List of Community characters
Encyclopedia
Community
is an American comedy television series created by Dan Harmon
. The show revolves around the on-campus exploits of seven students who are connected through their study group at Greendale Community College. The show features eight main characters, Jeff Winger (Joel McHale
), Britta Perry (Gillian Jacobs
), Abed Nadir (Danny Pudi
), Shirley Bennett (Yvette Nicole Brown
), Annie Edison (Alison Brie
), Troy Barnes (Donald Glover
), Señor Chang (Ken Jeong
), and Pierce Hawthorne (Chevy Chase
). The series also features several recurring characters who are the group's fellow students and the teachers at Greendale.
) is a 33-year-old snarky, glib ex-lawyer attending Greendale Community College.
Jeff was a lawyer until the Colorado Bar Association
found out that he did not get a bachelor's degree from Columbia University
but, in fact, got one that was "less than legitimate" and "better than real" from the country of Colombia
. He returns to college by attending Greendale Community College as a deal with the bar in order to prevent him from being disbarred. He consequently hopes to graduate as quickly as possible.
In the pilot, Jeff forms and joins the study group because he is attracted to fellow student Britta whom he hits on, despite her rejection of his advances. However, by the end of the pilot episode, he is kicked out of the group before being asked to join back in. In episode "Spanish 101," he is seen developing a tentative friendship with Pierce Hawthorne, the oldest member of the study group.
After Britta definitively rejects his advances, he begins flirting with his Statistics professor, Professor Slater, and they eventually begin dating. Before this, he shares a number of awkward moments with another study group member, Annie, after she kisses him to win a debate. After Professor Slater breaks up with him, he sleeps with Britta in the study room after a paintball fight in "Modern Warfare." At the end of season one, Britta and a newly interested Professor Slater compete for his affections, culminating in Britta professing her love for him at the school's Tranny Dance. Soon after, he meets Annie outside and they kiss. At the beginning of season two, Britta recants her "I love you," saying she was caught up in the spirit of competition, and he comes to an uneasy understanding with both Britta and Annie. Later in the season, the study group finds out that Britta and Jeff had been hooking up in secret throughout the year, and both of them then realize they have no interest in continuing to hook up.
Jeff is continually sarcastic and often displays much less enthusiasm for Greendale activities than other members in his Spanish study group. Initially, Jeff tends to be manipulative and self-centered towards his study group, but gradually shows an increasing maturity and tolerance for the viewpoints of the other group members and considers them friends. Because of his background as a lawyer and his compelling personality, many people, including Dean Pelton and Señor Chang, seek help from him. These ventures include stints as a member of the debate team and editor of the school paper as well as efforts to improve Chang's professional and love lives. Due to his competitive nature and air of superiority, Jeff has a difficult relationship with his accounting, billiards, and pottery teacher when he ends up doing poorly in their class. Jeff enjoys being in positions of authority. and acts as the effective leader of the group. It becomes apparent that several members of the group rely on him playing this role, while Pierce tends to insult Jeff whenever he can, despite his lack of wit.
) was born in Riverside, Colorado in October 1980. Britta has two older brothers, one of whom works with children with some type of special disorder in a hospital. On her eleventh birthday an eager-handed man in a dinosaur costume intruded in on her party at a restaurant. This event has haunted her into adulthood.
Britta decided to drop out of high school because she thought it would impress Radiohead
. After dropping out of school, she started vandalizing billboards around the area where she grew up. During the vandalizing she became friends with other people who liked to vandalize. The friends created a small group of "anarchist billboard vandals". When the group grew larger she was kicked out, due to the democratic voting system the anarchists used to vote her out. Soon after her departure, the group developed into a high-end advertising firm. After her fallout she joined the Peace Corps, did some foot modeling, got teargassed at a World Trade rally and took an extended vacation in Africa
. Realizing she needed to do something with her life, Britta got her G.E.D. and enrolled at Greendale. In the Season 3 premiere, Britta tells the study group that she's decided to major in Psychology and work towards becoming a therapist, a career goal the study group is extremely skeptical about.
She is often the voice of reason within the group but is often mocked by fellow members for her excessively pronounced East Coast sensibilities, as well as her rigid moral code. Notably, the group makes fun of her for pronouncing the word "bagel
" strangely, and for being a vegetarian
. Additionally, while the group appreciates the role she plays, they sometimes refer to her as a "buzzkill" and the group's least fun member, something Britta initially bridled at but has since learned to take in stride. Characters also frequently refer to Britta as being 'the worst' due to her outspoken nature and opinions. In Season 2, it is revealed that she is having severe financial difficulties, and that she has begun working as a waitress at a rundown diner--where the manager hates her, she earns no tips, and she eventually gets fired.
Although she has unceasingly tried to portray a lack of romantic interest in Jeff, one episode shows she may have recently given in to secret feelings for him. She eventually sleeps with him during a prolonged paintball match and later embarrasses herself by admitting her "love" for him, which she claims, in the end, was merely the result of her compulsive competition with Professor Slater. Surprisingly, this false admission makes her more popular at the beginning of her second year by giving her a reputation for fearlessness. Britta and Jeff like to think of themselves as the group's mom and dad, and often assume they know what is best for their friends; this dynamic of their relationship is explored in several episodes, culminating in Troy's realization on his 21st birthday that they are just as dumb as he. It is later revealed by Abed that Britta and Jeff have had an affair throughout Season Two, and while the group didn't really care, the fact that their fling was no longer secret ruined any interest they had in continuing it.
) is a trilingual (English, Arabic, and Polish) Palestinian
/Polish
-American pop-culture junkie who aspires to become a director and is currently taking film directing classes at Greendale Community College. His original plan at Greendale was to take business classes to eventually help run his father's falafel
stand, but this became his backup plan when Britta inspired him to pursue his true passion. While he has emotion and sympathy for his new friends, he speaks with a rather detached and emotionless tone, as well as with a distinct straightforwardness lacking a mental filter, leading some of his friends to suspect he has Asperger's
. However, he is also intelligent and (alone among the study group) grades out as almost-100% non-violent in a psychology questionnaire Britta had the group fill out; everyone else had either a majority or nearly all of the questions about violent tendencies answered in a variation of "Yes, I have those."
Despite his odd social behavior, Abed seems to be competent at attracting females. He also gleans certain insights on life using comparisons to various television shows and movies. This talent translates into him usually meta referencing
their lives in relation to the show, by commenting on the dynamic of the characters together, their story lines, and can sometimes predict exactly what they will do at a given time. This gift combined with his ability to personify anyone he chooses allows him to help his friends work out their mental baggage. He also possesses many hidden talents that usually go overlooked such as being surprisingly athletic and coordinated.
Abed and Troy share a uniquely close friendship, leading others in the group to comment on their "weird little relationship"; the closing credit sequence is almost always about them filming skits or pulling pranks together. Abed initially hurt Troy's feelings at the end of Season 1 by making it clear he did not want them to become dormitory roommates, but he later explained that he did not want to ruin their friendship through the extreme and constant proximity of them living together. In Season 3, Abed and Troy have become roommates in an off-campus apartment.
) is a recently divorced mother of three who attends Greendale Community College. Shirley is a devoted Christian and is very sweet but also has thinly veiled rage issues and gossips compulsively. She is proud to be an African American and a woman but appreciates not being defined by those characteristics. She is very friendly to everyone, but sometimes has problems minding her own business or keeping secrets.
She was very slow to show tolerance for the faiths of the multiple non-Christian members of the study group (apparently, she also tried to covertly baptize Annie, who is Jewish and did not appreciate the attempt). She also feels uncomfortable sometimes about being a much more devout Christian than anyone at Greendale.
At Greendale, Shirley is taking classes which will allow her to market her baked goods, specifically her famous brownies. Within the study group, she is particularly friendly with Annie and Britta, yet is often angry at Pierce given his tendency to accidentally say racist things and absentmindedly harass her. In the Halloween episode of season two, she and Chang hook up after bonding over how their costumes are misunderstood (she being Glinda the Good Witch and not Miss Piggy
and he being Peggy Fleming
and not Kristi Yamaguchi
or Michelle Kwan
). She was divorced at the time but reconnects with her ex-husband before learning about the pregnancy. Beyond the evidence of a voice mail that Chang sent to Troy, however, no one remembers this incident due to the Army wiping their memory and blaming it on roofies after a zombie incident. During the episode 'Cooperative Calligraphy' it is revealed she has a home pregnancy test in her bag. In 'Asian Population Studies', Shirley's pregnancy is confirmed, with the father possibly being Chang. The baby is born in 'Applied Anthropology and Culinary Arts' in an anthropology classroom and is her husband's. She decides to name the baby Ben after Chang as he helped her during the delivery.
In 'Mixology Certification' it is revealed that Shirley once had a heavy drinking problem, and becomes furious when the group finds out despite them being pleased she once had a wild side.
), born in December 1990, is a strait-laced Jewish twenty-year-old who is in her third year at Greendale Community College. She lost her virginity to her high school boyfriend "to Madonna's Erotica
on the floor of his walk-in closet", but due to him being a closeted homosexual, he refused to let her see his penis, an organ she has still never seen. She lost her college scholarship and dropped out of high school due to an addiction to Adderall
, having a nervous breakdown that culminated in her jumping through a window yelling "Everyone's a robot!" Against the wishes of her mother, she chose to confront the addiction and go to rehab, and is currently estranged from her family. In Season 2, the group learns she is living in a horrible neighborhood (in an apartment situated over an all-night sex shop) and Troy and Abed invite her to move into their new place in Season 3.
Though younger than most of the group, she is also by far the most studious and the most serious, becoming very intense about grades and school activities. She has a talent for making the other study group members feel guilty, using her "Disney face". A noticeably cheerful person, she is enthusiastic when it comes to helping out the school, both writing for the school paper and participating on the debate team, along with organizing school events. She also takes the cohesion of the study group more seriously than the other members and, in trying to get the group to retake Spanish 102, gets Señor Chang fired for his fake degree. However, she has been shown to choose her own interests over keeping the group intact, first by choosing to leave Greendale and the group to follow her boyfriend Vaughn to another college and later by deciding to exclude Jeff from the group and her friendship during his 3rd season premiere nervous breakdown; however, in both cases no harm is done and Annie remains in both Greendale and the study group. Annie's naivete often means that she is less involved with the more immoral practices of the group though she has been involved in them on occasion and genuinely enjoys spending time with them. Annie has the self-assigned nickname "Irony Free Annie".
She used to pine after Troy, on whom she had a crush since high school but stops when she begins dating another student, Vaughn. While she initially intends to transfer from Greendale and join Vaughn in Delaware, she decides to stay for the second year. At the end of the first season, it appears as if she has developed a romantic dynamic with Jeff, whom she kissed both to win a debate competition and at the end of the season. While she is still interested in Jeff at the beginning of the second season, after the study group learns he'd had sex with Britta during the paintball episode she begins to think of him as "gross". Later in the season she develops a crush on Dr. Rich, a fellow Greendale student that Jeff had clashed with. While he seems to return her affections he turns down her advances due to their age difference. There have been indications that Annie may still harbor feelings for Jeff, and it has been suggested that he may feel similarly. At the end of season two, she shares a passionate kiss with Abed during the paintball match, however this was due to Abed portraying himself as Han Solo, and putting her in the role of Princess Leia in his mind.
), born December 4, 1989, is a former high school football star who now attends Greendale Community College. Born and raised in Greendale, Colorado, Troy made a name for himself as the varsity quarterback of his high school football team, and was also prom king. He injured himself during a "keg flip" in high school that cost him a football scholarship, an injury he later revealed to be intentional because he could not take the pressure of a talent scout at a big game. He now plays quarterback for the nonathletic Greendale Human Beings, saying he would rather play football for fun.
While he starts off hanging out with Pierce at Greendale, he becomes best friends with Abed who shares his peculiar sense of humor. The two spend most of their time at Greendale together and most episodes end with one of their antics. As the two hang out over the course of the first two seasons, Troy gradually discounts his identity as a jock and embraces the notion of being a nerd. In doing this, he saves the whole school in season two's Halloween episode. Troy's fondness of Abed is such to the point that he dumps an attractive librarian immediately after she calls Abed weird and becoming jealous when he suspects Jeff and Abed will become best friends after Jeff throws Abed a Pulp Fiction themed birthday party and gets him a replica briefcase from the actual movie.
Instead of being Abed's roommate for their sophomore year, however, Troy decides to live in Pierce's mansion. While living with him over the summer, Troy started up a Twitter account documenting unintentionally funny things Pierce says at "oldwhitemansays," which Pierce was originally angry at but embraced after learning the account had 600,000 followers. Troy often feels the need to assert that Shirley is not his mom. Long oblivious to the crush that Annie has on him, Troy later makes a few broad attempts at wooing her. In the 2nd season, it is hinted that Troy has feelings for Britta and reaches the point of lying about having his uncle molest him to take advantage of Britta's attraction to men with pain. He kisses her but comes clean about his lie and is disappointed when she claims kissing him was a mistake. He hints that he would not mind being in a relationship with her.
Troy is a Jehovah's Witness, as revealed in the episode "Comparative Religion". Though he tries to deny it, he is extremely talented at plumbing. He also plays down his serious interest in interpretive dance, which conflicts with his image as a football player. Notably dim-witted, Troy has a number of unique opinions and beliefs, such as that there are only boy dogs and girl cats. He has evolved from the start of the series as a cocky, selfish, image-obsessed boy to a silly and emotional yet good-hearted and responsible man. His lifetime idol is actor LeVar Burton
, but he was so terrified to meet Burton in person that when he did so he went catatonic.
), usually referred to as Señor Chang, was originally the group's unhinged Spanish teacher. In the first season, he is the only main character who is not a member of the Spanish study group. At the end of the first season, however, it is revealed that he does not actually have any teaching qualifications and that, like Jeff, he will have to attend Greendale as a student in order to get a degree.
He can be quite theatrical at times (once even faking his own death to get a rise out of his students), and also has a huge ego and anger management
issues. It is made clear in multiple episodes that he initially takes certain situations way too seriously: In "Modern Warfare", he tries to eliminate Jeff and Britta by shooting at them with an automatic paintball gun, and later activates a bomb of paint hidden in his jacket to eliminate Jeff. Also, in season 3, he claims to be a "detective" of the school after being on the Security team for a month, and starts hunting for clues to solve a "case" after meeting a distressed student (which in reality was just a coincidence) and later burns down a section of the school while doing so. These over-the-top personality traits veil deep issues of being left by his wife, with whom he was later reunited, although this did not hinder his rash behavior towards his students afterward.
Chang has an antagonistic relationship with almost every student and faculty member at Greendale. He is on especially bad terms with Professor Duncan, who potentially foreshadows Chang's lack of teaching qualifications early in the series when he notes Chang demands to be called "Señor" because he is not a real professor. In the first season finale, Chang and Duncan come to blows when Chang becomes a student and Duncan is suspended from teaching, resulting in a physical battle at the end of the year dance. Though Duncan gets a restraining order against him, Chang in turn nullifies this by getting a restraining order against Duncan, thus allowing him to take his anthropology class. They seem to have formed a grudging respect for each other since.
His brother is Rabbi
Chang, who ironically criticizes Señor Chang on his confusing title and behavior. He enjoys jetting around on a scooter
, plays the keytar
as an instrument, and has a history of having his clothes stolen from the local YMCA
. According to Chang in "Modern Warfare," he plays paintball
three times a week, and he uses his skill in the sport against Jeff and Britta. As a student, he seeks a degree in music theory
so that he can use his keytar skills professionally. In the Halloween
episode of season two, he and Shirley have a sexual interlude after they bond over how their costumes are misunderstood (she being Glinda the Good Witch and not Miss Piggy
, and he being Peggy Fleming
and not Kristi Yamaguchi
or Michelle Kwan
). Beyond the evidence of a voicemail that Chang sent to Troy, however, no one remembers this incident due to a government coverup of the entire Halloween party.
His self-proclaimed nickname is "El Tigre Chino" (Spanish: "The Chinese Tiger") and he owns a black jacket which has on the back that moniker and the image of a Bengal tiger
. His office features a portrait of him as a matador
with "El Tigre" at the bottom and a statue of a tiger.
In the second season, he is in the same anthropology class as the study group. In the episode "Anthropology 101", after he asks the study group to let him join them, he is then seen in the study room secretly plotting his revenge on them for getting him fired, switching between evil and good sides in a manner similar to the character Gollum
from The Lord of the Rings
. He eventually joins the study group in the episode "Asian Population Studies" after being voted in over Rich. He proves his worth in the next episode helping Annie and the group save their drug awareness play from Pierce's antics. Chang wants to get to know Shirley after he finds out that he may have impregnated her on Halloween, a night which no one at Greendale can remember. His rescue of Annie initially seems to win over Shirley, however she is visibly disturbed to see his extremely unbalanced behavior. He later moves in with Jeff after his wife throws him out again (after he confesses about his fling with Shirley) but Jeff grows sick of his stupid, unbalanced behavior and finally orders him out. However, his behavior in helping Shirley when she goes into labor during a riot at Greendale wins her over to the point that after the baby (whose father is Shirley's former husband Andre) is born, she decides to name her newborn son Ben after him.
In the third season premiere, Chang is still homeless, and has taken to living in the air ducts on the Greendale campus. When Dean Pelton discovers this (by Chang being driven into his office during the pest-control operation), he offers Chang room and board in exchange for working as a security guard. When the rest of the security staff soon quits, including Sgt. Nunez, he becomes head of campus security.
) is a moist towelette tycoon attending Greendale Community College. His father created Hawthorne Wipes, the award-winning moist towelette company. He claims to be a world traveler, a toastmaster
, magician, keyboardist and self-styled hypnotherapist, and considers himself a "quality of life person".
He enrolled in Greendale in 1999 looking for companionship and popularity, but is held back by his clumsiness and his lack of tact. Much older than most Greendale students, he is sometimes disoriented by youth culture while still trying to embrace it. He also unknowingly buys into many sexist and racist stereotypes which often lead him to unintentionally make offensive statements, the nature of which he's completely unaware. Much of this is directed at Shirley, whom he sometimes mistakes for other black women; Abed, whom he suspects being a terrorist because he is Muslim; and Jeff, whom he actively tries to insult in an attempt to be cool, despite his inability to do so with wit. This leads Troy to start up a popular Twitter account with 600,000 followers called "oldwhitemansays", documenting anything outrageous said by Pierce. After his behavior became untenable in Season 2, the study group put Pierce on a "diet" with a strict limit on when and how often he can say offensive things. Although he has occasionally made rude comments about Jews, he has also said that Annie Edison (the only Jewish member of the group) is his favorite person in it. Given his age and his eccentricity, Pierce occasionally surprises his friends with wise insight and support when they truly need it.
Though he considers himself to be a "Reformed Neo-Buddhist," he is actually a member of an obscure religious cult. This plays an important role when his mother dies in season two and Pierce believes his "Buddhist" teachings that she will be reborn, carrying a canister of what he thinks is his mother's soul around. When, along with Jeff and Troy, he listens to a CD made by his mother telling him she's gone and encouraging him to let her go and live his life, Pierce simply shrugs it off as her losing her mind. At the same time, Jeff decides he's better off with that rationale and lets him continue with his belief.
Pierce has been married seven times and has 32 "ex-stepchildren" he tries to be close with, though most of them either avoid him or take advantage of him for his wealth. He is the author of Greendale's unusual school song and was for a brief time a member of Vaughn's band. He is also incredibly claustrophobic. Because of his moist towelette business, Pierce is very wealthy and owns a mansion, where Troy also lives over the summer and during the second year. It has been shown that Pierce may often act out due to the utter lack of attention and care his father, also a business tycoon, showed him as a child. His father even went to the extent of hiring another child to play Pierce in a commercial while berating and insulting the real Pierce.
In Season 2, Pierce becomes more and more annoyed at the study group for leaving him out of their activities. He temporarily joins an elderly group of students who act like teenagers called the Hipsters, to feel accepted. He breaks both of his legs in a trampoline accident after revealing a secret trampoline Jeff and Troy were hiding. To move around, he buys himself an ineffective wheelchair powered by his breath, which he claims to have outbid three hospitals for. After this, he grows dependent on his painkillers and also becomes increasingly at-odds with the study group because of the combination of his nasty behavior and their tendency to exclude him from their activities. He begins to play the role of the study group's villain but both trends seem to subside when he comes to terms with the group after overdosing on his painkillers. These underlying tensions come to a head in "A Fistful of Paintballs", however, when it's revealed that the other members of the group secretly took a vote about whether they'd include him in the group next year, with only Annie voting to keep him in; by the end of "For A Few Paintballs More", while the other group members have reconsidered and are willing to let him back in the group, Pierce says he's not interested in staying with "whatever this is". He also tells the group that he assumes all of his relationships will end, which is why he constantly tests and provokes people, and why he's had seven divorces and never kept a group of friends at Greendale for longer than a semester (until he joined the study group).
However, at the start of Season 3, he promptly returns and rejoins the study group.
His father, also a racist, was named Cornelius Hawthorne, wore a carved ivory wig and walked with a cane.
) was an educator at Greendale Community College for 10 years, and has been dean for four years. He desperately wants his school to be more like a "real" university and thus he strives to better it, often asking favors of the students and trying to earn popularity. He also goes to strenuous and excessive lengths to seem politically correct and is responsible for changing the school's team name from the Greendale Grizzlies to the Greendale Human Beings. However, acts such as these only further his candid racism and prejudices as he states that the primary reason for the title change was that "most of these people have been called animals their entire lives". He manages Greendale's budget rather poorly, for example, the $6,000 judge's table next to their Olympic-size swimming pool, and funding five dances every year. He seemingly has a crush on Jeff, and uses him to improve the school's fledgling extra-curricular programs, pressuring him to join the debate team, edit the school's newspaper, and convince Troy to play quarterback for the football team. Among other hints at sexual proclivities such as late-night visits to truck stops and public restrooms, he has had a growing fetish for people in dalmatian costumes, which he believes he has pursued in secrecy, but seems to be common enough knowledge to the students and faculty. Dean Pelton has a tendency toward transvestism
; he has been known to dress up like female pop culture icons such as Tina Turner
, Catwoman
, Scarlett O'Hara
, Lady Gaga
, as well as other general feminine costumes including an America-themed outfit. He is currently writing a novel called Time Desk, focused on the adventures of a character called Dean Dangerous which Jeff says will never be published, and is the "worst book he will read cover to cover."
) is a British-born professor of psychology at Greendale Community College. Though Jeff once successfully represented him as a lawyer by exploiting the legal system, Duncan refuses to help him cheat. He also has a certain self-importance complex as made evident when one of his infamous theories was disproved. He provides free therapy to several students including Britta and, at one point, hopes to write about Abed's issues for a book deal. He also has a rivalry with Señor Chang and cheerfully antagonizes Chang over being fired and subsequently becoming a student at Greendale. At the end of the first season, he is suspended by Dean Pelton for his drunken behavior at a school function, prompting Chang to punch Duncan in the face with a roll of quarters and attack him. Because of this, he temporarily gets a restraining order against Chang, which he abuses by chasing him around and preventing him from getting to places. After Greendale suspended Professor Bauer, he took over her anthropology class, despite his complete lack of knowledge about the subject. Despite his boorish behavior, Duncan is often able to figure out Jeff's problems with himself, which he points out to Jeff. As is alluded to several times over the course of his appearances, Duncan appears to have a drinking problem.
) is an accounting professor at Greendale Community College, the college's debate coach, and a strong believer in carpe diem
. Despite believing that Whitman would be an easy teacher, Jeff had trouble passing his accounting class since the highly eccentric and excessively exuberant Whitman grades his students not on their academics but on how well they "seize the day". In later incidents, he instructs Jeff as coach of the debate team and offers him unsolicited advice on how to lead his life fully in different circumstances.
) is the theatrical drama instructor at Greendale. He gets involved in a conspiracy intrigue with Jeff, Annie and Dean Pelton, when he mysteriously poses as Jeff's fake Conspiracy Theories night school class teacher, "Professor Professorson". He later teaches Troy and Britta in an elective acting class and directs Troy in an all-black cast stage production of Fiddler on the Roof
, entitled, "Fiddla Please".
) is an anthropology professor at Greendale. Though very old, she is a blunt speaker and a surprisingly good fighter. Bauer has engaged in many worldly yet strange pursuits, such as hunting monkeys with a blow gun in the Amazon
and drinking her own urine for its health benefits. She is also not afraid of attacking her students, shooting a disrespectful Star-Burns with a blow gun and nearly killing Jeff with her weapon of nine weapons, after which she gets suspended from teaching. She then leaves Greendale to go to the Democratic Republic of the Congo
.
) is head of Greendale's air conditioner repair annex and the true power behind Greendale. When Dean Pelton decides to confront Laybourne over the annex requesting a cappucino machine, the very stern and intimidating Laybourne shows him that the air conditioning annex is the main source of Greendale's funding and that he thus holds complete power over the dean's office. Later, upon learning Troy's plumbing abilities, Laybourne tries to recruit him to the air conditioner annex.
) is the biology teacher at Greendale, who is noticeably more serious and intense than other Greendale professors. He just came off of a twenty year prison sentence and is baffled by some of the ways in which the world has since changed.
) is a middle-aged student at Greendale Community College known for his copious facial hair and sideburns shaped like stars. He is a member of the campus' "cool study group", and a true music lover. Though Star Burns is habitually laid back and sloppily dressed, he has a son who, in stark contrast to him, is incredibly businesslike. In Season 2's "Intro to Political Science," he admits to being a drug dealer. He takes a number of classes with the main characters including Spanish and Boating. He worked in the school cafeteria until the group got him fired for siphoning off chicken fingers for his friends. For the most part, however, he is disconnected from the group and he sometimes seems confused as to who the individual members in the group actually are. He does know who Jeff is, and acts as the impromptu campus spokesman after Britta and Professor Slater both declare their love for him by saying everyone's waiting for Jeff's response to what happened. Though he enjoys the attention he receives with his sideburns, he craves an identity beyond them and begins wearing a top hat at the beginning of the second season to draw attention away from them. He eventually grows irritated with the nickname "Star-Burns", unsuccessfully insisting that people call him "Alex" instead. In the third season premiere, he also gains a lizard which perches on his shoulder. It is also revealed in that episode that he sells marijuana.
) is an elderly man who is studying business at Greendale Community College. He and Jeff have a comically antagonistic relationship and both take billiards for PE credit. Though noticeably older than the other students at Greendale, he acts in as reckless and laid-back a fashion as most young adults, often using slang and engaging in such activities as playing pranks and bass guitar and encountering "pregnancy scares". He leads a rowdy, disobedient band of elderly Greendale students called the "Hipsters" (because they all apparently have hip replacements), which Pierce temporarily joins. He has children, though they are never seen on camera. In the season two finale he claims to have been one of the Little Rascals, to have been in "few real wars" and to have been banned from the Denny's
near the fifteen exit. During the student election episode from Season Two, he ran for office, using the surname "Rodriguez" in an attempt to court the Latino vote.
) is a permanently shirtless, earth-friendly mellow student with small nipples who is the lead singer of a rock band at Greendale Community College. A frequent hacky sack
and Ultimate
Frisbee player, he has had several notable interactions with the show's main characters, as he initially dated Britta and was in a band with Pierce. Though he at first seems very laid back and peaceful, he started writing popular hate songs about Britta and Pierce after his relationships with them turned sour. However, he and Annie began a relationship, much to the bemusement of Jeff, Britta, and Troy and later, Shirley. At the end of the first season, he transfers to a community college in Delaware because of their strong hacky sack athletic program, and Annie initially decided to join him there before changing her mind.
) is a student who is in Jeff's pottery class, that Jeff grows jealous of for his skills. An accomplished doctor who is continually friendly and well-liked by everyone, he stands in stark contrast to Jeff who tries to catch him as a ringer. Nicknamed "Doc Potterywood" by Jeff, it is implied that Jeff may actually have been right and Rich had secretly taken previous pottery classes at different colleges. It is hinted at the end of 'Beginner Pottery' that his relationship with his mother is extremely strained as opposed to Jeff's loving one with his mother, further showing the stark contrast between them. Rich had a brother who died in a roller-coaster accident. He spends time with the study group again in the season two Halloween episode, when he attempts to treat the infected students while dressed as a banana and causes Jeff to openly admit his hatred for him. After spending winter break volunteering with Annie, he joins Duncan's anthropology class and unsuccessfully competes against Chang for a spot in the study group. When he turns down a date with Annie due to her young age, Jeff begins to admire his ethics and seeks life-advice from him although it is to abuse the power Rich gets from everyone loving him.
. Jeff, who accidentally coined the name "Fat Neil" at Greendale, attempts to make it up to him after he thinks Neil is considering suicide. Jeff organizes a Dungeons & Dragons
game with the study group (without Pierce) where Neil, a huge D&D fan, will save the day. Though Pierce attempts to sabotage the event and mocks Neil, Neil still regains his confidence after winning the game. It is implied in "Applied Anthropology and Culinary Arts
" that he and Vicki have feelings for each other.
), short for "Magnetic Attitude", is a student at Greendale who is described as a "One man party." He is usually shown wearing a collared shirt, tie, and some patterned article of clothing on top of that (a plaid vest, argyle sweater, etc.). His consistently repeated catchphrase is "Pop pop!", which comprises almost everything he says to the point of absurdity. At one point, his age was stated as 16 years old. It is also implied that he is disliked by the faculty staff particularly Professor Marshall Kane.
) is Shirley's ex-husband. Though he had cheated on her, he becomes her boyfriend again after learning of her pregnancy and stays loyal to her even after discovering that Chang could be the father. Surprisingly, he also takes a much kinder approach toward Chang than the study group does.
) is Abed's father, with whom Abed has a rather difficult relationship. While Mr. Nadir wants Abed to take over the family's falafel
restaurant, Abed plans to become a film director. Abed also thinks Gobi blames him for his mother leaving them. Gobi is a very protective yet argumentative father, but he learns to accept the fact that his son needs filmmaking to express himself. Gobi appears on Family Day and disapproves of the lenient way in which Shirley raises her boys.
) is the dean of rivaling City College, who makes several subversive efforts to shut Greendale down. Like Dean Pelton, he seems to have an ambiguous sexuality.
) is the head janitor at Greendale. After he learns of Troy's supreme plumbing abilities, he makes several attempts to convince him to become a plumber and warns him against becoming an air-conditioning repair man.
Community (TV series)
Community is an American television comedy series created by Dan Harmon that airs on NBC. The series is about a group of students at a community college in the fictional locale of Greendale, Colorado. The series heavily uses meta-humor and pop culture references, often parodying film and television...
is an American comedy television series created by Dan Harmon
Dan Harmon
Dan Harmon is a writer and performer. He is the creator and an executive producer for the NBC television comedy series Community, and, along with Rob Schrab, a founder of the alternative television network/website Channel 101....
. The show revolves around the on-campus exploits of seven students who are connected through their study group at Greendale Community College. The show features eight main characters, Jeff Winger (Joel McHale
Joel McHale
Joel Edward McHale is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, television producer, television personality, and voice artist. He is best known for hosting The Soup and for his role as Jeff Winger on Community....
), Britta Perry (Gillian Jacobs
Gillian Jacobs
Gillian Jacobs is an American film, theatre and television actress, best known for her role as Britta Perry on the NBC comedy series Community.-Personal life:...
), Abed Nadir (Danny Pudi
Danny Pudi
Danny Pudi is an American actor, best known for his role as Abed Nadir on the NBC comedy series Community.-Early years:Pudi, who is of Indian and Polish descent, was born and raised in Chicago and grew up speaking Polish...
), Shirley Bennett (Yvette Nicole Brown
Yvette Nicole Brown
Yvette Nicole Brown is an American actress and comedian. Brown has appeared in various commercials, television shows, and films throughout her career...
), Annie Edison (Alison Brie
Alison Brie
-External links:...
), Troy Barnes (Donald Glover
Donald Glover
Donald McKinley Glover is an American actor, writer, comedian, and musician. Glover first came to attention for his work in the sketch group Derrick Comedy, and is best known for his role as community college student Troy Barnes on the NBC comedy series Community...
), Señor Chang (Ken Jeong
Ken Jeong
Kendrick Kang-Joh "Ken" Jeong , also known as "Dr. Ken," is an American comedian, actor, and physician. Currently, he appears as Ben Chang on the NBC comedy series Community.-Early life and medical career:...
), and Pierce Hawthorne (Chevy Chase
Chevy Chase
Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase is an American comedian, writer, and television and film actor, born into a prominent entertainment industry family. Chase worked a plethora of odd jobs before moving into comedy acting with National Lampoon...
). The series also features several recurring characters who are the group's fellow students and the teachers at Greendale.
Main characters
The show revolves around the on-campus exploits of seven students who are connected through their study group at Greendale Community College.Jeff Winger
Jeffrey Tobias "Jeff" Winger (Joel McHaleJoel McHale
Joel Edward McHale is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, television producer, television personality, and voice artist. He is best known for hosting The Soup and for his role as Jeff Winger on Community....
) is a 33-year-old snarky, glib ex-lawyer attending Greendale Community College.
Jeff was a lawyer until the Colorado Bar Association
Law and Government of Colorado
The Constitution of the State of Colorado provides for three branches of government: the legislative, the executive, and the judicial branches.-Sovereignty of the people:...
found out that he did not get a bachelor's degree from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
but, in fact, got one that was "less than legitimate" and "better than real" from the country of Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
. He returns to college by attending Greendale Community College as a deal with the bar in order to prevent him from being disbarred. He consequently hopes to graduate as quickly as possible.
In the pilot, Jeff forms and joins the study group because he is attracted to fellow student Britta whom he hits on, despite her rejection of his advances. However, by the end of the pilot episode, he is kicked out of the group before being asked to join back in. In episode "Spanish 101," he is seen developing a tentative friendship with Pierce Hawthorne, the oldest member of the study group.
After Britta definitively rejects his advances, he begins flirting with his Statistics professor, Professor Slater, and they eventually begin dating. Before this, he shares a number of awkward moments with another study group member, Annie, after she kisses him to win a debate. After Professor Slater breaks up with him, he sleeps with Britta in the study room after a paintball fight in "Modern Warfare." At the end of season one, Britta and a newly interested Professor Slater compete for his affections, culminating in Britta professing her love for him at the school's Tranny Dance. Soon after, he meets Annie outside and they kiss. At the beginning of season two, Britta recants her "I love you," saying she was caught up in the spirit of competition, and he comes to an uneasy understanding with both Britta and Annie. Later in the season, the study group finds out that Britta and Jeff had been hooking up in secret throughout the year, and both of them then realize they have no interest in continuing to hook up.
Jeff is continually sarcastic and often displays much less enthusiasm for Greendale activities than other members in his Spanish study group. Initially, Jeff tends to be manipulative and self-centered towards his study group, but gradually shows an increasing maturity and tolerance for the viewpoints of the other group members and considers them friends. Because of his background as a lawyer and his compelling personality, many people, including Dean Pelton and Señor Chang, seek help from him. These ventures include stints as a member of the debate team and editor of the school paper as well as efforts to improve Chang's professional and love lives. Due to his competitive nature and air of superiority, Jeff has a difficult relationship with his accounting, billiards, and pottery teacher when he ends up doing poorly in their class. Jeff enjoys being in positions of authority. and acts as the effective leader of the group. It becomes apparent that several members of the group rely on him playing this role, while Pierce tends to insult Jeff whenever he can, despite his lack of wit.
Britta Perry
Britta Perry (Gillian JacobsGillian Jacobs
Gillian Jacobs is an American film, theatre and television actress, best known for her role as Britta Perry on the NBC comedy series Community.-Personal life:...
) was born in Riverside, Colorado in October 1980. Britta has two older brothers, one of whom works with children with some type of special disorder in a hospital. On her eleventh birthday an eager-handed man in a dinosaur costume intruded in on her party at a restaurant. This event has haunted her into adulthood.
Britta decided to drop out of high school because she thought it would impress Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
. After dropping out of school, she started vandalizing billboards around the area where she grew up. During the vandalizing she became friends with other people who liked to vandalize. The friends created a small group of "anarchist billboard vandals". When the group grew larger she was kicked out, due to the democratic voting system the anarchists used to vote her out. Soon after her departure, the group developed into a high-end advertising firm. After her fallout she joined the Peace Corps, did some foot modeling, got teargassed at a World Trade rally and took an extended vacation in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. Realizing she needed to do something with her life, Britta got her G.E.D. and enrolled at Greendale. In the Season 3 premiere, Britta tells the study group that she's decided to major in Psychology and work towards becoming a therapist, a career goal the study group is extremely skeptical about.
She is often the voice of reason within the group but is often mocked by fellow members for her excessively pronounced East Coast sensibilities, as well as her rigid moral code. Notably, the group makes fun of her for pronouncing the word "bagel
Bagel
A bagel is a bread product, traditionally shaped by hand into the form of a ring from yeasted wheat dough, roughly hand-sized, which is first boiled for a short time in water and then baked. The result is a dense, chewy, doughy interior with a browned and sometimes crisp exterior...
" strangely, and for being a vegetarian
Vegetarianism
Vegetarianism encompasses the practice of following plant-based diets , with or without the inclusion of dairy products or eggs, and with the exclusion of meat...
. Additionally, while the group appreciates the role she plays, they sometimes refer to her as a "buzzkill" and the group's least fun member, something Britta initially bridled at but has since learned to take in stride. Characters also frequently refer to Britta as being 'the worst' due to her outspoken nature and opinions. In Season 2, it is revealed that she is having severe financial difficulties, and that she has begun working as a waitress at a rundown diner--where the manager hates her, she earns no tips, and she eventually gets fired.
Although she has unceasingly tried to portray a lack of romantic interest in Jeff, one episode shows she may have recently given in to secret feelings for him. She eventually sleeps with him during a prolonged paintball match and later embarrasses herself by admitting her "love" for him, which she claims, in the end, was merely the result of her compulsive competition with Professor Slater. Surprisingly, this false admission makes her more popular at the beginning of her second year by giving her a reputation for fearlessness. Britta and Jeff like to think of themselves as the group's mom and dad, and often assume they know what is best for their friends; this dynamic of their relationship is explored in several episodes, culminating in Troy's realization on his 21st birthday that they are just as dumb as he. It is later revealed by Abed that Britta and Jeff have had an affair throughout Season Two, and while the group didn't really care, the fact that their fling was no longer secret ruined any interest they had in continuing it.
Abed Nadir
Abed Nadir (Danny PudiDanny Pudi
Danny Pudi is an American actor, best known for his role as Abed Nadir on the NBC comedy series Community.-Early years:Pudi, who is of Indian and Polish descent, was born and raised in Chicago and grew up speaking Polish...
) is a trilingual (English, Arabic, and Polish) Palestinian
Palestinian American
Palestinian Americans are Americans of Palestinian ancestry. It is difficult to say when the first Palestinian immigrants arrived at the United States; however, many of the first immigrants to arrive were Christians escaping persecution from the Ottoman Empire in the late 19th century...
/Polish
Polish American
A Polish American , is a citizen of the United States of Polish descent. There are an estimated 10 million Polish Americans, representing about 3.2% of the population of the United States...
-American pop-culture junkie who aspires to become a director and is currently taking film directing classes at Greendale Community College. His original plan at Greendale was to take business classes to eventually help run his father's falafel
Falafel
Falafel is a deep-fried ball or patty made from ground chickpeas and/or fava beans. Falafel is usually served in a pita, which acts as a pocket, or wrapped in a flatbread known as lafa. The falafel balls are topped with salads, pickled vegetables, hot sauce, and drizzled with tahini-based sauces...
stand, but this became his backup plan when Britta inspired him to pursue his true passion. While he has emotion and sympathy for his new friends, he speaks with a rather detached and emotionless tone, as well as with a distinct straightforwardness lacking a mental filter, leading some of his friends to suspect he has Asperger's
Asperger syndrome
Asperger's syndrome that is characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction, alongside restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests. It differs from other autism spectrum disorders by its relative preservation of linguistic and cognitive development...
. However, he is also intelligent and (alone among the study group) grades out as almost-100% non-violent in a psychology questionnaire Britta had the group fill out; everyone else had either a majority or nearly all of the questions about violent tendencies answered in a variation of "Yes, I have those."
Despite his odd social behavior, Abed seems to be competent at attracting females. He also gleans certain insights on life using comparisons to various television shows and movies. This talent translates into him usually meta referencing
Meta-reference
Metareference, a metafiction technique, is a situation in a work of fiction whereby characters display an awareness that they are in such a work, such as a film, television show or book. Sometimes it may even just be a form of editing or film-making technique that comments on the...
their lives in relation to the show, by commenting on the dynamic of the characters together, their story lines, and can sometimes predict exactly what they will do at a given time. This gift combined with his ability to personify anyone he chooses allows him to help his friends work out their mental baggage. He also possesses many hidden talents that usually go overlooked such as being surprisingly athletic and coordinated.
Abed and Troy share a uniquely close friendship, leading others in the group to comment on their "weird little relationship"; the closing credit sequence is almost always about them filming skits or pulling pranks together. Abed initially hurt Troy's feelings at the end of Season 1 by making it clear he did not want them to become dormitory roommates, but he later explained that he did not want to ruin their friendship through the extreme and constant proximity of them living together. In Season 3, Abed and Troy have become roommates in an off-campus apartment.
Shirley Bennett
Shirley Bennett (Yvette Nicole BrownYvette Nicole Brown
Yvette Nicole Brown is an American actress and comedian. Brown has appeared in various commercials, television shows, and films throughout her career...
) is a recently divorced mother of three who attends Greendale Community College. Shirley is a devoted Christian and is very sweet but also has thinly veiled rage issues and gossips compulsively. She is proud to be an African American and a woman but appreciates not being defined by those characteristics. She is very friendly to everyone, but sometimes has problems minding her own business or keeping secrets.
She was very slow to show tolerance for the faiths of the multiple non-Christian members of the study group (apparently, she also tried to covertly baptize Annie, who is Jewish and did not appreciate the attempt). She also feels uncomfortable sometimes about being a much more devout Christian than anyone at Greendale.
At Greendale, Shirley is taking classes which will allow her to market her baked goods, specifically her famous brownies. Within the study group, she is particularly friendly with Annie and Britta, yet is often angry at Pierce given his tendency to accidentally say racist things and absentmindedly harass her. In the Halloween episode of season two, she and Chang hook up after bonding over how their costumes are misunderstood (she being Glinda the Good Witch and not Miss Piggy
Miss Piggy
Miss Piggy is a Muppet character who was primarily played by Frank Oz on The Muppet Show. In 2001, Eric Jacobson began performing the role, although Oz did not officially retire until 2002....
and he being Peggy Fleming
Peggy Fleming
Peggy Gail Fleming is an American figure skater. She is the 1968 Olympic Champion in Ladies' singles and a three-time World Champion...
and not Kristi Yamaguchi
Kristi Yamaguchi
Kristine Tsuya "Kristi" Yamaguchi-Hedican is an American figure skater. She is the 1992 Olympic Champion in ladies' singles. Yamaguchi also won two World Figure Skating Championships in 1991 and 1992 and a U.S. Figure Skating Championships in 1992. She won one junior world title in 1988 and two...
or Michelle Kwan
Michelle Kwan
Michelle Wingshan Kwan is an American figure skater. She is a two-time Olympic medalist, a five-time World champion and a nine-time U.S...
). She was divorced at the time but reconnects with her ex-husband before learning about the pregnancy. Beyond the evidence of a voice mail that Chang sent to Troy, however, no one remembers this incident due to the Army wiping their memory and blaming it on roofies after a zombie incident. During the episode 'Cooperative Calligraphy' it is revealed she has a home pregnancy test in her bag. In 'Asian Population Studies', Shirley's pregnancy is confirmed, with the father possibly being Chang. The baby is born in 'Applied Anthropology and Culinary Arts' in an anthropology classroom and is her husband's. She decides to name the baby Ben after Chang as he helped her during the delivery.
In 'Mixology Certification' it is revealed that Shirley once had a heavy drinking problem, and becomes furious when the group finds out despite them being pleased she once had a wild side.
Annie Edison
Annie Edison (Alison BrieAlison Brie
-External links:...
), born in December 1990, is a strait-laced Jewish twenty-year-old who is in her third year at Greendale Community College. She lost her virginity to her high school boyfriend "to Madonna's Erotica
Erotica (song)
"Erotica" is the lead single from American singer-songwriter Madonna's fifth studio album, Erotica . The single was released in October 1992 by Maverick Records, and later included on her greatest hits albums GHV2 and Celebration...
on the floor of his walk-in closet", but due to him being a closeted homosexual, he refused to let her see his penis, an organ she has still never seen. She lost her college scholarship and dropped out of high school due to an addiction to Adderall
Adderall
Adderall is a brand name of amphetamine salts–based medication used for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and narcolepsy. It is a brand-name psychostimulant medication composed of racemic amphetamine aspartate monohydrate, racemic amphetamine sulfate, dextroamphetamine saccharide, and...
, having a nervous breakdown that culminated in her jumping through a window yelling "Everyone's a robot!" Against the wishes of her mother, she chose to confront the addiction and go to rehab, and is currently estranged from her family. In Season 2, the group learns she is living in a horrible neighborhood (in an apartment situated over an all-night sex shop) and Troy and Abed invite her to move into their new place in Season 3.
Though younger than most of the group, she is also by far the most studious and the most serious, becoming very intense about grades and school activities. She has a talent for making the other study group members feel guilty, using her "Disney face". A noticeably cheerful person, she is enthusiastic when it comes to helping out the school, both writing for the school paper and participating on the debate team, along with organizing school events. She also takes the cohesion of the study group more seriously than the other members and, in trying to get the group to retake Spanish 102, gets Señor Chang fired for his fake degree. However, she has been shown to choose her own interests over keeping the group intact, first by choosing to leave Greendale and the group to follow her boyfriend Vaughn to another college and later by deciding to exclude Jeff from the group and her friendship during his 3rd season premiere nervous breakdown; however, in both cases no harm is done and Annie remains in both Greendale and the study group. Annie's naivete often means that she is less involved with the more immoral practices of the group though she has been involved in them on occasion and genuinely enjoys spending time with them. Annie has the self-assigned nickname "Irony Free Annie".
She used to pine after Troy, on whom she had a crush since high school but stops when she begins dating another student, Vaughn. While she initially intends to transfer from Greendale and join Vaughn in Delaware, she decides to stay for the second year. At the end of the first season, it appears as if she has developed a romantic dynamic with Jeff, whom she kissed both to win a debate competition and at the end of the season. While she is still interested in Jeff at the beginning of the second season, after the study group learns he'd had sex with Britta during the paintball episode she begins to think of him as "gross". Later in the season she develops a crush on Dr. Rich, a fellow Greendale student that Jeff had clashed with. While he seems to return her affections he turns down her advances due to their age difference. There have been indications that Annie may still harbor feelings for Jeff, and it has been suggested that he may feel similarly. At the end of season two, she shares a passionate kiss with Abed during the paintball match, however this was due to Abed portraying himself as Han Solo, and putting her in the role of Princess Leia in his mind.
Troy Barnes
Troy Barnes (Donald GloverDonald Glover
Donald McKinley Glover is an American actor, writer, comedian, and musician. Glover first came to attention for his work in the sketch group Derrick Comedy, and is best known for his role as community college student Troy Barnes on the NBC comedy series Community...
), born December 4, 1989, is a former high school football star who now attends Greendale Community College. Born and raised in Greendale, Colorado, Troy made a name for himself as the varsity quarterback of his high school football team, and was also prom king. He injured himself during a "keg flip" in high school that cost him a football scholarship, an injury he later revealed to be intentional because he could not take the pressure of a talent scout at a big game. He now plays quarterback for the nonathletic Greendale Human Beings, saying he would rather play football for fun.
While he starts off hanging out with Pierce at Greendale, he becomes best friends with Abed who shares his peculiar sense of humor. The two spend most of their time at Greendale together and most episodes end with one of their antics. As the two hang out over the course of the first two seasons, Troy gradually discounts his identity as a jock and embraces the notion of being a nerd. In doing this, he saves the whole school in season two's Halloween episode. Troy's fondness of Abed is such to the point that he dumps an attractive librarian immediately after she calls Abed weird and becoming jealous when he suspects Jeff and Abed will become best friends after Jeff throws Abed a Pulp Fiction themed birthday party and gets him a replica briefcase from the actual movie.
Instead of being Abed's roommate for their sophomore year, however, Troy decides to live in Pierce's mansion. While living with him over the summer, Troy started up a Twitter account documenting unintentionally funny things Pierce says at "oldwhitemansays," which Pierce was originally angry at but embraced after learning the account had 600,000 followers. Troy often feels the need to assert that Shirley is not his mom. Long oblivious to the crush that Annie has on him, Troy later makes a few broad attempts at wooing her. In the 2nd season, it is hinted that Troy has feelings for Britta and reaches the point of lying about having his uncle molest him to take advantage of Britta's attraction to men with pain. He kisses her but comes clean about his lie and is disappointed when she claims kissing him was a mistake. He hints that he would not mind being in a relationship with her.
Troy is a Jehovah's Witness, as revealed in the episode "Comparative Religion". Though he tries to deny it, he is extremely talented at plumbing. He also plays down his serious interest in interpretive dance, which conflicts with his image as a football player. Notably dim-witted, Troy has a number of unique opinions and beliefs, such as that there are only boy dogs and girl cats. He has evolved from the start of the series as a cocky, selfish, image-obsessed boy to a silly and emotional yet good-hearted and responsible man. His lifetime idol is actor LeVar Burton
LeVar Burton
Levardis Robert Martyn Burton, Jr. , professionally known as LeVar Burton, is an American actor, director, producer and author who first came to prominence portraying Kunta Kinte in the 1977 award-winning ABC television miniseries Roots, based on the novel by Alex Haley...
, but he was so terrified to meet Burton in person that when he did so he went catatonic.
Ben Chang
Benjamin "Ben" Chang (Ken JeongKen Jeong
Kendrick Kang-Joh "Ken" Jeong , also known as "Dr. Ken," is an American comedian, actor, and physician. Currently, he appears as Ben Chang on the NBC comedy series Community.-Early life and medical career:...
), usually referred to as Señor Chang, was originally the group's unhinged Spanish teacher. In the first season, he is the only main character who is not a member of the Spanish study group. At the end of the first season, however, it is revealed that he does not actually have any teaching qualifications and that, like Jeff, he will have to attend Greendale as a student in order to get a degree.
He can be quite theatrical at times (once even faking his own death to get a rise out of his students), and also has a huge ego and anger management
Anger management
The term anger management commonly refers to a system of psychological therapeutic techniques and exercises by which someone with excessive or uncontrollable anger & aggression can control or reduce the triggers, degrees, and effects of an angered emotional state...
issues. It is made clear in multiple episodes that he initially takes certain situations way too seriously: In "Modern Warfare", he tries to eliminate Jeff and Britta by shooting at them with an automatic paintball gun, and later activates a bomb of paint hidden in his jacket to eliminate Jeff. Also, in season 3, he claims to be a "detective" of the school after being on the Security team for a month, and starts hunting for clues to solve a "case" after meeting a distressed student (which in reality was just a coincidence) and later burns down a section of the school while doing so. These over-the-top personality traits veil deep issues of being left by his wife, with whom he was later reunited, although this did not hinder his rash behavior towards his students afterward.
Chang has an antagonistic relationship with almost every student and faculty member at Greendale. He is on especially bad terms with Professor Duncan, who potentially foreshadows Chang's lack of teaching qualifications early in the series when he notes Chang demands to be called "Señor" because he is not a real professor. In the first season finale, Chang and Duncan come to blows when Chang becomes a student and Duncan is suspended from teaching, resulting in a physical battle at the end of the year dance. Though Duncan gets a restraining order against him, Chang in turn nullifies this by getting a restraining order against Duncan, thus allowing him to take his anthropology class. They seem to have formed a grudging respect for each other since.
His brother is Rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
Chang, who ironically criticizes Señor Chang on his confusing title and behavior. He enjoys jetting around on a scooter
Scooter (motorcycle)
A scooter is a motorcycle with step-through frame and a platform for the operator's feet. Elements of scooter design have been present in some of the earliest motorcycles, and motorcycles identifiable as scooters have been made from 1914 or earlier...
, plays the keytar
Keytar
A keytar is a relatively lightweight keyboard that is supported by a strap around the neck and shoulders, similar to the way a guitar is supported by a strap. Keytars allow players a greater range of movement compared to conventional keyboards, which are placed on stands...
as an instrument, and has a history of having his clothes stolen from the local YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
. According to Chang in "Modern Warfare," he plays paintball
Paintball
Paintball is a sport in which players compete, in teams or individually, to eliminate opponents by tagging them with capsules containing water soluble dye and gelatin shell outside propelled from a device called a paintball marker . Paintballs have a non-toxic, biodegradable, water soluble...
three times a week, and he uses his skill in the sport against Jeff and Britta. As a student, he seeks a degree in music theory
Music theory
Music theory is the study of how music works. It examines the language and notation of music. It seeks to identify patterns and structures in composers' techniques across or within genres, styles, or historical periods...
so that he can use his keytar skills professionally. In the Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
episode of season two, he and Shirley have a sexual interlude after they bond over how their costumes are misunderstood (she being Glinda the Good Witch and not Miss Piggy
Miss Piggy
Miss Piggy is a Muppet character who was primarily played by Frank Oz on The Muppet Show. In 2001, Eric Jacobson began performing the role, although Oz did not officially retire until 2002....
, and he being Peggy Fleming
Peggy Fleming
Peggy Gail Fleming is an American figure skater. She is the 1968 Olympic Champion in Ladies' singles and a three-time World Champion...
and not Kristi Yamaguchi
Kristi Yamaguchi
Kristine Tsuya "Kristi" Yamaguchi-Hedican is an American figure skater. She is the 1992 Olympic Champion in ladies' singles. Yamaguchi also won two World Figure Skating Championships in 1991 and 1992 and a U.S. Figure Skating Championships in 1992. She won one junior world title in 1988 and two...
or Michelle Kwan
Michelle Kwan
Michelle Wingshan Kwan is an American figure skater. She is a two-time Olympic medalist, a five-time World champion and a nine-time U.S...
). Beyond the evidence of a voicemail that Chang sent to Troy, however, no one remembers this incident due to a government coverup of the entire Halloween party.
His self-proclaimed nickname is "El Tigre Chino" (Spanish: "The Chinese Tiger") and he owns a black jacket which has on the back that moniker and the image of a Bengal tiger
Bengal Tiger
The Bengal tiger is a tiger subspecies native to the Indian subcontinent that in 2010 has been classified as endangered by IUCN...
. His office features a portrait of him as a matador
Matador
A torero or toureiro is a bullfighter and the main performer in bullfighting, practised in Spain, Colombia, Portugal, Mexico, France and various other countries influenced by Spanish culture. In Spanish, the word torero describes any of the performers who actively participate in the bullfight...
with "El Tigre" at the bottom and a statue of a tiger.
In the second season, he is in the same anthropology class as the study group. In the episode "Anthropology 101", after he asks the study group to let him join them, he is then seen in the study room secretly plotting his revenge on them for getting him fired, switching between evil and good sides in a manner similar to the character Gollum
Gollum
Gollum is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He was introduced in the author's fantasy novel The Hobbit, and became an important supporting character in its sequel, The Lord of the Rings....
from The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
. He eventually joins the study group in the episode "Asian Population Studies" after being voted in over Rich. He proves his worth in the next episode helping Annie and the group save their drug awareness play from Pierce's antics. Chang wants to get to know Shirley after he finds out that he may have impregnated her on Halloween, a night which no one at Greendale can remember. His rescue of Annie initially seems to win over Shirley, however she is visibly disturbed to see his extremely unbalanced behavior. He later moves in with Jeff after his wife throws him out again (after he confesses about his fling with Shirley) but Jeff grows sick of his stupid, unbalanced behavior and finally orders him out. However, his behavior in helping Shirley when she goes into labor during a riot at Greendale wins her over to the point that after the baby (whose father is Shirley's former husband Andre) is born, she decides to name her newborn son Ben after him.
In the third season premiere, Chang is still homeless, and has taken to living in the air ducts on the Greendale campus. When Dean Pelton discovers this (by Chang being driven into his office during the pest-control operation), he offers Chang room and board in exchange for working as a security guard. When the rest of the security staff soon quits, including Sgt. Nunez, he becomes head of campus security.
Pierce Hawthorne
Piercinald Anastasia "Pierce" Hawthorne (Chevy ChaseChevy Chase
Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase is an American comedian, writer, and television and film actor, born into a prominent entertainment industry family. Chase worked a plethora of odd jobs before moving into comedy acting with National Lampoon...
) is a moist towelette tycoon attending Greendale Community College. His father created Hawthorne Wipes, the award-winning moist towelette company. He claims to be a world traveler, a toastmaster
Toastmaster
Toastmaster is a general term, prevalent in the United States in the middle 20th century, referring to a person in charge of the proceedings of a public speaking event. The toastmaster is typically charged with organization of the event, arranging the order of speakers, introducing one or more of...
, magician, keyboardist and self-styled hypnotherapist, and considers himself a "quality of life person".
He enrolled in Greendale in 1999 looking for companionship and popularity, but is held back by his clumsiness and his lack of tact. Much older than most Greendale students, he is sometimes disoriented by youth culture while still trying to embrace it. He also unknowingly buys into many sexist and racist stereotypes which often lead him to unintentionally make offensive statements, the nature of which he's completely unaware. Much of this is directed at Shirley, whom he sometimes mistakes for other black women; Abed, whom he suspects being a terrorist because he is Muslim; and Jeff, whom he actively tries to insult in an attempt to be cool, despite his inability to do so with wit. This leads Troy to start up a popular Twitter account with 600,000 followers called "oldwhitemansays", documenting anything outrageous said by Pierce. After his behavior became untenable in Season 2, the study group put Pierce on a "diet" with a strict limit on when and how often he can say offensive things. Although he has occasionally made rude comments about Jews, he has also said that Annie Edison (the only Jewish member of the group) is his favorite person in it. Given his age and his eccentricity, Pierce occasionally surprises his friends with wise insight and support when they truly need it.
Though he considers himself to be a "Reformed Neo-Buddhist," he is actually a member of an obscure religious cult. This plays an important role when his mother dies in season two and Pierce believes his "Buddhist" teachings that she will be reborn, carrying a canister of what he thinks is his mother's soul around. When, along with Jeff and Troy, he listens to a CD made by his mother telling him she's gone and encouraging him to let her go and live his life, Pierce simply shrugs it off as her losing her mind. At the same time, Jeff decides he's better off with that rationale and lets him continue with his belief.
Pierce has been married seven times and has 32 "ex-stepchildren" he tries to be close with, though most of them either avoid him or take advantage of him for his wealth. He is the author of Greendale's unusual school song and was for a brief time a member of Vaughn's band. He is also incredibly claustrophobic. Because of his moist towelette business, Pierce is very wealthy and owns a mansion, where Troy also lives over the summer and during the second year. It has been shown that Pierce may often act out due to the utter lack of attention and care his father, also a business tycoon, showed him as a child. His father even went to the extent of hiring another child to play Pierce in a commercial while berating and insulting the real Pierce.
In Season 2, Pierce becomes more and more annoyed at the study group for leaving him out of their activities. He temporarily joins an elderly group of students who act like teenagers called the Hipsters, to feel accepted. He breaks both of his legs in a trampoline accident after revealing a secret trampoline Jeff and Troy were hiding. To move around, he buys himself an ineffective wheelchair powered by his breath, which he claims to have outbid three hospitals for. After this, he grows dependent on his painkillers and also becomes increasingly at-odds with the study group because of the combination of his nasty behavior and their tendency to exclude him from their activities. He begins to play the role of the study group's villain but both trends seem to subside when he comes to terms with the group after overdosing on his painkillers. These underlying tensions come to a head in "A Fistful of Paintballs", however, when it's revealed that the other members of the group secretly took a vote about whether they'd include him in the group next year, with only Annie voting to keep him in; by the end of "For A Few Paintballs More", while the other group members have reconsidered and are willing to let him back in the group, Pierce says he's not interested in staying with "whatever this is". He also tells the group that he assumes all of his relationships will end, which is why he constantly tests and provokes people, and why he's had seven divorces and never kept a group of friends at Greendale for longer than a semester (until he joined the study group).
However, at the start of Season 3, he promptly returns and rejoins the study group.
His father, also a racist, was named Cornelius Hawthorne, wore a carved ivory wig and walked with a cane.
Craig Pelton
Dean Craig Pelton (Jim RashJim Rash
Jim Rash was born in Charlotte, North Carolina and is an American actor, comedian and screenwriter.His most noticeable appearance was when he portrayed Mr Grayson/Stitches, a sidekick to the supervillain 'Royal Pain' in the 2005 film Sky High and as the recurring characters Fenton on That '70s Show...
) was an educator at Greendale Community College for 10 years, and has been dean for four years. He desperately wants his school to be more like a "real" university and thus he strives to better it, often asking favors of the students and trying to earn popularity. He also goes to strenuous and excessive lengths to seem politically correct and is responsible for changing the school's team name from the Greendale Grizzlies to the Greendale Human Beings. However, acts such as these only further his candid racism and prejudices as he states that the primary reason for the title change was that "most of these people have been called animals their entire lives". He manages Greendale's budget rather poorly, for example, the $6,000 judge's table next to their Olympic-size swimming pool, and funding five dances every year. He seemingly has a crush on Jeff, and uses him to improve the school's fledgling extra-curricular programs, pressuring him to join the debate team, edit the school's newspaper, and convince Troy to play quarterback for the football team. Among other hints at sexual proclivities such as late-night visits to truck stops and public restrooms, he has had a growing fetish for people in dalmatian costumes, which he believes he has pursued in secrecy, but seems to be common enough knowledge to the students and faculty. Dean Pelton has a tendency toward transvestism
Transvestism
Transvestism is the practice of cross-dressing, which is wearing clothing traditionally associated with the opposite sex. Transvestite refers to a person who cross-dresses; however, the word often has additional connotations. -History:Although the word transvestism was coined as late as the 1910s,...
; he has been known to dress up like female pop culture icons such as Tina Turner
Tina Turner
Tina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...
, Catwoman
Catwoman
Catwoman is a fictional character associated with DC Comics' Batman franchise. Historically a supervillain, the character was created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, partially inspired by Kane's cousin, Ruth Steel...
, Scarlett O'Hara
Scarlett O'Hara
Scarlett O' Hara is the protagonist in Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel Gone with the Wind and in the later film of the same name...
, Lady Gaga
Lady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
, as well as other general feminine costumes including an America-themed outfit. He is currently writing a novel called Time Desk, focused on the adventures of a character called Dean Dangerous which Jeff says will never be published, and is the "worst book he will read cover to cover."
Recurring characters
The series also features several recurring characters who are students and staff members at Greendale.Ian Duncan
Dr. Ian Duncan (John OliverJohn Oliver (comedian)
John Oliver is a British stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. He is best known for his work on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, for which he won an Emmy in 2009. He also plays a recurring character, Professor Ian Duncan, on the television series Community...
) is a British-born professor of psychology at Greendale Community College. Though Jeff once successfully represented him as a lawyer by exploiting the legal system, Duncan refuses to help him cheat. He also has a certain self-importance complex as made evident when one of his infamous theories was disproved. He provides free therapy to several students including Britta and, at one point, hopes to write about Abed's issues for a book deal. He also has a rivalry with Señor Chang and cheerfully antagonizes Chang over being fired and subsequently becoming a student at Greendale. At the end of the first season, he is suspended by Dean Pelton for his drunken behavior at a school function, prompting Chang to punch Duncan in the face with a roll of quarters and attack him. Because of this, he temporarily gets a restraining order against Chang, which he abuses by chasing him around and preventing him from getting to places. After Greendale suspended Professor Bauer, he took over her anthropology class, despite his complete lack of knowledge about the subject. Despite his boorish behavior, Duncan is often able to figure out Jeff's problems with himself, which he points out to Jeff. As is alluded to several times over the course of his appearances, Duncan appears to have a drinking problem.
Michelle Slater
Prof. Michelle Slater (Lauren Stamile) is a statistics professor at Greendale. She had a strict policy against dating students, but became romantically involved with Jeff, after he begs her to sleep with him during a Halloween party. She and Jeff share a similarly tough sense of humor and cynicism. Later on, she broke off their relationship. She later reacquires interest in Jeff, consequently developing a rivalry with Britta for his attention. Jeff later states that if he did pursue a relationship with her, it would evolve him, while a relationship with Britta would help him know more about who he really is. In addition to Jeff, she draws interest from other members of the faculty such as Señor Chang and Professor Duncan, who have made comically bad attempts to seduce her. It is later noted by Troy and Abed's closed-circuit television show of the student body elections that she is actually missing.Eustice Whitman
Prof. Eustice Whitman (John Michael HigginsJohn Michael Higgins
John Michael Higgins is an American actor whose film credits include Christopher Guest's mockumentaries, the role of David Letterman in HBO's The Late Shift, and a starring role in the American version of Kath & Kim....
) is an accounting professor at Greendale Community College, the college's debate coach, and a strong believer in carpe diem
Carpe diem
Carpe diem is a phrase from a Latin poem by Horace that has become an aphorism. It is popularly translated as "seize the day"...
. Despite believing that Whitman would be an easy teacher, Jeff had trouble passing his accounting class since the highly eccentric and excessively exuberant Whitman grades his students not on their academics but on how well they "seize the day". In later incidents, he instructs Jeff as coach of the debate team and offers him unsolicited advice on how to lead his life fully in different circumstances.
Sean Garrity
Prof. Sean Garrity (Kevin CorriganKevin Corrigan
Kevin Fitzgerald Corrigan is an American actor who has appeared mostly in independent films and television since the 1990s.-Life and career:Corrigan was born in The Bronx, New York to an Irish-American father and a Puerto Rican mother...
) is the theatrical drama instructor at Greendale. He gets involved in a conspiracy intrigue with Jeff, Annie and Dean Pelton, when he mysteriously poses as Jeff's fake Conspiracy Theories night school class teacher, "Professor Professorson". He later teaches Troy and Britta in an elective acting class and directs Troy in an all-black cast stage production of Fiddler on the Roof
Fiddler on the Roof
Fiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in Tsarist Russia in 1905. It is based on Tevye and his Daughters by Sholem Aleichem...
, entitled, "Fiddla Please".
June Bauer
Prof. June Bauer (Betty WhiteBetty White
Betty White Ludden , better known as Betty White, is an American actress, comedienne, singer, author, and former game show personality. With a career spanning seven decades since 1939, she is best known to modern audiences for her television roles as Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and...
) is an anthropology professor at Greendale. Though very old, she is a blunt speaker and a surprisingly good fighter. Bauer has engaged in many worldly yet strange pursuits, such as hunting monkeys with a blow gun in the Amazon
Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...
and drinking her own urine for its health benefits. She is also not afraid of attacking her students, shooting a disrespectful Star-Burns with a blow gun and nearly killing Jeff with her weapon of nine weapons, after which she gets suspended from teaching. She then leaves Greendale to go to the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
.
Robert Laybourne
Vice Dean Robert Laybourne (John GoodmanJohn Goodman
John Stephen Goodman is an American film, television, and stage actor. He is best known for his role as Dan Conner on the television series Roseanne for which he won a Best Actor Golden Globe Award in 1993, and for appearances in the films of the Coen brothers, with prominent roles in Raising...
) is head of Greendale's air conditioner repair annex and the true power behind Greendale. When Dean Pelton decides to confront Laybourne over the annex requesting a cappucino machine, the very stern and intimidating Laybourne shows him that the air conditioning annex is the main source of Greendale's funding and that he thus holds complete power over the dean's office. Later, upon learning Troy's plumbing abilities, Laybourne tries to recruit him to the air conditioner annex.
Marshall Kane
Prof. Marshall Kane (Michael K. WilliamsMichael K. Williams
Michael Kenneth Williams is an American actor known for his portrayal of Omar Little on the HBO drama series The Wire, and of Albert "Chalky" White on HBO's Boardwalk Empire.-Early life and career:...
) is the biology teacher at Greendale, who is noticeably more serious and intense than other Greendale professors. He just came off of a twenty year prison sentence and is baffled by some of the ways in which the world has since changed.
Alex "Star-Burns" Osbourne
Alex "Star-Burns" Osbourne (Dino StamatopoulosDino Stamatopoulos
Dino Stamatopoulos is an American television comedy writer, actor and producer who has worked on Mr. Show, TV Funhouse, Mad TV, The Dana Carvey Show, Late Show with David Letterman and Late Night with Conan O'Brien...
) is a middle-aged student at Greendale Community College known for his copious facial hair and sideburns shaped like stars. He is a member of the campus' "cool study group", and a true music lover. Though Star Burns is habitually laid back and sloppily dressed, he has a son who, in stark contrast to him, is incredibly businesslike. In Season 2's "Intro to Political Science," he admits to being a drug dealer. He takes a number of classes with the main characters including Spanish and Boating. He worked in the school cafeteria until the group got him fired for siphoning off chicken fingers for his friends. For the most part, however, he is disconnected from the group and he sometimes seems confused as to who the individual members in the group actually are. He does know who Jeff is, and acts as the impromptu campus spokesman after Britta and Professor Slater both declare their love for him by saying everyone's waiting for Jeff's response to what happened. Though he enjoys the attention he receives with his sideburns, he craves an identity beyond them and begins wearing a top hat at the beginning of the second season to draw attention away from them. He eventually grows irritated with the nickname "Star-Burns", unsuccessfully insisting that people call him "Alex" instead. In the third season premiere, he also gains a lizard which perches on his shoulder. It is also revealed in that episode that he sells marijuana.
Leonard Briggs
Leonard Briggs (Richard ErdmanRichard Erdman
Richard Erdman is an American film and television actor and director.-Notable roles:...
) is an elderly man who is studying business at Greendale Community College. He and Jeff have a comically antagonistic relationship and both take billiards for PE credit. Though noticeably older than the other students at Greendale, he acts in as reckless and laid-back a fashion as most young adults, often using slang and engaging in such activities as playing pranks and bass guitar and encountering "pregnancy scares". He leads a rowdy, disobedient band of elderly Greendale students called the "Hipsters" (because they all apparently have hip replacements), which Pierce temporarily joins. He has children, though they are never seen on camera. In the season two finale he claims to have been one of the Little Rascals, to have been in "few real wars" and to have been banned from the Denny's
Denny's
Denny's is a full-service coffee shop/family restaurant chain. It operates over 1,500 restaurants in the United States , Canada, Curaçao, Costa Rica, Honduras, Jamaica, Japan , Mexico, New Zealand, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.Denny's is known for always being...
near the fifteen exit. During the student election episode from Season Two, he ran for office, using the surname "Rodriguez" in an attempt to court the Latino vote.
Vaughn Miller
Vaughn Miller (Eric Christian OlsenEric Christian Olsen
Eric Christian Olsen is an American actor. He currently portrays Detective Marty Deeks on the CBS television series NCIS: Los Angeles.-Early life:...
) is a permanently shirtless, earth-friendly mellow student with small nipples who is the lead singer of a rock band at Greendale Community College. A frequent hacky sack
Hacky Sack
thumb|right|200px|A Hacky SackHacky Sack is the trademarked name of a type of footbag.-History:The name "hacky sack" came from the 1972 inventors of the Footbag, John Stalberger and Mike Marshall. Although Marshall suffered a fatal heart attack in 1975, Stalberger continued the business. At a...
and Ultimate
Ultimate (sport)
Ultimate is a sport played with a 175 gram flying disc. The object of the game is to score points by passing the disc to a player in the opposing end zone, similar to an end zone in American football or rugby...
Frisbee player, he has had several notable interactions with the show's main characters, as he initially dated Britta and was in a band with Pierce. Though he at first seems very laid back and peaceful, he started writing popular hate songs about Britta and Pierce after his relationships with them turned sour. However, he and Annie began a relationship, much to the bemusement of Jeff, Britta, and Troy and later, Shirley. At the end of the first season, he transfers to a community college in Delaware because of their strong hacky sack athletic program, and Annie initially decided to join him there before changing her mind.
Rich Stephenson
Rich Stephenson (Greg CromerGreg Cromer
Gregory M. Cromer, Jr. is an American actor known as Greg Cromer.-Filmography:-External links:...
) is a student who is in Jeff's pottery class, that Jeff grows jealous of for his skills. An accomplished doctor who is continually friendly and well-liked by everyone, he stands in stark contrast to Jeff who tries to catch him as a ringer. Nicknamed "Doc Potterywood" by Jeff, it is implied that Jeff may actually have been right and Rich had secretly taken previous pottery classes at different colleges. It is hinted at the end of 'Beginner Pottery' that his relationship with his mother is extremely strained as opposed to Jeff's loving one with his mother, further showing the stark contrast between them. Rich had a brother who died in a roller-coaster accident. He spends time with the study group again in the season two Halloween episode, when he attempts to treat the infected students while dressed as a banana and causes Jeff to openly admit his hatred for him. After spending winter break volunteering with Annie, he joins Duncan's anthropology class and unsuccessfully competes against Chang for a spot in the study group. When he turns down a date with Annie due to her young age, Jeff begins to admire his ethics and seeks life-advice from him although it is to abuse the power Rich gets from everyone loving him.
Fat Neil
Fat Neil (Charley Koontz) is a student at Greendale who is frequently ostracized for being fatObesity
Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems...
. Jeff, who accidentally coined the name "Fat Neil" at Greendale, attempts to make it up to him after he thinks Neil is considering suicide. Jeff organizes a Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
game with the study group (without Pierce) where Neil, a huge D&D fan, will save the day. Though Pierce attempts to sabotage the event and mocks Neil, Neil still regains his confidence after winning the game. It is implied in "Applied Anthropology and Culinary Arts
Applied Anthropology and Culinary Arts
"Applied Anthropology and Culinary Arts" is the 22nd episode of the second season of Community. It originally aired on April 28, 2011, on NBC.In the episode, Shirley unexpectedly goes into labor during the group's Anthropology final...
" that he and Vicki have feelings for each other.
Magnitude
Magnitude (Luke YoungbloodLuke Youngblood
Luke Youngblood is a British actor, who is best known for playing Ben in The Story of Tracy Beaker and for originating the role of Young Simba in The Lion King in which he appeared in several London venues whilst playing the role...
), short for "Magnetic Attitude", is a student at Greendale who is described as a "One man party." He is usually shown wearing a collared shirt, tie, and some patterned article of clothing on top of that (a plaid vest, argyle sweater, etc.). His consistently repeated catchphrase is "Pop pop!", which comprises almost everything he says to the point of absurdity. At one point, his age was stated as 16 years old. It is also implied that he is disliked by the faculty staff particularly Professor Marshall Kane.
Other recurring students
- Garrett Lambert (Erik Charles Nielsen) is a noticeably nerdy student at Greendale, who usually appears in an exasperated or otherwise intense state. He takes several classes with the main cast, including Professor Duncan's psychology class.
- Eric Wisniewski (Bill Parks) is a football player at Greendale, who sometimes yells at members of the study group.
- Pavel Iwaszkiewicz (Dominik Musiol) is a Polish exchange student, and a hallmate of Abed, serving - among other things - as his directing assistant.
- Vicki Jenkins (Danielle Kaplowitz) is a Dance Major at Greendale who is continually ignored by her peers. It is implied she and "Fat Neil" have feelings for each other. She once didn't let Pierce borrow a pencil, leading him to hate her and often mocking her.
- Mark Millot (DC PiersonDC PiersonDC Pierson is an American comedian, author, rapper and actor. He is best known for his involvement in the sketch and improvisational comedy group Derrick Comedy....
) is a member of the student newspaper as well as one of the founders of the college sketch group the Greendale Goofaws, which also include Linda Greene (Meggie McFadden), Buzz Foster (Dominic DierkesDominic DierkesDominic Dierkes is an American actor, comedian and writer best known for his involvement in the sketch comedy group Derrick Comedy.-Life and career:...
) and Derrick Bideos (Dan EckmanDan EckmanDan Eckman is an American director, writer, and producer. Eckman first came to attention for his work in the sketch group Derrick Comedy.-Early life:Eckman was born on January 27, 1984 in Manchester, New Hampshire...
). In real life, actors Pierson, McFadden, Dierkes, and Eckman forms the comedy group Derrick ComedyDerrick ComedyDerrick Comedy is an Internet sketch comedy group from New York University. The group has a large YouTube following and was mentioned in Rolling Stone in July 2007. Their video "Bro Rape" has garnered over 8 million views...
, with Donald GloverDonald GloverDonald McKinley Glover is an American actor, writer, comedian, and musician. Glover first came to attention for his work in the sketch group Derrick Comedy, and is best known for his role as community college student Troy Barnes on the NBC comedy series Community...
as the fifth member. - Quendra (Marcy McCusker) is a student at Greendale that Jeff brings to a mixer in order to keep Rich from being voted into the study group in "Asian Population StudiesAsian Population Studies"Asian Population Studies" is the twelfth episode of the second season of the American comedy television series Community, and the 37th episode of the series overall. It aired in the United States on NBC on January 20, 2011.- Plot :...
". She also appears in "For a Few Paintballs MoreFor a Few Paintballs More"For a Few Paintballs More" is the 24th episode and part two of the of the two-part finale of the second season of Community. The episode originally aired on May 12, 2011 on NBC. The episode is a continuation of "A Fistful of Paintballs", and picks up from the middle of the paintball game that...
".
The Greendale Human Being
The Greendale Human Being is the "ethnically neutral" school mascot created and designed by Pierce and Dean Pelton. Though intended to embody a spirit of inclusivity and to avoid derogatory stereotypes, its featureless appearance is distinctly unnatural. It appears in a number of different events and initiatives sponsored by the Dean as the school's mascot. It has been seen with a female version of itself.Andre Bennett
Andre Bennett (Malcolm-Jamal WarnerMalcolm-Jamal Warner
Malcolm-Jamal Warner is an American television actor, film director, and musician. He is best known for his role as Theo Huxtable on the long-running NBC sitcom The Cosby Show. Additionally, he appeared as Malcolm McGee on the UPN sitcom Malcolm & Eddie. He is currently starring as Dr...
) is Shirley's ex-husband. Though he had cheated on her, he becomes her boyfriend again after learning of her pregnancy and stays loyal to her even after discovering that Chang could be the father. Surprisingly, he also takes a much kinder approach toward Chang than the study group does.
Gobi Nadir
Gobi Nadir (Iqbal ThebaIqbal Theba
Iqbal Theba is a Pakistani-American actor. Theba currently has a recurring role as Principal Figgins in the show Glee.-Life and career:Theba became a familiar face in the 1990s when he appeared in various TV shows and commercials in the United States....
) is Abed's father, with whom Abed has a rather difficult relationship. While Mr. Nadir wants Abed to take over the family's falafel
Falafel
Falafel is a deep-fried ball or patty made from ground chickpeas and/or fava beans. Falafel is usually served in a pita, which acts as a pocket, or wrapped in a flatbread known as lafa. The falafel balls are topped with salads, pickled vegetables, hot sauce, and drizzled with tahini-based sauces...
restaurant, Abed plans to become a film director. Abed also thinks Gobi blames him for his mother leaving them. Gobi is a very protective yet argumentative father, but he learns to accept the fact that his son needs filmmaking to express himself. Gobi appears on Family Day and disapproves of the lenient way in which Shirley raises her boys.
Officer Cackowski
Officer Cackowski (Craig Cackowski) is a local police officer, repeatedly visiting Greendale in the line of duty. He originally appeared as a member of campus security before inexplicably becoming a police officer. He seems to be friends with Professor Garity, referring to him as Sean.Dean Spreck
Dean Spreck (Jordan BlackJordan Black (actor)
Jordan Black is an American comedy writer and actor.He was born in Kankakee, Illinois. Black has written for Saturday Night Live and starred in the Comedy Central show Halfway Home as Sebastian "C-Bass" Yates, an ex-convict for internet fraud...
) is the dean of rivaling City College, who makes several subversive efforts to shut Greendale down. Like Dean Pelton, he seems to have an ambiguous sexuality.
Jerry
Jerry (Jerry MinorJerry Minor
Jerry C. Minor is an American actor, comedian and writer known for his comedic roles in numerous television programs such as Mr. Show, Saturday Night Live, Delocated, Crossballs, Carpoolers and Lucky Louie....
) is the head janitor at Greendale. After he learns of Troy's supreme plumbing abilities, he makes several attempts to convince him to become a plumber and warns him against becoming an air-conditioning repair man.
Annie's Boobs
Annie's Boobs was Troy's pet monkey. Annie's Boobs was reportedly named by a competition held via the monkey's personal Twitter account. Troy maintains that the account belongs to Annie's Boobs and thus Troy cannot legitimately change the monkey's name. Since he was set free by Abed, he has spent his time collecting items owned by the study group and storing them in a nearby air vent. It's unknown what happened to him after Chang found his stash of items.Sgt. Nunez
Sgt. Nunez (Mel Rodriguez) is the chief of campus security for Greendale College. All of Nunez's officers quit when Dean Pelton informs them that the college no longer has funds to pay them, and they can only be reimbursed in class credits. Nunez stays because he needs SCUBA certification, and Chang becomes his new underling. He eventually quits after Dean Pelton sides with Chang.Guest characters
- Nurse Jackie (Patton OswaltPatton OswaltPatton Oswalt is an American stand-up comedian, writer, actor and voice actor. He is best known for portraying Spencer Olchin in the popular sitcom The King of Queens, voicing Remy from the film Ratatouille and Thrasher from the Cartoon Network original series Robotomy.-Early life:Oswalt was born...
in "Home Economics" and "The Psychology of Letting Go") is the school nurse at Greendale. He considers himself the Hawkeye of Greendale. - The helicopter pilot (Andy DickAndy DickAndrew R. "Andy" Dick is an American comedian, actor, musician and television/film producer. His first regular television role was on the short-lived but highly influential Ben Stiller Show. In the mid-1990s, he had a long-running stint on NBC's NewsRadio...
in "Aerodynamics of Gender" and "Early 21st Century Romanticism") is a tiny man that Pierce hallucinates when he takes his painkillers after breaking his legs on the trampoline. - Jeremy Simmons (Aaron HimelsteinAaron HimelsteinAaron Himelstein is an American actor who is perhaps best known for playing a younger version of Austin Powers in Austin Powers in Goldmember and Friedman, Luke Girardi's best friend, in Joan of Arcadia...
in "Debate 109") is a student at a neighboring community college, who is the primary rival of Greendale's debate team. - Doreen (Sharon LawrenceSharon LawrenceSharon Elizabeth Lawrence is an American television actress. She is best known for the role of Sylvia Costas Sipowicz in the Television series NYPD Blue...
in "The Politics of Human Sexuality") is an escort that Pierce meets in his marketing class and later gets into a relationship with. After she dumps him during a Greendale school dance, he borrows money to pay for her company. - Mike Chilada (Anthony Michael HallAnthony Michael HallMichael Anthony Hall , known professionally as Anthony Michael Hall, is an American actor, film producer and director who starred in several teen-oriented films of the 1980s. Hall began his career in commercials and on stage as a child, and made his screen debut in 1980...
in "Comparative Religion") is a bully at Greendale who gets into a big brawl with the study group before Christmas. He reappears briefly at the beginning of "A Fistful of PaintballsA Fistful of Paintballs"A Fistful of Paintballs" is the 23rd episode and part one of the two-part second season finale of Community. The episode originally premiered on May 5, 2011 on NBC. Acting as a sequel to "Modern Warfare" from the first season, Dean Pelton once again announces plans for a new game of paintball. The...
" chasing Fat Neil. - Buddy Austin (Jack BlackJack BlackJack Black , is an American actor and musician, notably of Tenacious D.Jack Black may also refer to:* Jack Black , late 19th - early 20th Century author and hobo* Jack Black , drummer for 1970s UK punk band The Boys...
in "Investigative Journalism") is a student at Greendale, who, while no one ever noticed him, was a member of the study group's Spanish class taught by Señor Chang. He desperately wants to join the study-group, and despite his irritating behavior was eventually accepted. However he joins a cooler study group that includes Star-Burns and is led by Owen WilsonOwen WilsonOwen Cunningham Wilson is an American actor and writer, known for his roles in the films The Haunting, The Royal Tenenbaums, Zoolander, Meet the Parents, Wedding Crashers, You, Me and Dupree, Bottle Rocket, the Cars series, The Darjeeling Limited, Marley & Me, Midnight in Paris, Shanghai Noon,...
in a cameo when he finds out they voted him in. - Madame LeClair (Twink CaplanTwink CaplanTwink Caplan is an American actress, comedian and producer. She is probably best known for her roles in Amy Heckerling's box office hits Clueless and the Look Who's Talking series.-Biography:...
in "Interpretive Dance") is the ballet professor of Greendale. - Coach Herbert Bogner (Blake ClarkBlake ClarkBlake Clark is an American actor, voice artist, comedian, and veteran of the Vietnam War, having served as a Captain with the 101st Airborne Division....
in "Physical Education") is a physical education coach who teaches billiards at Greendale. He comes into conflict with Jeff, who refuses to wear gym shorts when playing pool, and the two face off in a billiards match which ends in the nude. - Rabbi Chang (Tom Yi in "Basic Genealogy") is Señor Chang's older and critical brother with lots of unresolved history between them. Rabbi Chang is blind to the surface incongruity of his being a Rabbi, but chides Señor Chang to drop his Spanish act. As much as these two brothers might seem to be at odds, Señor Chang does leap to his brother's aid and fights in his honor when Pierce obliviously harasses Rabbi Chang during a game of Pictionary.
- Amber (Katharine McPheeKatharine McPheeKatharine Hope McPhee is an American pop singer, songwriter, actress, model, and television personality. She gained fame as a contestant on the fifth season of the Fox reality show American Idol in 2006, eventually finishing as the runner-up.Her self-titled debut album was released on RCA Records...
in "Basic Genealogy") is one of Pierce's 32 ex-stepchildren, who pretends to like him and comes to Family Day since he sends her big sums of money. She also has sex with Jeff. - Nana (Fran BennettFran BennettFran Bennett is an American actress born in Malvern, Arkansas. From 1996 to 2003, she was head of the performance program in the School of Theater at the California Institute of the Arts...
in "Basic Genealogy") is Troy's grandmother, whom he fears and avoids. Britta argues that the elderly should be cherished and respected, but Nana is incensed by being called old and insists on spanking Britta with a switch. - Prof. Marion Holly (Tony HaleTony HaleTony Hale is an American actor, best known for his role in the Fox comedy series Arrested Development as the neurotic Byron "Buster" Bluth.-Early life:...
in "Beginners Pottery") is the pottery professor at Greendale. While his class seems very easy and passable, he has a zero-tolerance policy for students who jokingly reference the pottery scene from the film GhostGhost (film)Ghost is a 1990 romantic drama film starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg. It was written by Bruce Joel Rubin and directed by Jerry Zucker.-Plot:...
(1990) (which he calls "Ghosting") and thus comes into conflict with Jeff. - Admiral Lee Slaughter (Lee MajorsLee MajorsLee Majors is an American television, film and voice actor, best known for his starring role as Colonel Steve Austin in The Six Million Dollar Man and as Colt Seavers in The Fall Guy ....
in "Beginners Pottery") is the gruff teacher of boating at Greendale who runs his classes on a sailboat in the school's parking lot. - Alan Connor (Rob CorddryRob CorddryRobert William "Rob" Corddry is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his work as a former correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and for his starring role in the comedy film Hot Tub Time Machine...
in "Accounting for Lawyers") is an unlikeable former lawyer colleague of Jeff's who attends Narcotics Anonymous sessions at Greendale, where he had once met Annie. Though he does not admit it to Jeff after they meet again, the study group knows that he had sent an email to his law firm exposing Jeff's credentials, which got him fired. - Ted (Drew CareyDrew CareyDrew Allison Carey is an American actor, singer, comedian, photographer, sports executive, and game show host. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and making a name for himself in stand-up comedy, Carey eventually gained popularity starring on his own sitcom, The Drew Carey Show, and serving as...
in "Accounting for Lawyers") is Jeff's former boss. He started up a law firm so that he could have people around him who would not inquire about the weird hole in his hand. He and Jeff have a good relationship as evidenced by his offering Jeff a consulting position at the firm. - Meghan (Hilary DuffHilary DuffHilary Erhard Duff is an American actress, singer-songwriter, entrepreneur, and author. After working in local theater plays and television commercials in her childhood, she achieved fame playing the title role in the Disney Channel television series Lizzie McGuire. She also reprised her role in...
in "Aerodynamics of Gender") is the leader of a group of "mean girls" at Greendale, who come into conflict with Britta, Annie, Shirley and Abed. - Joshua (Matt Walsh in "Aerodynamics of Gender") is a groundskeeper at Greendale who secretly has a giant trampoline on campus that gives people a spiritual calm when they jump on it. Though he lets Jeff and Troy know about it and jump on it, he is fired when Pierce tells the rest of the school after breaking his legs. It turns out that he is staunchly racist.
- LeVar BurtonLeVar BurtonLevardis Robert Martyn Burton, Jr. , professionally known as LeVar Burton, is an American actor, director, producer and author who first came to prominence portraying Kunta Kinte in the 1977 award-winning ABC television miniseries Roots, based on the novel by Alex Haley...
appears as himself in "Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking" when Pierce hires him to meet Troy, who, despite looking up to Burton as a role model, had hoped to never meet him in person. - Paige (Brit MarlingBrit MarlingBrit Marling is an American writer, producer, director, and actress.She graduated from Georgetown University in 2005 with a degree in economics...
in "Early 21st Century Romanticism") is a student at Greendale befriended by Britta. Britta believes that Paige is a lesbian, and uses her friendship with Paige to show her open-mindedness. Annie learns from Paige's friend that Paige is heterosexual, and interested in Britta for largely the same reasons Britta is interested in her. - Special Agent Robin Vohlers (Eliza CoupeEliza CoupeEliza Coupe is an American actress best known for her role as Denise "Jo" Mahoney in the medical comedy Scrubs, in which she became a regular for the ninth season. Coupe currently stars as Jane Williams in the ABC comedy series Happy Endings.-Career:Coupe grew up in New Hampshire and graduated...
in "Intro to Political Science") is a emotionless Secret Service agent, who scouts out Greendale in preparation for Vice President Joe BidenJoe BidenJoseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr. is the 47th and current Vice President of the United States, serving under President Barack Obama...
's arrival. She meets and is intrigued by Abed with whom she has several similarities. The two seem to develop feelings for each other enough for Vohlers to try and make him a threat to national security so she can spend more time around him, while Abed claims he can make napalm out of dish soap and catfood on television so she can observe him. They end up having a "date" watching Kickpuncher with Vohlers watching through binoculars from her van in the parking lot. She also bugged Abed's room. - Prof. Peter Sheffield (Stephen TobolowskyStephen TobolowskyStephen Harold Tobolowsky is an American actor. He is well known for his role as Ned Ryerson in Groundhog Day, as well as portraying Commissioner Hugo Jarry in Deadwood for nine episodes and Bob Bishop in Heroes for eleven episodes over the second and third seasons...
in "Competitive Wine Tasting") is a professor at Greendale who ignites an academic rivalry with Abed. He is the author of Who Was the Boss? and What Was Happening?, critical analyses of the television series Who's the Boss?Who's the Boss?Who's the Boss? is an American sitcom created by Martin Cohan and Blake Hunter, which aired on ABC from September 20, 1984 to April 25, 1992...
and What's Happening!!What's Happening!!What's Happening!! is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from August 5, 1976 to April 28, 1979. The show premiered as a summer series. With good ratings and reviews, and after the failure of several other shows on the network, What's Happening!! returned in November 1976 as a weekly... - The Black Rider (Josh HollowayJosh HollowayJoshua Lee "Josh" Holloway is an American actor and model from Free Home, Georgia. He is best known for his role as James "Sawyer" Ford on the American television show Lost.-Early life:...
in "A Fistful of PaintballsA Fistful of Paintballs"A Fistful of Paintballs" is the 23rd episode and part one of the two-part second season finale of Community. The episode originally premiered on May 5, 2011 on NBC. Acting as a sequel to "Modern Warfare" from the first season, Dean Pelton once again announces plans for a new game of paintball. The...
") is a mysterious professional paintball assassin hired by City College to win the paintball contest at the end of season two. He takes an online course at Greendale and draws the ire of Jeff, who feels insecure around him because of his good looks. - Professor Cligoris (Martin StarrMartin StarrMartin Starr is an American television and film actor, known for his roles as Bill Haverchuck on the short-lived NBC comedy-drama Freaks and Geeks and as Roman DeBeers on the Starz comedy series Party Down, as well as for his roles in the films Knocked Up, Cheats, and Adventureland.-Life and...
in "Geography of Global Conflict") is a history teacher at Greendale who helps Annie found the school's chapter of Model UN. He is obsessed with the history of the United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
. - Todd (David Neher in "Competitive Ecology") is a student at Greendale who takes biology with the study group. They all pick on him to an absurd degree after he is paired with Pierce on a class project and inadvertently upsets the natural balance of the group.
- Cornelius Hawthorne (Larry CedarLarry CedarLarry Cedar is an American actor and a voice actor best known as one of the players of the highly-acclaimed Children's Television Workshop mathematics show, Square One TV on PBS from 1987 to 1994. He also played Alex the Butcher in a series of commercials for Kroger in 1989...
in "Advanced Gay") is Pierce's overbearing father. Both a racist and a homophobe, Cornelius wears a toupee made out of ivory in order to avoid hair coming from "orientals". He dies of a heart attack after Jeff yells at him about his continued dominance over Pierce's life. - Luis GuzmánLuis GuzmánLuis Guzmán is an actor from Puerto Rico. He is known for his character work. For much of his career, he has played roles largely as sidekicks, thugs, or policemen....
is the most famous alumni of Greendale, and appears as himself in the episode "Documentary Filmmaking: Redux" to help film the college's new TV ad. Previously, the Dean had commissioned a statue of him for Greendale's campus.