This season, Community cast John Goodman in the role of the principal of the air conditioning repair school that competes with Greendale. Goodman just took a role in the Denzel Washington film Flight in which he has grown a pony tail and goatee. He goes back to work on Community next week.

“I’m screwed there,” Goodman said. “I’ve gotta work there next week and I told them as soon as I get the Flight job what was going to happen with the beard, so I don’t know what they’re going to do. I don’t know how we’re going to deal with it. I’m worried sick about it but I can’t [change it.]”

If any show can come up with a clever way to deal with a character’s drastic real world changes. Maybe they’ll be meta about it. “Yeah, you’re right. Maybe they’ll just use a computer generated pad on there.”

Goodman is promoting his latest film, The Artist, a silent film comedy that’s played the Cannes, Toronto and AFI film festivals. “You’re not going into it with the thought that you’re doing a silent movie,” he said. “You’re just doing a film [and] there’s no mics.”

As for Community, Goodman doesn’t know what’s in store for his next appearance. “I wish I knew. I don’t even know when I’m working next week. I only work a day a month and now it’s been six weeks since I’ve worked so I don’t know what’s going on. They call me when they need me and they’re going to get a little surprise with the hair and the beard this time. I don’t know. Since I work one day, I get to jam about six pages of dialogue into one day. It’s rough.”

Community airs Thursday nights at 8 on NBC. The Artist opens November 25.