Danny Pudi

Danny Pudi

Born Daniel Mark Pudi
(1979-03-10) March 10, 1979
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Occupation Actor, comedian
Years active 2006–present
Spouse(s) Bridget Showalter (m. 2004)
Children 2

Daniel Mark "Danny" Pudi[1] (born March 10, 1979)[2] is an American actor and comedian, best known for his role as Abed Nadir on the NBC/Yahoo! comedy series Community.

Early years

Pudi was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Teresa (née Komendant), a programmer and analyst,[3] and Abraham Pudi. His father is Indian, and his mother is Polish (born in Pokośno, Poland, to Marianna (Organek) and Boleslaw Komendant).[4][3][5] Pudi grew up speaking Polish with his mother and grandmother.[6] He grew up on Chicago's south side, but he attended Notre Dame College Prep in Niles, Illinois,[4][7] a northern Chicago suburb. In 2013, he gave the commencement address at Notre Dame College Prep.

He studied dance in Chicago and attended Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, graduating with a degree in Communication and Theatre in 2001.[8]

At Marquette University, Pudi was the first winner of the Chris Farley Scholarship.[8] Beyond paying for a year of school, the scholarship led to him performing at an improv comedy event featuring Jim Breuer and Dave Chappelle, increasing his interest in studying improv.[4] Pudi performed in summer stock theatre in Wisconsin after Marquette, then studied at The Second City in Chicago.[4]

Career

Pudi became a recruiter for an executive search firm before moving to Los Angeles in 2005 to seek television and film roles.[4][9] 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.[4]

Pudi has appeared in multiple television advertisements for such products as Snickers, Verizon, McDonald's, T-Mobile, and Pokémon.[4][9][10] In 2012, he appeared as a celebrity contestant on GSN's version of The Pyramid with fellow Community cast member Yvette Nicole Brown.

He portrayed Arash in the comedy film Road Trip: Beer Pong,[11] which received mainly negative reviews, and starred in the comedy horror film Knights of Badassdom,[12] 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".[13] He has made cameo appearances in many internet videos, including BriTANicK's "A Monologue for Three", and had a cameo appearance in Captain America: The Winter Soldier as well as a guest appearance on the first ever live episode of Hot in Cleveland. In the fall of 2014, Pudi appeared in the Off-Broadway musical FOUND.

Personal life

Pudi is married to Bridget Showalter.[14] They met while attending Marquette University their freshman year.[9][4] Their twins were born in January 2012.[5] He is a runner, and has completed several marathons.[4]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2007 Cop Show Saffa Short film
2009 Road Trip: Beer Pong Arash
2009 Nilam Auntie: An International Treasure Melvin Short film
2010 Blowout Sale Glen Short film
2011 Fully Loaded Danny
2011 Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil Little Boy Blue Voice
2012 Leader of the Pack Doug Short film
2012 Guilt Trip, TheThe Guilt Trip Sanjay Uncredited
2012 Flatland 2: Sphereland Puncto Voice
2013 Pretty One, TheThe Pretty One Dr. Rao
2013 Vijay and I Rad
2013 Knights of Badassdom, TheThe Knights of Badassdom Lando
2014 Untucked N/A Documentary short; director
2014 Captain America: The Winter Soldier Com Tech #1 Cameo
2015 Larry Gaye: Renegade Male Flight Attendant Nathan Vignes
2016 Tiger Hunter, TheThe Tiger Hunter Sami Malik In post-production
2017 Smurfs: The Lost Village Brainy Smurf Voice

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2006 ER Mahir Kardatay Episode: "Lost in America"
2006 Gilmore Girls Raj 4 episodes
2006 West Wing, TheThe West Wing Santos Aide Episode: "Two Weeks Out"
2007–08 Greek Sanjay 4 episodes
2008 Bill Engvall Show, TheThe Bill Engvall Show Josh Episode: "A Reptile Dysfunction"
2009–15 Community Abed Nadir 110 episodes
TV Guide Award for Favorite Ensemble (2012)
Nominated–TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy (2011)[15]
Nominated–Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (2011–2013)[16]
2011 Cougar Town Chad (Abed Nadir) Uncredited
Episode: "Something Good Coming"
2011 Robot Chicken Various voices Episode: "The Core, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover"
2011 Chuck Vali Chandrasekaren Episode: "Chuck Versus the Hack Off"
2013 Hot in Cleveland Tommy Episode: "It's Alive"
2013 Royal Pains Garrett Episode: "Pregnant Paws"
2014 Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja Levander Hart (voice) 2 episodes
2015 Newsreaders Ivan Folange Episode: "How the Sausage Is Made; Lottery Winners Lose"
2015 TripTank Various voices 4 episodes
2016 Dr. Ken Topher Episode: "Dave's Valentine"
TBA Powerless Teddy Main cast; Pilot episode

Web

Year Title Role Notes
2012 Book Club, TheThe Book Club Danny 6 episodes; also producer

References

  1. "J. William and Mary Diederich College of Communication Award Recipients Young Alumnus of the Year Award: DANIEL M. PUDI, COMM '01". Retrieved 13 March 2013.
  2. "Danny Pudi Biography". Fancast. Retrieved 2010-11-09.
  3. 1 2 "Teresa K. Pudi (Komendant)". Poles.org. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Souri, Ranjit (November 2009). "Desis on Cable: Reshma Shetty and Danny Pudi". India Currents.
  5. 1 2 Wagner, Curt (23 January 2012). "'Community' star Danny Pudi, wife have twins". Show Patrol (Chicago: RedEye). Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  6. "10 things you don’t know about Danny Pudi". Marquette Magazine (Marquette University). Spring 2004. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  7. The Bonnie Hunt Show, 9 October 2009.
  8. 1 2 Sweeney Etter, Nicole. "Breakout star Danny Pudi was a hit at Marquette first". Marquette Magazine (Marquette University). Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  9. 1 2 3 Halverson, Steve. "'Community' star has ties to Dyersville" Dyersville Commercial, 16 September 2009.
  10. Community Member Becomes One of the Knights of Badassdom!
  11. Trailer for Road Trip: Beer Pong announcement
  12. 'Community' Funnyman Grabs His Sword for 'Knights of Badassdom'!
  13. Music video for "The Understanding"
  14. "Weddings; Showalter-Pudi". Telegraph - Herald (Dubuque, Iowa). 8 October 2004. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  15. Danny Pudi: Awards at the Internet Movie Database
  16. Harp, Justin (5 June 2012). "Critics' Choice Awards 2012: The nominees in full". Digital Spy.

External links

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