The actor talks to ET about Brad's journey on 'Mythic Quest' season 3 and getting back into Abed's shoes for the 'Community' reunion.
After breaking out as the adorkable study partner Abed on six seasons of Community, Danny Pudi has become a reliable supporting player and voice actor on TV, with his most recent standout role being Brad, the smarmy head of monetization at a video game company, on the Apple TV+ workplace comedy Mythic Quest.
With the series back with season 3, Pudi's character finds himself starting from the bottom after insider trading led to his arrest and subsequent jail time. But thanks to Carol (Naomi Ekperigin), the much put upon head of HR, he's been given a second chance at the company -- this time as a janitor. Much to everyone's surprise -- and suspicion -- he's not only good at the job, but doesn't seem to have any hangups about it.
"Brad didn't end up in the best of situations at the end of season 2. And in season 3, he's figuring out how to be a reformed man, if that's possible for Brad Bakshi," Pudi says of his character's journey in the new episodes, one of which he directed, marking his first time behind the camera for the series. "It's a fun ride, season 3."
During a conversation with ET, Pudi shared what to expect from Brad's reformed ways and spending more time with Carol as well as reprising his role as Abed for the upcoming Community movie and what the legacy of that character means to him today.
ET: How much of Brad is truly reformed versus maybe presenting that he's reformed but still scheming a bit along the way?
Danny Pudi: I think that's the fun of playing this role is this balance of what Brad is up to, and then also this persona that he puts on. You know, there's always a scheme at play, there's always something that's going on. But sometimes you don't know what it is yet. No one really knows what it is. Sometimes when I'm reading a script, I don't know what it is yet. So, that's kind of the fun dance is being able to play these scenes, knowing that there might be something up his sleeve. There's this kind of trickster element at play.
Early on, we see him working as the janitor, which he does quite well. Does he actually enjoy the job? Or is he just that good at playing that part?
Again, the fun of it is that I think he is actually enjoying the job. And I think both things can be true at the same time. But I do wonder if he has other motives. And, you know, Brad is a need freak. So, cleanliness definitely matters to him, You know, that matters. He always had the tidiest space in the office when he was there. So, I think he would be good at his job and take it seriously. But at the same time, something's going on.
By episode 3, we see him teaming up with Carol and interacting with her a bit more. What can we expect from that dynamic moving forward?
Naomi is hilarious and her Carol is fantastic. And I think that there's something interesting about both characters in that they both enjoy their alone time and wanna be efficient with their time. And I think Brad sees that as a way they can kind of work together, you know, by just kind of cutting through all the nonsense and kind of get to it. And so, Brad's a master of identifying corporate structures and manipulating them. And if anybody has questions about their role and what they're doing in the office and how to maximize their time, Brad will help them find that.
In terms of this being a workplace comedy and playing with corporate hierarchies, I love all the references to HODI and other acronyms for these jobs that seem meaningless or unclear or that the people in them don't even necessarily know what they're doing.
That's kind of a unique thing about any kind of office or team that you're on, or even just within a group of friends. You come up with your own language that actually makes sense to you, but outside of that circle, it makes zero sense, you know? But, you know, our group, we have very clearly defined roles and I think these acronyms help us sort of define who we are. And I think in season 3, there is this sort of idea of success and growth within this company and what that means with all the different titles and all the different roles. But at the same time, balancing who we are as characters.
Going back to Carol, what was it like getting to work more with Naomi this season and share so many scenes with her?
My very first scene I got to direct was actually with her in a two-person scene, and she was incredible. And because she is also a writer on the show, it's like being in scenes with a secret weapon because she can come at it from a different perspective. She can add to it but she could also sort of inform the world and help you kind of fill in the blanks for what's actually taking place between characters. And she's also a comedian, so she always comes up with really interesting, fun things on the fly. So, that makes it easy.
You know, our show is very embracing of the organic moments happening on set. So, we walk into a scene and it's written and it's already amazing, and then actors are encouraged to kind of bring something to it and sometimes things change. And if it makes sense for the character and the scene, we use it. And Naomi's amazing at that. She kind of always brings in something and, no matter what, we have a great time because she's always adding value to it.
When it comes to Brad, he's so different from Abed. And after three seasons of this character, what's it like returning to that role for the Community movie and trying to get back into that headspace?
It's kind of exciting now because it's been so long. It's been so long since I've walked in Abed's shoes and so that'll be fun to just dive back in and see what that's like again, you know, after some time has passed. And for all of us, I think it'll be really special to be able to jump into these roles 'cause we've all communicated -- since Community, we've stayed in touch, but we haven't been in touch as characters other than one Zoom table read.
So, it'll be fun to actually be back as Abed I in a room with Annie [played by Alison Brie] and Britta [Gillian Jacobs] and Chang [Ken Jeong] – whatever that means. It'll be interesting to see if that causes some kind of a weird reaction that I wasn't expecting. But I think, at this point in time, it's just kind of a gift 'cause I don't think any of us were truly expecting this. So, to be able to have another chance to just kind of play with those characters and those in that world is really, really special. And I think something that, I mean, we owe to the fans really for making happen.
The show ended in 2015, but the fans have been dedicated to the show ever since. What's it like to look back on the lasting legacy of someone like Abed and what you were able to do with this character?
I feel very grateful that I was fortunate enough to be on a show with a role like Abed because I just know it's connected with people in very deep and meaningful ways and ways that I never expected, anticipated, and it's still doing that. So, I just feel fortunate people come up to me and say they feel connected to Abed or Troy and Abed or this show because it spoke to something that they hadn't seen before or they haven't seen themselves represented in a certain way. And that, for me, just feels like a gift because I grew up not seeing myself represented on screen very often. So, to be able to make someone who maybe hasn't seen themself on screen feel represented in any way is really cool. It's kind of an unexpected treat.
And then, it's just nice to have a show that I could, over the pandemic, be like, "Hey, let's watch this show," and laugh about Troy and Abed and being Bert and Ernie. Some of that stuff is just good for the soul.
Speaking of Troy, what would it mean to Abed if they reunited somehow?
I mean, for Abed, this whole group is his family. And I think that's like Mythic Quest, it's a family even though it's a chosen family. Same thing with Greendale. It's a chosen family, right? And so, those are the people that know and get you the most. And I think anyone can relate to that, you know?
I'm just excited 'cause it'll be cool to see where everyone is at now. I think that'd be kind of fun to see.
Well, speaking of that and Mythic Quest, who would you say Brad is closest to and/or knows him the best in terms of his workplace family?
I don't know. That's the interesting thing I've been talking about a little bit is that Brad's a skilled survivalist. But does he open his heart to people? Not really. You get to see glimpses of it here and there. But I think, to me, it's interesting 'cause I wanna know a little bit more about who broke it. Who hurt him, you know? In season 2, we saw a little bit of that, like with his brother and his relationship with Zack, played by Parvesh Cheena, one of my closest friends. You got to see a little bit of the humanity of Brad and it was really touching. So, I'm excited to see if we can kind of dive deeper into that as well, his psyche to see what created this little, playful villain.
In season 4, we need a flashback episode.
Let's do it. Let's see what happened to Bakshi. Let's do a Bakshi backstory. A Bakstory.
The first two episodes of Mythic Quest season 3 are now streaming on Apple TV+, with one new episode weekly through Jan. 6, 2023.
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