Daniel Mark Pudi was born in Chicago on March 10, 1979, the son of programmer and analyst Teresa and Abraham L. Pudi. His parents immigrated to the U.S. and became naturalized citizens: his mother came from the Polish village of Pokośno, while his father came from the Indian village of Poduru and was of Telugu Christian descent. Pudi grew up speaking Polish with his mother and grandmother. He grew up on the South Side of Chicago with brother Adam and sister Katherine but attended Notre Dame College Prep in Niles, a northern suburb. In 2013, he gave the commencement address at Notre Dame College Prep. Pudi studied dance in Chicago and attended Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, graduating with a degree in communication and theatre in 2001. At Marquette, he 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. He 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, Pokémon, and Far Cry 4. In 2012, he appeared as a celebrity contestant on GSN's version of The Pyramid with fellow Communitycast memberYvette Nicole Brown. He portrayed Arash in the comedy film ', 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". Pudi had a cameo appearance in ', and the live episode of Hot in Cleveland. In the autumn of 2014, Pudi appeared in the Off-Broadway musical FOUND. In February 2017, Pudi began his role as Teddy on the NBC sitcom Powerless. In 2017, Pudi began voicing Huey in the DuckTales reboot.
Personal life
Pudi is married to Bridget Showalter. They met while attending Marquette University in their freshman year. Their twins, a son named James Timothy and a daughter named Fiona Leigh, were born in January 2012. Pudi is also a runner and has completed several marathons.
