It’s impossible to imagine anyone but Chet Hanks playing Travis Bugg, the unruly Los Angeles Waves point guard in the new Mindy Kaling comedy Running Point. “Chet Hanks gave us such an amazing audition that we were just like, ‘OK, it has to be him,’ ” co-creator Ike Barinholtz told Netflix.

Hanks steals the show as Travis, part-time rapper and full-time headache for party girl-turned-Waves president Isla Gordon, played by Kate Hudson. Over the 10 episodes, Travis is often recalcitrant, sometimes vulnerable, and always sidesplittingly hilarious. In Hanks’ hands, the character isn’t a one-dimensional caricature but instead the wayward heart of the show. “I loved working with Chet,” Hudson told Netflix. “I have to say, he’s so good in this. I think people are going to be really pleasantly surprised and enjoy what he’s doing with his character.”

With Running Point, Hanks got the chance to act alongside a who’s who of comedy legends: Scott MacArthur, Justin Theroux, and Drew Tarver play the three Gordon brothers, and Max Greenfield, Jay Ellis, and Brenda Song also star alongside Hudson and Hanks. Nicole Sullivan (Mad TV) plays Bonnie, Travis’s conspiracy theory-slinging helicopter mom. David Stassen is the co-creator with Barinholtz and Kaling, and Hudson, Howard Klein, Jeanie Buss, Linda Rambis, Michael Weaver, and James Ponsoldt executive produce.

“We hired Chet to really bring Chet, and we got it. He leaned in, he understood the assignment, and it shows what a talented actor he really is,” Hudson said. “There’s nothing more interesting than being self-deprecating, and it says a lot about someone. … He was game, which shows he’s got a great sense of humor — which you have to have to be on Running Point.”

Here, Hanks shares which scenes he ad-libbed, and why he didn’t have to look far for inspiration for his character.

Getting Drafted

I just got the audition like anybody else. Travis was so similar to me — honestly, he’s just an exaggerated version of myself. That’s what made me want to play him. The character description said he’s a white guy, he’s tatted up, he’s a wannabe rapper, and he’s always getting in trouble because of what he posts on social media. So I thought, “Man, if I don’t get this role, I might as well just quit.” 

Making the Character His Own

The hardest part for me was the basketball, which there really isn’t very much of. I was hitting the gym, I hired a private basketball coach, and I was just going through basketball drills. [As for the rapping,] I mean, if you’ve ever been a rapper or tried to be a rapper, anybody could do it.

In my opinion, you start from scratch with each scene, ’cause every scene is always different. I think [Kaling, Barinholtz, and Stassen] are all comedic geniuses, and they were super enthusiastic and supportive. They allowed me to ad-lib a lot, just think of stuff on the spot, deviate from the script a little bit. The writing is fantastic, but there were little tweaks I wanted to make, and I think that allowed me to just breathe even more life into an already really vibrant character.

In that clip where I’m spraying the deodorant and I say, “I seen your titties on the internet,” the deodorant wasn’t in the script. That’s just something I came up with on the spot ’cause they had a bunch of props. I just saw the deodorant, and I was like, “Well, if I’m finishing up a game and I’m getting ready, this is what I would be doing.” And when you’re doing little things like that, it adds a lot of life to the character, because that’s how people behave in real life. In the middle of a conversation, they’re doing things, they’re grabbing things.

Finding His Character’s Balance

I look at [the character’s range] as an opportunity to show more depth, so it was not hard to find a balance at all. But that’s also what I love about Travis: He’s really spontaneous. The whole purpose of the character is that he’s a wild card. You never know what you’re going to get from him. So [his evolution] fit into the role.

What’s funny about him is he doesn’t think that he’s being funny. He doesn’t think that he’s being ridiculous. He’s like an alien. He’s completely in his own world, but I think deep down, he’s just genuine — that’s what makes him lovable.

Being a Team Player

When it starts off, Travis is pretty dismissive of Isla. He’s purposefully trying to be disrespectful because he wants to get traded to Miami, because he’s from Florida and he doesn’t feel appreciated on the Waves. But Isla finds a way to get through to him, and then they have an effortless, good rapport with each other. That’s just a cool dynamic.

I think people say that Travis is the heart of the team, which I wouldn’t disagree with. Marcus [played by Toby Sandeman] is the star, obviously. So them being on good terms and getting along is crucial to the Waves’ success, which is great ’cause it also opens up a whole storyline about me and Marcus’ friendship.

Sixth (Wo)man

I had a lot of fun [with Nicole Sullivan, who plays Travis’s mom]. She’s a rock star. She came on the set and just knew exactly what she was doing. It’s not easy to just be able to own that space, and she’s a comedic genius and just killed it.

She improvised a lot, like that line about salmonella being a deep state lie, which I thought was so hilarious. Everybody on set cracked up when she said that, and it made the final cut.

Reviewing the Game Tape 

When I saw the episodes, I was happy with my performance, but the main thing I was excited about is just how everybody is so funny, and the way we interact with each other just feels so natural. I was just so happy to be a part of such a great production, ’cause I feel like every single character has their own appeal and their own unique humor to them, and everybody just executed it perfectly.

[Working with Hudson] was just really natural. She’s such a pro, and she really sets the tone for the pace of the whole show. That’s not an easy job to do, and she just nails it.

A Second Half

I have no idea [what’s going to happen to Travis in a potential second season], but I’d like to see a love interest, maybe a toxic relationship, some baby mama drama. Hopefully he cleans up his act. Hopefully [he] learns his lesson.

Buzzer-Beater

I just hope that [audiences] enjoy it. And I hope they know that one of the greatest successes of the show is [that] it can appeal to everybody. Guys, girls, sports fans, people who don’t care about sports at all, every age demographic … I honestly think that just everybody can enjoy it.