Why Larry From Amazon Prime's Paper Girls Looks So Familiar
Amazon's "Paper Girls," which is based on the comic of the same name, follows a group of four young girls whose adventures start the day after Halloween while on their respective paper routes. As the boys from "Stranger Things" might tell you, a simple day can very quickly escalate into a vast conflict. Time travel is the fulcrum in which "Paper Girls" spins, and there are two factions that are fighting in a time-spanning conflict over what can and can't be done regarding time travel.
On one side of the conflict is the Old Watch, who believe that messing with the timeline is a grievous sin. On the other side of this battle is the STF, who instead argue that time should be changed for the better. Larry Radakowski (Nate Corddry) is a part of the STF Underground and acts as a sleeper agent on his farm, where he is tasked with observing a wormhole through time that occasionally manifests in the fields around the farm.
If the actor who plays Larry looks familiar, that's probably because you've seen Nate Corddry in something else before. So, what else has he been in?
Nate Corddry's first major appearance on a television series was in Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
Perhaps the first place people may have seen Nate Corddry is in the 2006 show "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip." Crafted by the famous Aaron Sorkin of "West Wing" fame, "Studio 60" was his take on the behind-the-scenes drama and politics of a show similar in format to "Saturday Night Live." Although Danny Tripp (Bradley Whitford) and Matt Albie (Matthew Perry) are the stars and their characters run the production of the fictional sketch comedy program within "Studio 60," the rest of the cast is rounded by some truly impressive heavy hitters like Sarah Paulson, Amanda Peet, D. L. Hughley, and of course, Corddry.
Appearing in 22 episodes, Corddry played one of the actors on the show, Tom Jeter, and is one of the big stars of Tripp and Albie's popular series. Speaking with Pop Gurls in 2006, Corddry was asked about his role, and how his character of Tom doesn't seem to know he is making jokes, and he replied, "Maybe part of it is insecurity — who knows where Season One will take us — but I think [Tom] is one of those savant comedians. He's socially awkward, but when he gets in front of the camera or gets in a room of a bunch of writers, he's truly himself. He'll take risks, put the pedal to the metal."
He starred alongside Kathy Bates in Harry's Law
In 2011, Nate Corddry starred alongside the legendary Kathy Bates in the NBC television series, "Harry's Law." This particular show is about Harriet "Harry" Korn (Bates), who was a high-powered lawyer until she is fired, which has the consequence of temporarily breaking Harry's spirit. However, she steels herself and starts her own legal practice within a local shoe store. Corddry played the role of Adam Branch, also a lawyer, who enters the show by a chance of unfortunate serendipity — he smashes into Harry's car. He then becomes enamored with her skill and legal acumen, despite her constant jeering.
During a 2012 interview with Daily Actor, Corddry was asked about how his character has evolved through the course of the show and he responded, "I think a lot of it has to do with his relationship with Harry. It's been up and down, mostly up. He has an enormous amount of respect and appreciates how talented she is as a lawyer, but [he] also sees her without her really knowing it almost sort of like a mother-type figure I think. And this season he starts to see in different ways that she's human and that she's prone to weakness and prone to making mistakes."
Corddry appeared in all 34 episodes of the series, prior to its cancelation in 2012 (via Entertainment Weekly).
Corddry has appeared in two different shows with his famous brother
The proverbial elephant in the room, and probably why Nate Corddry looks so familiar, is that he is actually the younger brother of actor and comedian Rob Corddry, whom many will likely know from his time on "The Daily Show." Nate also made some early appearances in "The Daily Show," before the two brothers reunited on the faux medical comedy, "Childrens Hospital." According to IMDb, Nate appeared in five episodes of "Childrens Hospital" between 2008 and 2012. Throughout his time on the series, the younger Corddry played three different roles on the show: an unnamed prosecuting attorney, Dr. Jason Mantzoukas, and even a doctor who shares his own name, Dr. Nate Corddry.
Nate told Pop Gurls about his time on "The Daily Show" and being introduced as the brother of Rob by saying, "I obviously understand why they do that. It's compelling that there are two brothers on the same show together, and he's been there for three years and I've only been there for nine months. It's natural that I would become the progression because he's established, he's the senior correspondent."
Outside of television, IMDb indicates that the two have also worked together on 2006's "Arthur and the Invisibles," a 2016 TV movie called "The Hindenburg Explodes!," and a 2020 short titled "Guided by Voices: My Valuable Hunting Knife."
He played the manager of a restaurant and occasional love interest in Mom
Nate Corddry's next major role was that of a character in "Mom." Starring Anna Faris, Allison Janney, French Stewart, William Fitchner, and Jaime Pressly, "Mom" is about Christy Plunkett (Faris), and her attempts to restart her life in California. Although the show is a comedy, it deals with hard-hitting aspects of life, like addiction and sobriety. Both Christy and her mother Bonnie (Janney) are in recovery, and their struggles often form the backbone of the show.
Between 2013 and 2015, Corddry appeared in a total of 33 episodes. During his time on the series, Corddry played the role of Gabriel, Christy's manager at a local restaurant, with whom she share a forbidden romance during a long-simmering affair. In a 2013 interview with Vulture, Corddry was asked what makes "Mom" so special, and he replied, "That's sort of the great thing about 'Mom.' It's this half-hour sitcom in front of a live audience, but the things that these characters are talking about are real and scary. Like issues of sobriety and drug addiction, teen pregnancy, and infidelity. It's not all laughed off. There's a moment in every episode where you can truly relate to these people."
If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
Corddry plays a NASA Engineer and First Husband in For All Mankind
Before and during the production of "Paper Girls," Nate Corddry also lent his talents to the alternate-history television show "For All Mankind." Based on a history where the Space Race of the 1950s and 1960s takes an entirely different turn, each season of "For All Mankind" takes part in different decades, and shows what may have happened if the efforts of NASA were refocused after the Soviet Union becomes the first country to land on the Moon.
So far, Corddry has appeared as Larry Wilson in a total of 16 episodes. When he first appeared on the science fiction drama, he played a NASA engineer who becomes close friends with fellow astronaut Ellen Waverly (Jodi Balfour). Later, the two engage in a marriage of convenience, hiding their homosexuality from the world in order to retain their jobs at NASA. In Season 3, Ellen becomes the President of the United States, leading more than a few people to investigate the legitimacy of the duo's marriage.
Speaking with Starry Mag, Balfour was asked about her character's relationship with Larry, and if her character has any regrets over their hallow marriage, and she said, "There is massive regret there, but I think regret she doesn't really let herself think too much about. It's sort of that Pandora's Box of feelings that it's a lot easier to manage her life if she doesn't even go there. Whereas Larry, as we see, can dabble. He can hold both things in one hand. She just can't and we get to explore that a little bit more as the season goes on."