Richard Kind‘s best movies and TV shows reveal that this incomparable character actor has found his niche working with some of the best filmmakers in the world – and in an impressive range of roles. Kind got his start in the entertainment industry when he worked with The Second City in Chicago, a group with alums like John Belushi, Bill Murray, Jordan Peele, and Amy Poehler. This start led to his eventual big break when he got a role in the Paul Reiser/Helen Hunt sitcom Mad About You and then, shortly after that, Spin City.
While Kind had his biggest success on television, with more roles in Curb Your Enthusiasm, Stargate Atlantis, and Scrubs, he has also developed a substantial list of movie roles. However, most have been in supporting and minor roles. He has worked with directors like Roland Emmerich, George Clooney, Christopher Guest, and The Coen Brothers while developing a solid voice actor career, including roles in several Pixar movies.
10 Tick, Tick … Boom! (2021)
Richard King Played Walter Bloom
In 2021, Richard Kind joined the cast of the Lin Manuel Miranda movie Tick, Tick… Boom! This movie is Miranda’s directorial debut and tells the story of playwright Jonathan Larson as he worked on writing a musical to enter the theater industry. Andrew Garfield stars as Larson, who went on to write Tick, Tick… Boom! (the musical) and Rent, although he died the day before the latter premiered. Richard Kind appears in the film as Walter Bloom, the head of the musical theater workshop Larson worked with.
Although the film itself was lauded, Kind’s role is comparatively small.
Critics awarded the film a Certified Fresh rating, with an 88% average score and an even higher 96% audience score. Andrew Garfield earned an Oscar nomination and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. Although the film itself was lauded, Kind’s role is comparatively small. He was one of the panelists who attended a workshop with Larson a few years before Superbia and returned to help with that next movie. While a minor character, he was still memorable.
9 Stargate (1994)
Richard King Played Gary Meyers, Ph.D.
In 1994, Richard Kind worked with Rolan Emmerich on the science fiction movie Stargate. This movie was the original release that eventually spawned a television franchise with several iterations. The original starred James Spader as a linguist sent through a portal to the far reaches of space with a military unit (led by Kurt Russell) to see what was out there. Kind starred in the movie as Dr. Gary Meyers
Kind also returned to the franchise years later on Stargate: Atlantis.
Meyers was one of the researchers studying the Stargate before Spader’s Dr. Daniel Jackson made his way through it. The film was both a huge box office and critical success. What is interesting about this appearance is that Kind also returned to the franchise years later in Stargate: Atlantis, where he played a character named Lucius Lavin in 2006. In both, he delivered a great performance as a scientist type, but not one who overshadowed the film’s actual leads.
8 Only Murders In The Building (2024)
Richard King Played Vince Fish
Only Murders in the Building has proven effective at attracting big stars to appear in often smaller supporting roles. The main characters include Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez, as three residents of an apartment building with a love of true crime who end up involved in solving some murder mysteries of their own. Throughout the series, names like Paul Rudd, Meryl Streep, Zach Galifianakis, Eugene Levy, Tina Fey, Nathan Lane, and Eva Longoria have joined as guests.
He is a resident of the West Tower who has an eye patch.
Richard Kind joined the cast in the fourth season as a character named Vince Fish. He is a resident of the West Tower who has an eye patch. This season, the three sleuths are trying to figure out who killed Sazz (Jane Lynch). Vince is one of the main suspects in the murder. The season is still ongoing as of this writing, but Kind delivers a great nuanced performance in the first few episodes, showing someone who might have something to hide but never going overboard on the red herrings.
7 The Station Agent (2003)
Richard King Played Louis Tiboni
In 2003, Tom McCarthy directed the comedy-drama The Station Agent, which stars Peter Dinklage as Finbar, a man who prefers a solitary existence but finds that disrupted when his friend dies and leaves him a rural property with an abandoned train depot on it. While Finbar thinks this will be a quiet existence, he ends up reluctantly sucked into the lives of his neighbors. Kind stars in a small role as Louis Tiboni, the attorney at the start of the film.
Kind delivers the best line at the film’s start when he sets Fin on his journey
Louis tells Fin about his inheritance and the plot of land he was bequeathed in the will. It’s a small role, and he is only there for one scene, but Kind delivers the best line at the start when he sets Fin on his journey by saying there is nothing out there at the depot, which plays into Fin’s desire for isolation. The film was a critical success, with a 94% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It also won several critics’ awards at the end of the year and took home the Sundance Film Festival Audience Award for Dramatic Feature.
6 Argo (2012)
Richard King Played Max Klein
Ben Affleck directed the historical drama thriller Argo in 2012. The film tells the story of the rescue mission to bring a group of Americans home after they end up stranded in war-torn Iran during the Iran hostage crisis. The true story is fascinating, as the CIA created a fake science fiction film production to send in agents to help rescue the trapped Americans.
Richard Kind plays a small role as a Hollywood agent named Max Klein. He has a script that he wants to sell to MGM, but when the deal falls through, the CIA is able to buy the rights for its fake movie shoot. Kind is only in the film for one scene, which was normal for most actors in this ensemble. However, his dialogue with Alan Arkin remains a highlight, showing two actors sparring at the top of their game. Argo won the Oscar for Best Picture, while Chris Terrio won for Best Adapted Screenplay.
5 Curb Your Enthusiasm (2002-2021)
Richard King Played Cousin Andy
Richard Kind earned a recurring role on the HBO sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm, where he played Cousin Andy. Curb Your Enthusiasm aired for 12 seasons and 121 episodes and stars Larry David in a highly fictional version of himself. Shot as a mockumentary, it shows how the Seinfeld creator deals with life in the entertainment industry and the strange people he meets along the way.
While many people who appear on the show play versions of themselves, Richard Kind is a fictional character on the sitcom. Kind is Andy David, Larry’s obnoxious cousin from New York who later moves to Los Angeles. He appears in seasons 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, and 11 and often joins David for several outings. Thanks to his history as a comedian before he started acting, Kind is able to riff in his scenes with Larry David, and their interaction makes his random appearances always a highlight on the sitcom.
4 A Serious Man (2009)
Richard King Played Arthur Gopnik
In 2009, Richard Kind took on a role in one of the Coen Brothers’ underrated yet critically acclaimed films. Kind stars as Arthur Gopnik in the Coen Brothers’ A Serious Man. Michael Stuhlbarg as Larry Gopnik, a professor of physics living in Minnesota whose wife asks for a divorce, and his kids are always getting into trouble. Kind plays Larry’s homeless brother, Arthur, who sleeps on the couch.
Kind plays Arthur as someone who struggles to make the right decisions and almost always fails, but is still someone that his brother and the viewers want to see find a way out.
Arthur is just one of Larry’s problems in this complex exploration of faith and perseverance. While he isn’t the lead character, he is one of the most important as he is someone Arthur feels responsible to care for. Kind plays Arthur as someone who struggles to make the right decisions and almost always fails, but is still someone that his brother and the viewers want to see find a way out. A Serious Man received a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars, although it lost to Hurt Locker.
3 Mad About You (1992-1999)
Richard King Played Dr. Mark Devanow
Richard Kind made several minor television appearances before his big break thanks to the 1992 sitcom Mad About You. This show stars Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt as a married couple in New York City and follows them as they navigate life together in the big city. Reiser plays Paul, a documentary filmmaker, while Hunt plays Jamie, a PR specialist. Kind, who plays Dr. Mark Devanow, is among the supporting cast members.
Leila Kenzie plays Fran, Jamie’s best friend and co-worker. Mark is Fran’s ex-husband, whom she is still on good terms with. He spends most of the series discovering himself and trying to win Fran back. Mark was a main character in season 1 but dropped to recurring in all but season 6 after that. Kind was a fantastic supporting character in the series, always on edge and never completely likable since he broke Fran’s heart. However, it is a testament to his acting that he ended up redeemable in the end.
2 Toy Story 3 (2010)
Richard King Played Bookworm (Voice)
Many fans considered Toy Story 3 to be the perfect conclusion to the franchise. While Pixar returned with a fourth movie that was also of high quality, the third film seemed top perfectly wrap up the story of Andy when he finally moved on from his beloved toys. In this movie, Andy is moving to college and Woody, Buzz, and the others have to figure out what is next for their lives as their boy has finally grown up. The main cast was back for the movie and delivered the great performances that fans had grown accustomed to.
Kind brought arrogance and conceit to the voice role…
Richard Kind joined the cast as a new character, voicing the Bookworm. He was one of the Sunnyside Daycare toys and kept the library and the knowledge on how Lotso can keep control of the newly arrived toys. Kind brought arrogance and conceit to the voice role, never threatening to eclipse Lotso’s role as the antagonist but working perfectly as a secondary villain. However, while Toy Story 3 is widely considered the best Pixar movie, it wasn’t Kind’s best performance in a Pixar movie.
1 Inside Out (2015)
Richard King Played Bing Bong (Voice)
Richard Kind has voiced a lot of animated movie roles over his career, including several for the studio Pixar. He even had a voice role in Pixaar’s second-ever animated movie, A Bug’s Life. However, he also voiced one of the most beloved characters that presented one of the most heartbreaking moments in any Pixar film. Inside Out tells the story of a young girl struggling with her emotions, and the film shows this from the point of view of her emotions inside her head.
Not only does the viewer see Joy, Sadness, and other emotions, but they also see her childhood memories. One of these memories is an imaginary friend she had as a child named Bing Bong, a friend who sacrifices himself to save Joy and Sadness. Richard Kind voiced Bing Bong in Inside Out. While most critics consider Toy Story 3 to be the better Pixar movie, Inside Out allowed Kind to deliver a heartbreaking voice performance as one of Pixar’s most memorable characters in the studio’s history.