Bio[]
That might sound like an easy resolution but we're not writers. We're actors. The story doesn't matter here. All that matters is...our time...in the spotlight.
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— Sean Garrity, "Competitive Wine Tasting". |
Professor Sean Garrity is a drama professor at Greendale Community College. A serious practitioner of his chosen craft, he often speaks in an exaggerated or overly dramatic fashion. He teaches several acting related courses at school including "The Actor Inside" and a film studies course called "Nicholas Cage: Good or Bad?". He is good friends with Officer Cackowski and together the two once taught Jeff Winger, Annie Edison and Dean Pelton a valuable lesson. He first appeared in the episode "Conspiracy Theories and Interior Design". He is portrayed by actor Kevin Corrigan. |
Character history[]
Season Two[]
In the study group's second year at Greendale, Professor Sean Garrity was called upon to pay back a favor he owed to Dean Pelton after he scraped his car. He was forced to participate in an elaborate prank on Jeff Winger. Jeff had created a fake course called "Conspiracy Theories in U.S. History" in order to score some easy credits. When Pelton discovered this through an audit of Jeff's schedule, he informed Annie Edison who thought up the plan to teach him a lesson about academic fraud. Garrity was called upon to portray the teacher Jeff had created of the fictitious course known as "Professor Professorson". As part of the ruse, Pelton interrupted a study group meeting and confronted Jeff about the class.
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Jeff feigned innocence and declared the class existed causing Pelton and Annie to demand evidence. When his proof turned out to be an empty supply closet, Garrity suddenly arrived playing the part of Professorson. Jeff's reaction was surprising as he took his appearance in stride and went along with the charade. After Garrity backed up Jeff's story and left, Annie started the next phase of her plan. She showed Jeff a class brochure which featured Garrity in another persona, that of a night school math teacher called "Professor Woolley". Jeff is unconcerned about it until he receives a threatening call on his cellphone (probably from Garrity). When an "explosive" message is also sent to him, Jeff is finally convinced to investigate who Woolley is and why he pretended to be Professorson.
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That night, Garrity is confronted by the two of them as he is exiting one of his classes. When he runs away, Jeff and Annie chase him through Troy and Abed's recently constructed Fluffy Town blanket fort. Garrity almost escaped by pretending to be a part of a Latvian parade taking place inside the fort but Jeff tackled him before he could get away. When Jeff demanded answers for "Woolley"'s deception, Garrity leads him and Annie to a storage room. It was filled with active computer printers that were spilling over with reams of paper print outs. Still pretending to be Woolley, Garrity told Jeff that long ago he was a student who also created a fake class. His lie soon spiraled out of control as he created more fake classes, instructors and students to keep the deception going. Garrity's performance ended with him bemoaning the wasted years Woolley spent cheating the system. Jeff dismisses his story and let's Garrity know that he is aware of his true identity.
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On the way over to the storage room he came across a flyer for Garrity's upcoming production of "Hamlet". Garrity is relieved he was found out as he detested playing such a one note character like Woolley. He explains he owed Pelton after scraping his car and offered to pay him back in acting. He added that he also has to put on a performance for Pelton's family on Thanksgiving crashing their dinner and playing the part of a man whose girlfriend left him for the Dean. Jeff also figured out Annie was the actual brains behind this caper. He convinces her and Garrity to help him get revenge on the Dean for starting this mess in the first place. An overly complicated scheme is devised whereby Garrity shifts alliances with Pelton, Annie and Jeff. The scenario unfolds in Group Study Room F and involved the use of several prop firearms from Garrity's drama department.
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After Jeff and Annie's prank is finished, Garrity goes around and collects the props from everyone. It's then that Officer Cackowski burst into the room armed with a shotgun. He told everyone to get down and warned Garrity to drop his weapons. Garrity failed to comply quickly enough and Cackowski apparently shot him dead much to the horror of Annie, Jeff and Pelton. When Annie sobbingly informs the officer that they were just prop guns, Cackowski coldly replies that should be a lesson to them that prop guns belong backstage. Garrity then springs back to life revealing he and Cackowski were in cahoots to teach them all a lesson about gun safety. Garrity and Cackowski were about to go have breakfast when Pelton asks about him doing the Thanksgiving gig. Garrity simply tells the Dean to talk to his father before leaving with Cackowski. ("Conspiracy Theories and Interior Design") |
Garrity is seen again during the 2011 Spring semester at school teaching a course called "The Actor Inside" which Troy and Britta decided to take. The first day of class Garrity explained that the duty of an actor was to expose their inner pain which makes them visible to audiences. He had his students form a "Trust circle" in order for them to get in touch with to explore their own emotional pain they had hidden. He had Garrett start off who revealed he was bullied when he tried to play on the swings. When Garrity points out that childhood memories are a good place to find emotional pain Garrett admits that the incident happened this morning. The professor than asks Troy to participate but he is unable to find anything in his past that is traumatic. When Garrity moves on to Vicki, Troy blurts out that his Uncle molested him.
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This earned him sympathy and admiration from Garrity and the other students (particularly Britta). At the next class, Garrity continued to praise Troy as he opened up more about what happened with his uncle. Afterwards, the professor then assigned his students the homework of drinking a glass of cognac in a bathtub. Eventually Troy comes clean and admits to the class that he made up his childhood trauma. He says that he did it because he wanted to fit in with everyone else and wanted to be a true actor. Garrity applauds his confession and says "The pain of not having enough pain" is still actually pain. While he believes his admission to be an easy resolution, it's not their place to criticize as they are actors and not writers. He adds dramatically that the story doesn't matter in the end, all that matters is an actors time in the spotlight. ("Competitive Wine Tasting")
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Season Five[]
During the study group's fifth year at Greendale, Professor Garrity appears again, teaching a course on the actor Nicholas Cage called "Nicholas Cage: Good or Bad?". Abed convinces Troy, Annie, Britta, Shirley to take the class as he was intrigued by the question it posed. On the first day of class, Abed asked Garrity if there was an actual answer to Cage's ability as an actor. The professor then remembered that Abed had years ago disproven a theory about "Who's the Boss?" put forth by a former media arts Professor at school named Peter Sheffield. Garrity admits his dislike of Sheffield and assures Abed that unlike that situation there is no definitive answer to the Nicholas Cage conundrum. He then assigns the class their homework of watching five Cage movies but asks that they not marathon the films and instead spread the viewings out. He warns Abed in particular to be very careful.
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Several days later, Garrity asks his students for their thoughts on Nicholas Cage after having seen his movies. Troy offers that Cage must be a genius, since he keeps getting hired for some reason, Shirley isn't sure, stating that he delivers his performances at random volumes, while Britta takes the opportunity to rant about pop culture. It's then that Abed appears and Garrity immediately realizes he ignored his warnings and overdosed on Nicholas Cage films. The professor advises that the other students give him some space. When Garrity asked him how many films he watched, Abed loudly proclaims it was enough to find the answer. Abed then proceeds to have a mental breakdown in front of the class. Garrity and the students look on fearfully as Abed launches into a medley of various Nicholas Cage acting roles. Abed slowly gets the rest of his Cage impersonation out of his system and leaves the room. Garrity then compliments Abed's performance and states "That was brilliant!". ("Introduction to Teaching")
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Trivia[]
- The name "Garrity" may be a reference to Kevin Corrigan's character Finn Garrity (or Garrety) who appeared in several episodes of the TV show Damages.