Chris O’Dowd remembers heading home with his wife after seeing a preview screening of Bridesmaids. In that comedy, he plays Patrol Officer Nathan Rhodes, who winds up giving unlucky-in-love Annie Walker (Kristen Wiig) a new outlook on life and romance. “We were in London on the bus on the way home, and [my wife] was just so quiet,” Chris, 43, told Closer during the TCA Winter Press Tour. “She said, ‘I just can’t believe it.’ I’m like, ‘What?’ She said, ‘That’s the best film I’ve ever seen — and you’re in it!’ She was just so happy.” His wife was also right: Bridesmaids became a big sleeper hit in 2011.

Bridesmaids put Chris on the map for American audiences, but he’s been working steadily since he starred in the BBC comedy The IT Crowd for five seasons beginning in 2006. In recent years, Chris has split his time between film, theater and television. Next up, he stars in the new comedy series The Big Door Prize, scheduled to premiere on Apple TV+ this spring.

Did you want to become an actor when you were growing up in Boyle, Ireland?

No, never had the intention to do it. I did a school musical — a couple of songs in Grease. I remembered the sensation of being backstage before going on. You think that it’s just nervousness about going out in front of people, but it’s not. It’s an energy. I think there was something to that for me. But I went to university to become a political speechwriter. I ended up doing some theater and became obsessed with it.