Created by Dan Harmon, the sitcom Community ran for six seasons from 2009 to 2015. After many years of waiting and campaigning by fans, Community returns in 2023 with a feature film (via Variety). The TV series is set in the fictional town of Greendale, where seven characters from different backgrounds form a new family by becoming a community college study group. The iconic, main TV cast included Donald Glover, Alison Brie, and Joel McHale, just to name a few, all of whom played equally likable characters (minus perhaps Chevy Chase, who was fired before Season 5).
While CommunityThe main focus is indeed the seven different individuals (Jeff, Britta, Shirley, Abed, Troy, Pierce, Annie) and their bizarre experiences in college, the series wouldn’t be complete without the supporting characters. We watch their travels as much as Greendale’s seven most important. They add different perspectives and essence to our main characters, and their scenes tend to be some of the most iconic. Let’s take a look at the best supporting characters in Community.
8/8 starburns
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starburns, or Alex Osbourne (his real name by which he always wanted to be called), is played by actor/comedy writer Dino Stamatopoulos. The Greendale students weren’t the only ones having trouble remembering the man’s name; Community fans notoriously struggled with it too. So, how did he get the nickname? The character shaved his sideburns into star shapes and really enjoyed the attention this got him. All in all, Starburns is a somewhat sketchy character; as we find out later, he is both a drug user and a drug dealer. He even went as far as to pretend his own death as if he could conduct his business in secret. Still, he brought a certain edge and humor to the series.
7/8 Rich Stephenson
Vibrant and friendly on the outside, Community fans have long been convinced that something wasn’t right with Rich Stephenson. Played by Greg Cromer, the character first appeared in the episode “Beginner Pottery”, when Jeff and some others decided to join a new class. Jeff’s cynical and selfish personality made him jealous of the accomplished Doctor Rich, who seems to get along well with everyone and excels at just about anything. We never really found out what Rich’s deal was, but he lied about his pottery skills and, worse, during the… Halloween Zombie Episode, “Epidemiology,” he hid that he was infected. All in all, he nicely brought out Jeff’s competitive side.
6/8 Vaughn Miller
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A hacky-sack world champion player and musician, Vaughn Miller is one of the supporting Community characters whose return in the upcoming movie would be much appreciated. Played by Eric Christian Olsen, Vaughn is portrayed as the quintessential hipster: always shirtless, barefoot and very relaxed. In the first season of the series, he dates Britta. He is constantly made fun of for his small nipples and quirky way of greeting and saying goodbye to people. His relationship with Britta doesn’t end well, so he writes a hate song for her. He later reappears in the series, this time interested in Annie, despite Jeff and Britta’s disapproval.
5/8 Garrett Xander Lambert
Often seen as over-excited and nervous Community, Garrett Xander Lambert is one of Greendale’s many students, played by comedian Erik Charles Nielson. While no one really knows what he majors in, he is often seen in science programs and acting classes. Many college meetings have been held to “save” Garrett. in one of CommunityIn the final episodes of the series, we even see the character marrying his own cousin, sparking the controversial incest debate.
4/8 Officer Cackowski
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Officer Cackowski is actually played by an actor with the same last name, Craig Cackowski. The character starts out as a security guard at Greendale, but we later see and know him as Officer Cackowsi. He’s often called in to handle Greendale Seven’s shenanigans, and doesn’t seem overly impressed by it. Despite the bizarre nature of the crimes he must investigate, Cackowski never questions them and just does his job. He even ends up in hilarity in the episode “Fake Gun Finale”.
3/8 Todd Jacobson
Todd Jacobson is a character played by David Neher. What we know about Todd is that he is a highly decorated war veteran with a wife and daughter named Ellie. He is one of the supporting characters in Community whose journey we can clearly see throughout the series. He changes from a normal student in Greendale to a bit of a wack, just because the study group decides to harm him. They completely destroyed him during the Yam trial, when all he wanted was to return home to his family. Without the promise he made to his late father, he wouldn’t even be going to community school in the first place.
2/8 Leonard Rodriguez
Talking about the best supporting character in Communitywe couldn’t possibly omit Leonard Rodriguez, which is undoubtedly one of the first that comes to mind. Leonard, played by veteran actor Richard Erdman, has been a student at Greendale since 1975 and has no plans to graduate. Given that he no longer cares what people think of him, he is known for his bad behavior on campus: insulting others, vandalism, skinny dipping, etc. He is best known for his one-liners throughout the series.
1/8 Professor Ian Duncan
Last but not least, played by iconic comedian John Oliver, Ian Duncan is professor of psychology at Greendale. Duncan, born in England, moved to America with his grandfather. He developed a drinking addiction and met Jeff when he helped him get off the hook in a drunk driving accident. Jeff wanted to use him in return for a favor when he enrolled in Greendale, but as we discover, Duncan is not one to help others and care about their needs. After the second season of CommunityDuncan returns to Britain to care for his mother, but he returns later in the series, just before graduation from the study group.