timothy and daughter Fiona Leigh.

Filmography[]

Year Title Media Character
2006 The West Wing TV Santos Aide #2 (1 episode)
ER TV Mahir Kardatay (1 episode)
Gilmore Girls TV Raj (4 episodes)
2007 The Untitled Rob Roy Thomas Project TV Movie Unknown
Cop Show Film Saffa
Greek TV Sanjay (4 episodes)
2008 Giants of Radio TV Movie Teddy
The Bill Engvall Show TV Josh (1 episode)
2009 Road Trip: Beer Pong Video Arash
Community TV Abed Nadir
Thunder Geniuses Film Sanjay
2010 Blowout Sale Short Film Glen
2011 Fully Loaded Film Danny
Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil Film Little Boy Blue (voice)
Cougar Town TV Chad
Robot Chicken TV various voices
Chuck (TV Series) TV Vali Chandrasekaren
2012 The Guilt Trip Film Sanjay
2013 The Pretty One Film Dr. Rao
The Knights of Badassdom Film Lando
Hot in Cleveland TV Tommy
Royal Pains TV Garrett
2014 Captain America: The Winter Soldier Film Comm Tech #1
Royal Pains TV Garrett
Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja TV Levander Hart (voice)
2015 Larry Gaye: Renegade Male Flight Attendant Film Nathan Vignes
Newsreaders TV Ivan Folange
TripTank TV various voices
2016 The Tiger Hunter Film Sami Malik
Star Trek Beyond Film Fi'Ja
Dr. Ken TV Topher
Great Minds with Dan Harmon TV Buddha
Angie Tribeca TV Garth Tweedner
Better Things TV Danny
2017 Smurfs: The Lost Village Film Brainy Smurf (voice)
Powerless TV Teddy
DuckTales TV Huey (voice)

Trivia[]

T-Mobile[]

One of the first notable jobs as an actor Danny Pudi got after moving to Los Angeles was in a humorous T-Mobile commercial. He played a husband who accidentally calls his wife (played by actress Tamara Mellow from "Popular") whenever he sits down because he keeps his cell phone in his back pocket. In an interview with the online entertainment site Vulture, Danny Pudi explains how the part helped him land the role of Abed on Community":
I did the butt-dialing commercial for T-Mobile, and it did help get my face out there a bit. When I went out for the Community audition, one of the producers recognized me and was like, “Hey, you’re the butt-dialer!” Right away, that makes me feel more comfortable, when someone’s like, “Butt dialer’s here!” I imagine it would be more difficult if you were going out for a leading man. Like if they’re making Gladiator 2 and I walk in, and they go, “Butt-dialer!” It’s gonna be really hard to be, you know, Euophonius the Master of the Ring and slaying soldiers when two seconds ago they were calling you butt-dialer. But for this role, it actually worked out perfectly.

External Links[]

References[]

Main Cast
Advertisement