Early years

Pudi was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Teresa (née Komendant), a programmer and analyst, and Abraham Pudi. His father is Indian, and his mother is Polish (born in Pokośno, Poland, to Marianna (Organek) and Boleslaw Komendant). Pudi grew up speaking Polish with his mother and grandmother. He grew up on Chicago's south side, but he attended Notre Dame College Prep in Niles, Illinois, 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.

At Marquette University, Pudi was the first winner of the Chris Farley Scholarship. 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. Pudi performed in summer stock theatre in Wisconsin after Marquette, then studied at The Second City in Chicago.

Career

Pudi 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. 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, 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", 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. They met while attending Marquette University their freshman year. Their twins were born in January 2012. He is a runner, and has completed several marathons.

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 Nominated-TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy Nominated-Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
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

[ Source: Wikipedia ]