Gardell is known for his comedic roles and is influenced by Jackie Gleason. He has also listed Richard Pryor, George Carlin, John Candy, and John Belushi as his influences. Although Bonkerz helped launch his comedy career, he has credited the support from his grandmother, saying "She told me when I was 8 years old that I could be a comic". Before "Mike & Molly", Gardell revealed that he considered a career in radio after being on the road for his comedy act began to affect his family time. He has performed in several feature films, including "Bad Santa" (with Billy Bob Thornton) "You, Me, and Dupree" (with Owen Wilson) and "Avenging Angelo" (with Sylvester Stallone and Anthony Quinn) as well as appearing numerous times in recurring roles in several US television series, including NBC's "Heist", "The Practice", "Yes, Dear", "Desperate Housewives", "Lucky", 'Bones', "My Name Is Earl", "Monk", and "The King of Queens". Gardell appeared as himself on the Comedy Central series "Make Me Laugh". Subsequently, he appeared on Miller’s television program "Dennis Miller", telecast on the US financial news network CNBC (conducting "man-on-the-street" interviews). Notably, he created and staged a "SNL"-style charity performance of a piece called "Winter Park Live", the proceeds from which were donated to Comic Relief.