Joel McHale's double whammy: 'Community' and 'The Informant!'

Joel McHale doesn't often contemplate his success. He's too busy.

"I only feel overwhelmed when I start thinking about it," the Seattle native said in a telephone interview from New York. His parents, wife and two young sons have joined him there on a publicity trip for his new sitcom, "Community," and the premiere of his latest film, "The Informant!"

Until now, McHale was best known as the snarky host of "The Soup," an entertainment roundup on the E! cable channel that lampoons dimwitted celebrities and bad reality TV. But acting is a return to his roots: he has a master's degree in acting from the University of Washington and got what he considers invaluable practice on stage and in TV here before he left for Los Angeles.

"There's a huge misconception about Hollywood — that if you know the right people, you get the good gigs," McHale said. But he's had to audition for every role, including his latest — and biggest — as the central character on NBC's "Community." He plays an arrogant lawyer forced to join a community college's unenthusiastic rabble of students after the state Bar discovers he faked his degree. The ensemble cast includes Chevy Chase and "Daily Show" regular John Oliver.

"My character, and everyone's character, has something to work on," McHale said, predicting that they will evolve through future episodes.

Though he's made a good living from mocking the worst in entertainment, McHale aims to be part of the best. "TV is just like any other art," he said. "Ninety percent of all art sucks, and 10 percent has never been better."

In "The Informant!," which opens in Seattle Friday, McHale plays an FBI agent in a comedic drama, directed by Steven Soderbergh, about an agribusiness executive who spies on his own company. "I was just so thrilled to be in such a good movie," McHale said, adding that the film's star, Matt Damon, was "the nicest guy you've ever met, and remarkably funny. ... You can't believe this is the same guy who was Jason Bourne."

Growing up in Seattle, he says, prepared him for Hollywood but helped him avoid the fame-at-all-costs fever he will continue to mock on "The Soup."

He regularly returns to visit family and friends who help keep him humble. He says his parents don't watch "The Soup," and not even a starring role on a sitcom could move his brother to buy a TV. "Seattleites feel like they shouldn't have one," he said.