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Danny Jolles may live in Los Angeles, but his sports allegiance remains firmly planted in the Washington region.

The comedian and actor, known for roles in “Hacks” and “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” and appearances on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” proudly represents the Commanders from the West Coast. His commitment extends far beyond football: If a team carries Washington, D.C., in its name, Jolles considers it his team — including the UFL’s D.C. Defenders.

“There’s no decision in my mind of who to root for,” he said. “I root for the Washington, D.C. team.”

That unwavering loyalty is why Jolles bristles at comparisons with actor and Commanders supporter Matthew McConaughey. In Jolles’ view, choosing the team without broader ties to Washington is different from inheriting a connection to the entire region.

A fandom inherited from his father

Jolles said his rooting interests were settled early.

“My dad said we root for D.C. sports,” he recalled. “I said you got it. That was it. No discussion, no debate.”

Born in the District in 1987, Jolles spent his first few years in Maryland before growing up in Fairfax County, Virginia. He points to that path through D.C., Maryland and Northern Virginia as proof of his deep DMV roots.

Baltimore, however, belongs in a separate sports universe as far as he is concerned. Jolles said he enjoys the city and sees no need for a rivalry, but rejects the idea that Baltimore and Washington are part of the same sports market.

That distinction shaped his relationship with baseball. Washington had no Major League Baseball team during much of his childhood, but Jolles refused to adopt the Baltimore Orioles. He waited until the Nationals arrived and embraced them immediately.

More than a dozen years after moving to Los Angeles, he remains devoted. Jolles estimates that about 20 D.C. sports fans have found one another there, forming a small support network far from home.

The injury that still haunts him

Jolles’ most painful Washington sports memory is not one of the Capitals’ many playoff failures before their 2018 Stanley Cup victory. Nor is it tied to the Wizards, whom he says have rarely been competitive enough to inflict that kind of heartbreak.

Instead, he points to Robert Griffin III and the collapse of a once-promising career in Washington.

Griffin reinjured his right knee during a first-round playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks in January 2013. For Jolles, the lasting pain comes from his belief that the organization badly mishandled a generational talent.

“We did have a generational guy, and we blew it for no reason, stupidly,” Jolles said.

His disappointment goes beyond the team’s lost opportunity. Jolles sees Griffin himself as the person who suffered most from the dysfunction surrounding the franchise.

“He’s the greatest casualty of that situation,” he said.

The Nationals delivered his greatest season

The emotional opposite of Griffin’s downfall was the Nationals’ extraordinary march to the 2019 World Series championship.

Jolles was an infant when Washington won the Super Bowl in January 1988 and only 4 when it won again in January 1992. The Capitals’ 2018 Stanley Cup triumph was the first local championship he fully experienced as an adult, but the Nationals surpassed it one year later.

“2019 Washington Nationals is the greatest run ever,” he said. “That season was a magical ride.”

Washington opened that season with a 19-31 record before recovering to finish 93-69 and claim a wild-card berth. The Nationals repeatedly appeared to be on the verge of elimination, only to extend their run.

They completed it with a comeback victory over the Houston Astros in Game 7 of the World Series. The road team won all seven games, and Washington celebrated its first World Series championship since 1924.

Jolles said the uncertainty made the run unforgettable. Each stage felt as if it could bring the season to an end, yet the Nationals continued finding a way forward.

An appetite for openly local coverage

From Los Angeles, Jolles still follows every major Washington team. He considers the Capitals the region’s best-run organization, sees reasons for cautious optimism around the Commanders and has even persuaded himself to believe in the Wizards’ rebuild after the team became the first in NBA history to record three consecutive 64-loss seasons.

“I talk myself into anything,” he said. “That’s what I do.”

Jolles also believes local sports coverage should acknowledge the audience’s emotional investment. Rather than striving for complete neutrality, he wants hometown outlets to sound connected to the fans and teams they cover.

“I want to hear my guys,” he said. “I like to hear my people personally, that’s me.”

He would also welcome more humor in broadcast booths, suggesting a third commentator whose job is to keep the presentation loose. Jolles cited the brief pairing of comedian Dennis Miller with Al Michaels and Dan Fouts on “Monday Night Football” as a worthwhile concept that needed different execution.

Jolles previously hosted “Everything But the Scores,” a podcast focused on the stories surrounding sports rather than simply the results. He ended the show because researching and producing it alone required too much work, but said even modest financial support could persuade him to revive it.

If his acting and comedy career ever produces an opportunity in Washington sports media, Jolles said he would take it without hesitation.

“That,” he said, “would be the peak of my career.”