Ron Funches, known for his role in the Apple TV comedy Loot, is experiencing a remarkable full-circle journey that he finds thoroughly enjoyable.

Long before Funches became the beloved character Howard on the successful show, now in its third season, he was employed at a Wachovia Bank call center—a job he detested. Funches admits he was eventually fired for bending the rules by reimbursing customers against company policy. Fast forward to today, and he portrays a character working at a philanthropic organization, assisting billionaire Molly Wells, played by Maya Rudolph, in giving away her wealth for good causes.

“It’s a rewarding full-circle moment, moving from a banking environment I distrusted to a show where we can talk about wealth inequality,” Funches shared with Decider during a Zoom interview. “Our satirical take on wealth becomes increasingly significant, especially this season. We tackle not just trivial billionaire problems but also delve into how influential figures manipulate government systems to their advantage. These are real-world issues today, and it’s empowering to be part of a show that addresses these topics through humor.”

As Loot kicks off its third season, Funches sat down with Decider to discuss various topics, including Henry Winkler’s intriguing guest appearance, Howard’s relationship dynamics with Destiny (played by X Mayo), his genuine friendship with Maya Rudolph, and more.

DECIDER: Loot has welcomed many iconic guest stars over the seasons, and Season 3 began with Henry Winkler portraying the leader of an upscale nudist community. How was it working with Henry and filming such an eye-opening start to the season?

RON FUNCHES: It was a real dream come true. I’ve been such a fan of his, way back to Happy Days, to his work on Barry, to animation work that he’s done. I’ve always been a big fan of Henry Winkler, and if you work in Hollywood long enough, you hear all these tales about how he’s such a great guy and his son’s a great guy. They say, “Don’t meet your heroes.” And then you find out he’s even better than you think. He is so sweet, so kind, so funny. He was willing to do anything. Appreciative is the word that I think of for him. He loves comedy. Now we’re friends and if I post some standup clips of mine he’s one of the first people to comment; Henry Winkler telling me how funny I am. It just fills me with so much joy and makes me feel that I can succeed in this business. I think someone like him knows his power, and how much joy he brings people, and he uses it a lot in that first episode. And it was cold. [Laughs] So I respect him so much for how much he did out on a beach in the middle of January. 

I always love seeing Howard and Sofia’s dynamic evolve each season, so I was thrilled to see Howard start dating her sister, Nicole/Destiny. Tell me a bit about working with X Mayo and getting to show that new side of your character? 

X Mayo is such a fun person to work with. She just came in like a ray of sunshine and fit right in. She’s so funny. So easy to get along with. We both had a nice discussion before we ever started about making sure that we wanted to show a nice, loving relationship. We thought it could easily devolve into a joke about two heavier people who were dating, and instead we were like, “We don’t want to ever bring that up as a joke. We want people to see us in love, and in passion, and having fun together.” And I think we pulled it off and played really well together. I also love what that relationship does for Howard and Sofia, how it changes Sofia from someone who’s been a fear for Howard, someone he tries to constantly avoid or run away from, to now suddenly he sees the Fifi. He sees the little girl in her, and can see that she’s not as put together as she shows. 

Such a great point. While Howard and Destiny dating ultimately brings him and Sofia closer together, unfortunately, they break up in Episode 8. What do you think Howard learned about himself from his time with Destiny?

I think he’s not completely over it. I think for Howard, it was less about Destiny breaking up with him, and more of him continuing to be in the same cycle of picking people that aren’t the best for him. Not seeing his own value. I think helping Arthur is a great way for him to avoid his own problems. But also, I think when you’re feeling down, one of the best things you can do is help other people, and he finds someone he can relate to. Arthur is going through the same thing. So it’s a big bummer for him, but I’m hopeful that in the next seasons — however many we get to go — that we do get to see Howard in a loving, stable relationship and see him build and grow from that. And then maybe Destiny comes back and tries to mess that up. [Laughs]

You’ve played the on-screen cousin and colleague of Maya Rudolph’s character for three seasons now. How has your relationship with Maya progressed over the years?

From Day 1, I’ve gone from being very intimidated by her to being real comfortable. She makes it easy. She’s someone who’s such a legend, and such a boss, and so iconic with so many great roles, but she really never makes you feel like that. She reminds you of how funny you are and how important you are to this show. One of the great moments for me is when she’s thinking about an improvised line. Sometimes she’ll come over to me and say, “What about this?” And I’ll be like, “You’re asking my opinion?!” It makes me feel more valued and more powerful in my own comedy, knowing that if someone like her wanted me on this show and sees my value, that I need to see my value more. She’s a true boss on every level, while being a good person, a good mother, a good wife. She’s a full-fledged human being, and I think that’s very, very rare. For so many people who succeed, their whole personalities can become about money. And Maya’s personality is about art, and comedy, and her family. I learn a valuable lesson from being around her every day. 

Before we wrap, I love your lore as it relates to Loot. I know you grew up not trusting banks and thinking they were stealing money. Then you worked for one, and got fired for giving people their money back. [Laughs] And now you’re an actor on TV helping a billionaire give away her money. Have you appreciated the full-circle moment of being on a show that is not afraid to critique wealth?

Oh, I love that you know my history. Thank you, I appreciate that. Yeah. It is a nice full circle moment from working at a bank and distrusting that process to now being able to discuss wealth inequality, and things like that. When we started this show, I felt like sometimes we got resistance, because people are like, “Oh, I don’t want to watch a comedy about a billionaire.” But to see what we do with it, and the way that we skew wealth and we make fun of it, I think it becomes more and more important every day. Especially in this season, as we go from it not just being silly billionaire money issues, to the government is affecting us and people are using their power to have sway in the government to try to shut us down. These are things that you see every day now. And when we were shooting it, I didn’t realize how much of in the zeitgeist these things were going to be. So it’s very empowering, and it makes me very proud to be in a show that’s discussing these things through humor. I think that’s what comedy is supposed to be. 

New episodes of Loot Season 3 premiere Wednesdays on Apple TV.