If you turn on a TV or sit in a movie theater, it's likely you'll see one particular actor … and there's also a good chance you won't know his name: "I'm walking from the subway to the theater and a woman – I was in Times Square, so she's obviously a tourist – she goes, 'Oh, my God, there's, hey, hey, hey, hey…' Didn't even know the name!"His name is Richard Kind, and he's quite happy being just a little famous."I'll walk down the street and somebody will go, 'Oh, you're a national treasure.' And then I pass 250 people who don't know who I am, and yet that person thinks I'm a national treasure!" he said.
National treasure Richard Kind has made a lot of people laugh, and sometimes, nap.I asked, "When you're on the stage, do you ever look down and see somebody asleep?""Sure!" "What's that feel like?""I say, I don't blame you!" he laughed.
Over the years, Kind has shown up everywhere.Maybe you've seen him on "Poker Face," or "Mid-Century Modern," or "Only Murders in the Building." He's also the announcer and sidekick on the Netflix talk show "Everybody's Live with John Mulaney."For 45 years, he's worked on Broadway (earning a Tony nomination for "The Big Knife"), and in movies and television, to become a respected actor.
But that wasn't always his goal."When I was young, lying in bed, dreaming of stardom, I wanted stardom," he said.
"I didn't wanna be a good actor; I wanted stardom." Kind thought he'd follow his father into his Princeton, N.J., jewelry business."That I'm an actor is so wrong," he said.
"I should have gone into my dad's store.I should be in business.
I should have been a lawyer.I should have done what is expected of a suburban middle-class kid."He said growing up he was teased more than most: "I was a fat kid.
I bet I was a loser.I'd might have made fun of me!"But at summer camp, a friend gave him what became an essential life lesson: "He taught me how to laugh at myself," Kind said.
"Was that laugh-at-your...