Richard Kind On AUGGIE, Social Media, And Returning To CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM

Richard Kind has been one of the most recognizable character actors for more than three decades. Having appeared in such noteworthy television series as Mad About You (for which he is reprising his role as Dr. Mark Devanow in the current reboot), Spin City, Scrubs, and Curb Your Enthusiasm, lent his unique voice to various animated hit features like Inside Out and A Bug’s Life, and acted in countless popular critically acclaimed films including Argo, The Station Agent, and Confessions Of A Dangerous Man, Kind‘s filmography is characterized by both prestige and impressive range.

His latest film, Auggie, finds Kind in a role he isn’t used to portraying, onscreen, despite his storied career: that of leading man. In the vein of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Her, and Marjorie Prime, Auggie is a meditative exploration of the negative impact of practical and impractical applications of AR and AI technology. A somber, delicate, precautionary tale. Kind shines as a lonely, recently retired man at a crossroads in his life, yearning for human connection.

Recently, I caught up with Kind about Auggie‘s impressive script, the exciting challenge of playing the lead, how social media furthers societal isolation, acting in comedy and drama, returning to Curb Your Enthusiasm next season, and more.

Alex Arabian for Film Inquiry: Fantastic performance in Auggie. Congratulations.

Richard Kind: You’re very nice to say that. Thank you. I’m just happy you saw the movie [laughter].

What intrigued you about this project to get you to sign on?

Richard Kind: I can’t say the word was intrigued. What intrigued me about it is that I was offered the lead, and I don’t get offered the leads in movies very much. I’m glad that it was a good script. I never thought it would see the light of day. I never thought it would be distributed. But it is a testament to how good the movie is that not only is it getting distributed and will be out in movie theaters, which a great majority of movies don’t get, but it’s being distributed by one of the most prestigious distributors in the entire world. Samuel Goldwyn is a big deal with really great quality films, and I’m really honored that the Goldwyn company picked it up.

Now, I liked the script very much. It was a really good script. I thought the character was great. I thought the point of the movie was fantastic. But what was good for me is that I’m a character actor, and character actors usually don’t have the leads in movies or what they call an arc. So, what I do in the first scene carries on throughout the movie. What I usually get are three or four scenes that impact the story, but I don’t have much of an arc. In this one, I do. And I have to live that guy’s life every day at the shoot, and I’m in every scene of the movie. It’s difficult. And I thought it was a great challenge, and I said, “I want to do it.”

Preparation-wise, what different approach, if any, do you take with a leading role?

Richard Kind: Nothing. Nothing different. You read the script. Everything that you need to know is in the script. You make your decisions. And when you come on set, you are open but you’ve made very firm decisions. And what an actor does is he plays pretend, and I just went and I played pretend that I was this guy.

Much like films like Lost in Translation with Bill Murray’s character, you get the sense that Felix is at a crossroads in his life. He seems to have put things on pause for a long time, and he isn’t exactly sure how to resume them. In your opinion, what does his relationship with Auggie represent?

Richard Kind: I don’t think it represents anything. I think it is what it is. He is a man who’s life looks like it’s on the downhill trajectory, while the women in his life are propelling ahead. His wife, at a certain age, gets a promotion when she should be put aside like her husband is. His daughter is graduating law school; certainly has her life ahead of her.

And this is a guy who’s not desperate, but like you said, he’s at a crossroads. I didn’t even think of that, but he is. He’s at a crossroads. And something that’s very good in this #MeToo world is that he is helped by what is, in essence, a young woman. However, he is really helped by himself because the augmented reality that he’s chosen comes from his own brain, represented by this woman.

Do you feel that technology ultimately brings people closer together or creates further human isolation?

Richard Kind: Bill Maher, about three weeks ago, talked about that maybe these monsters who are doing the killings, the mass shootings, are isolated. And I didn’t even think of that, but it is. Whenever you go on social media, nobody posts anything bad. They go, “Look at the fun time I’m having. Look at the good meal I’m having. Look at who I’m out with tonight. These are all my friends.” Then you have some poor schmuck who’s sitting alone in his room hugging his guns, caressing his guns, and saying, “I’ll show them. I’ll show them.” And I think that it is very distancing.

For a while, this augmented reality is helping him navigate through very difficult times and difficult waters, and then it, of course, gets out of hand, which is what the internet is. The internet’s a spectacular thing and certainly helps us in research and in getting information out there, and it’s also, now, our biggest enemy. Look what it’s done with our Alexas. Look at what the internet is doing about isolating people.

So it’s like, TV is great, except if you watch it 19 hours a day. Then it stinks. Then it’s horrible. But that’s what it is. That’s what happens with technology. It careens out of control. But that’s what makes drama.

And like you’re saying, this film is a precautionary tale.

Richard Kind: Absolutely. And it’s been done for ages and ages and ages. In films, it pretty much started with HAL in 2001. The movie Her is spectacular. Charlie Chaplin sold it in Modern Times. It’s not a new theme, but it’s an interesting story, this one. And very well made for a very, very low budget. It’s astounding how little it cost to make. And we did the movie in 12 days. It’s crazy.

What were some of the hurdles during production on a microbudget?

Richard Kind: Much of the equipment, some of the editing time – you go into an editing booth, you got to rent the space – some of that was donated. So, they really got to cut the cost of the movie. And these are two young guys who went out and said, “Let’s make a movie.”

Not only did they make a movie, they got it distributed. Because it costs a certain amount of money to make a movie. It costs an outrageous amount to distribute it because you’ve got to pay for TV and print ads. You’ve got to get it out. You’ve got to get people to know what it is. And although we’re talking, I don’t believe you’re the biggest outlet ever we could have. You got to get big names. Who’s going to know that this movie exists? How do you get it out there? It’s tough. It’s very, very difficult.

Speaking of the lower-budget films like Auggie, do you prefer working on an intimate set like that or something bigger-budget where it’s maybe a little more lively like a set like Gotham?

Richard Kind: I got to tell you, the bigger the set is not the most liveliest. It’s a small set that’s lively because you’re working quickly; you don’t have to worry about lighting as much. The lighting goes quicker. You do Gotham, they light and it takes forever. To make those pictures look so good takes forever.

So, I happen to like working quicker on small, little movies. That’s more fun. It’s closer to theater. You do it, and you get it up, and you move quickly. Big-budget movies are a pain in the neck. They’re just a pain. Burl Ives once said, “I get paid to wait. The acting I’ll do for free.” And when you do big-budget things, you’re waiting and you’re waiting and you’re waiting. And when there are bigger economic consequences for the product, it usually takes longer.

You’ve had a storied career in both comedy and drama. Which genre is more your preference?

Richard Kind: Even when I’m doing comedy, I treat it like drama. I like to work. I like to play pretend. I like to go to work. You know what? I have to say, I would probably choose drama now because when I do comedy, a lot of times I have to heighten the reality, and I don’t always talk like a human being talks because that’s not what’s going on there. There are arrows pointing at the comedy, and I have to serve the comedy to get the laughs. And every once in a while, I’m able to do realistic comedies, usually when I do a play. But doing drama where I’m not expected to get a laugh tends to be easier.

I’m a huge fan of Curb Your Enthusiasm and your character as Larry David’s cousin. How did that come to be?

Richard Kind: First of all, the interesting thing is that, yes, I’m very proud to be on that show because I happen to love it. And sometimes I like not being on the show because I want to be surprised by what happens. But it all happened because Jeff Garlin is a very dear friend of mine. And when they were casting the role of Andy, the cousin, Jeff suggested me and Larry said, “No, he’s way too famous.”

And, at the time, anybody who was famous was playing themselves. They weren’t playing a character. With the exception of Ed Asner, who dies on the show, and he didn’t want people to feel that Ed Asner had died on the show. In any case, he thought I was too famous and that I could only play myself. And Jeff and I convinced him that I wasn’t too famous and that I could play a character, and I’m glad that that happened. And I’ve only done four episodes. You think I’m on a lot, and I love the stuff that I get to do on the show. However, I was only on four episodes.

Well, you definitely make an impact. Have you had any conversations about returning in the future?

Richard Kind: I’m lucky enough this particular season that’s coming up, I’ve done three. I’ve done three episodes. Yeah. So, I will be seen again.

Going forward, what’s next for you? Any exciting projects on the horizon?

Richard Kind: The only thing I can tell you is that Mad About You is being rebooted, and I’m going to be doing that. And just working and working and working, just keep doing things that people don’t see.

Film Inquiry would like to thank Richard Kind for taking the time to speak with us.

Auggie is available in theaters and on VOD. For more information on its release, click here.