Richard Kind Will Gladly ‘Whore’ Himself Out for Your Low-Budget Film: ‘I’ll Pretty Much Take 93 Percent of Jobs’

Need a zaftig character actor with a sweet smile and a can-do attitude? Richard Kind has you covered. The “Only Murders in the Building” guest star and announcer of “John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s in LA” is known to pop on screen left and right, with roles in multiple film and television shows over the last few years, including Apple TV+’s upcoming crime comedy “Wolfs” with close friend George Clooney. Discussing why he chooses to keep his work life so active in a recent interview with Vulture, Kind explained how, in large part, it’s just part of the practicality of being a provider.

“The big reason is I have three children in college,” he said. “I will whore myself because I have to pay for their college.”

Even when it means working on a low-budget set where “the director was the one doing the clapboard,” Kind is happy to have a chance to ply his craft. Especially because, often, he doesn’t have to bear the real burden most films go through in making their way to the screen.

“People say, ‘Why do you take that? Didn’t you know it was terrible?’ I took it because it’s not on my shoulders,” said Kind to Vulture. “I’m an actor for hire. That’s what I do. They’re paying me, it will give me fame, and it might lead to other work — those are the reasons I take it. I wish I could say that the challenge was the greatest reason, but it’s because parts are offered to me and I like to act. I’ll pretty much take 93 percent of jobs.”

Referencing his longtime pal, Kind acknowledged that other actors like Clooney, who have to “carry tentpole films,” have way more responsibility on their shoulders.

“When George Clooney says yes to a film, industries pop up — laundry, catering, hotels, other actors, writers, editors, all the special effects, the town where it might shoot, and the stockholders who invest in the studio with the hopes of making money,” Kind said. “There’s a lot of pressure on that guy. Me, I’ve got no pressure.”

As for the other seven percent of projects Kind doesn’t take on, he said it usually comes down to something about the project being “unseemly or unsavory” or a scheduling conflict like a parents’ weekend at his daughter’s school. Bringing up his daughter’s education later in the interview, Kind also joked about discovering he was the second most famous father at her school.

“A few years ago, I’m sitting at parents’ night and look across the room and my eyes bug open. It’s Daniel Day-Lewis,” Kind said. “He sees me look at him and nods to me, so he obviously recognized me. I went up to him when the thing was over and I said, ‘You know, I’m so fucking furious at you.’ And he goes, ‘Why?’ And I go, ‘Because I wanted to be the most famous father in the class.’”