[9] He grew up on the South Side of Chicago with brother Adam and sister Katherine but attended Notre Dame College Prep in Niles, a northern suburb.

[11] Pudi studied dance in Chicago and attended Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, graduating with a degree in communication and theatre in 2001.

[13] Pudi became a recruiter for an executive search firm before moving to Los Angeles in 2005 to seek television and film roles.

[7][14] His job, whereby he was a remote worker, permitted him to attend auditions, helping him avoid the "struggling actor thing in terms of waiting tables, temping and so on".

[7][15][16] In 2012, he appeared as a celebrity contestant on GSN's version of The Pyramid with fellow Community cast member Yvette Nicole Brown.

[20] He played the lead role in The Tiger Hunter, an independent film directed by Lena Khan in 2016 and funded through a Kickstarter campaign.

His first play, entitled Running, was created for the En Garde Arts' series Uncommon Voices and made public in August 2020.