Luis Guzmán reveals how Community got that statue of him

Community type TV Show network NBC

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It turns out something Community undertook may have been an even costlier endeavor than those paintball episodes.

Devout fans of the cult-classic NBC sitcom might recall one of its best running gags: the bronze statue of Luis Guzmán that Dean Pelton (Jim Rash) commissions to boost Greendale Community College’s prestige. (The character actor is apparently the fictional school’s most famous alumnus.) The statue appeared throughout the first two seasons before Guzmán himself appeared on the show, in season 3’s “Documentary Filmmaking Redux.”

On the latest episode of PeopleTV’s Couch Surfing, Guzmán reveals how the show secured his bronze likeness. “I got a call from [frequent Community directors] the Russo brothers,” Guzmán explains, “and they say, ‘Yeah, we need to send somebody to your house so they can make a bust of you.'”

But that wasn’t all: “This is the first time in my career that somebody did a statue,” he continues, “and the deal was, anytime they showed the statue, I got paid. They could’ve showed the elbow in passing, I got paid.”

That may explain why the statue stopped appearing after that season 3 episode; after all, Community had to use its budget carefully. Famously low-rated but adored by critics and loyal viewers during its (miraculously) five-season run on NBC, the show was known for its high-concept pop-culture parodies and elaborate set pieces, including a giant pillow-and-blanket fort, the aforementioned paintball battles, and a stop-motion animated Christmas episode.

RELATED VIDEO: Luis Guzmán explains how he accidentally got cast in Out of Sight opposite Jennifer Lopez

You can check out the Couch Surfing clip above, and the full episode over on PeopleTV.

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