Actor Danny Pudi’s Autobiographical Film ‘Running’ Blends ‘Theatricality With Documentary Filmmaking’

Danny Pudi is starring in “Running,” a new, autobiographical film also written by him and directed by Arpita Mukherjee of Hypokrit Productions. The film will be available through Stellar’s streaming platform from Jan. 22 to Feb. 26, 2022, and is being exclusively shown by three South Asian-led arts organizations — Hypokrit Productions, East West Players, and EnActe Arts.

The film follows Pudi’s journey as he sets out to uncover the story of his estranged father by piecing together mementos and stories from old friends — and by having some hard conversations with his mom. Theater Mania notes that “Running” blends theatricality with documentary filmmaking.

“I have been developing this personal story for a few years now,” said Pudi in a statement. “I am deeply grateful to my director Arpita Mukherjee for fiercely advocating for this project at every juncture and to Hypokrit, East West Players, and EnActe for making this project a reality.”

Born Daniel Mark Puri, the son of Indian and Polish immigrants, he made his mark on TV with the portrayal of nerdy film student Abed Nadir, “a lonely, fantasy-living but harmless community-college student” on the critically acclaimed comedy series “Community,” by Dan Harmon.

A comic at heart, Pudi is a founding member of Siblings of Doctors, alongside two other Indian comedians — Ranjit Souri and Rasika Mather — who perform sketch comedy and improv at various comedy festivals around the country. His LA stage credits include “Huck & Holden” (Black Dahlia Theatre), NBC’s “Diversity Showcase” (FalconTheatre), “Token City” (Comedy Central Workspace) and the staged readings“Loyalties” (Pacific Resident Theatre) and “Air Guitar High” (Pasadena Playhouse).

A comic at heart, Pudi is a founding member of Siblings of Doctors, alongside two other Indian comedians — Ranjit Souri and Rasika Mather — who perform sketch comedy and improv at various comedy festivals around the country.

In 2004, Pudi married his college sweetheart Bridget Showalter whom he had met in his freshman year at school. She worked as a teacher while he worked as an actuarial recruiter. The newlyweds left Chicago the following year in 2005 for Los Angeles, so Pudi could pursue an acting career.

After bagging a few commercial spots, Pudi began picking up guest spots on series such as “The West Wing,” “Gilmore Girls” and “Greek.” His career got a boost with a supporting role in the 2009 raunchy direct-to-DVD sequel “Road Trip: Beer Pong.” But it was not until he joined the ensemble of “Community” that put the actor on the map.

Pudi made his directorial debut in 2014 with ESPN Films documentary short “Untucked,” which explores the iconic “untucked” jersey designed by player Bo Ellis and worn in 1977 when Marquette University won its first and only national college basketball championship, premiered in January 2015 at the Sundance Film Festival.

After “Community,” Pudi played Sami Malek in the 2016 comedy movie, “The Tiger Hunter” which co-starred Jon Heder and premiered at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. The film follows a young Indian man who relocates to 1970s Chicago to become an engineer. Making the rounds on the festival circuit, the film has received rave reviews for Pudi and won Best Picture at the prestigious Carmel International Film Festival.

Pudi has also guest-starred in “Star Trek Beyond” in 2016. Pudi followed up those gigs with voice work in “Smurfs: The Lost Village.”

In addition to film roles, Pudi remained focused on TV work. He reunited with “Community” co-star Ken Jeong on “Dr. Ken” along with appearances in “Angie Tribeca” and “Better Things”. The actor then received a starring role in the short-lived sitcom, “Powerless.” His additional television credits include guest-starring roles on “Better Things,” “Royal Pains,” Hot in Cleveland,” “The Bill Engvall Show,” “TripTank,” “Chuck” and “ER.”

In 2011, he made a special crossover appearance in “Cougar Town.”

On the film side, Pudi voiced Little Boy Blue in 2011’s “Hoodwinked Too!”, “Hood vs. Evil” as well as roles in “The Guilt Trip”, “The Pretty One”, “Vijay and I”, and “The Knights of Badassdom.”

Pudi can also be heard voicing Huey in “DuckTales”, a role he first got in 2017. The actor also voices the role of Tiny in Netflix’s animated series, “Harvey Girls Forever”. He then finished off the decade with movie roles in “Good Girls Get High” and “Babysplitters” before attaining another steady gig in Apple TV’s “Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet”, where he stars as Brad Bakshi in the video game workplace series created by Charlie Day and Rob McElhenney.

Other than that, Pudi has voiced Sanjeev Joshi in the Disney Junior series, “Mira, Royal Detective.” He was also seen in “The Argument” a 2020 drama film directed by Robert Schwartzman. The actor also starred as Miller in the Disney+ adaptation of “Flora & Ulysses”, which also involves Alyson Hannigan and Ben Schwartz.

He currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two children – twins, a son named James Timothy and a daughter named Fiona Leigh, who were born in January 2012.