Kind Words

A talk with Richard Kind on political canvassing, acting, tooth brushing, Joe Biden, and everything in between.

(Netflix)

A few Sundays ago, some friends and I pulled up to a disheveled storefront office located next to a Chinese takeout place and across from a Wawa in a mini mall in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. 

Much like it was the last two presidential elections, Pennsylvania will likely be one of a handful of states that determine the outcome of the presidential election, and so New Yorkers like myself have been trekking to the Keystone State on weekends to speak with voters and nudge them in the direction of Kamala Harris and down-ballot Democrats.

We were there to knock on doors for Anna Payne, a Democratic candidate for the State House.  In 2022, the combination of extremist MAGA candidates and a robust get-out-the-vote operation propelled Democratic candidates like Josh Shapiro and John Fetterman to success, and helped Democrats flip the State House for the first time in 12 years.  This district had come agonizingly close to a Democratic victory, with the Republican incumbent winning by all of 76 votes in 2022, and so we were here on a sunny Sunday morning to knock on doors.

Canvassing, I have learned over the past decade, is where the rubber meets the road in American politics, where our good intentions meet the sometimes-unforgiving clay of reality.  It has made for some of the most challenging and rewarding work that I have ever been part of, and I have become a part-time, unpaid cheerleader for the work as a reflection of our highest ideals: building democracy, one voter at a time, one door at a time.

As my group was heading out, one of the campaign volunteers alerted us: Richard Kind was about to come in! I headed out to canvass, but I was intrigued by the ubiquitous character actor’s presence in pretty much the last place I would ever expect to see a celebrity.  A few weeks later, I caught up with everyone’s favorite genial Jewish uncle, familiar for everything from Spin City to Curb Your Enthusiasm to Everybody’s in L.A. to Inside Out, and asked him some questions about politics, volunteering, acting, and more.

What was it like for you to come back to your hometown and knock on doors?

I didn't do it because it was my hometown. I did it because Pennsylvania is an important state. I like going back to Bucks County.  I think that the tide is turning a little bit away from being so red, which made me very happy. Oh my God, you want to look at these people and go, “I wish you would change channels.”

Here's what I say: in Shakespeare, there's nobody more fun than Iago. Iago is the greatest villain. There's no greater enemy in the Die Hard movies than Alan Rickman. That's the character that you'll really find great. We've got a very entertaining guy, and he's a villain we don't understand. He just entertains us, and we pay the clown. We pay him with our adoration. We pay him with our vote. He's an idiot, and we've got a government to run in a country that looks to us.

I had a roommate years ago, when I was a young actor, who wanted to get his teeth so bright that he would brush very hard with hot water. He thought that this was going to get his teeth cleaner. And you can almost see why he might think that way. There's two things he did wrong. Number one, hot water ruins the enamel, and brushing really hard is bad for your gums. So he doesn't know the reality. He doesn't know the science or the facts behind it.

I find I have the same trouble in golf. I think I'm hitting down on the ball, but I'm not. I'm swooping it.

[Trump] calls himself a great brain, and he's not. He's just the opposite. He's a guy who brushes his teeth very hard with hot water. That's who he is.

I think we are all feeling nervous and frazzled about the election. Does canvassing help you with that?

Yes and no. I believe in God. I don't believe in a Christian God, necessarily, and I don't believe in a Jewish God, necessarily. I believe in a greater power. And I think this greater power might reward me if I go out and I work hard and I canvass.

This is not a good interview to be put into print because I sound like an idiot, but it's what I feel. I feel that I am doing something; please look down and let Vice President Harris win, or let Donald Trump not get into office.

Is it soothing? It is because I am democracy in action. In many, many countries, you can't do that. God only knows, if Trump had his way with what the Supreme Court gave him, he could have me shot or put in jail. And I'm not kidding, that is literal. I become an enemy. I am an enemy of the state.

One guy told me that all thirteen people in his family are voting for Trump down the line. He disheartened me. These guys have an argument for everything that you say, and it just isn't factual.

That's what Make America Great stands for. Let's go back to how it was where people were second-rate citizens in the 50s, 60s and 70s. That's making America great. That makes me sick.

How do you feel about Joe Biden’s choosing not to run for re-election?

I don't think there'll be a greater president in our lifetime since Franklin Roosevelt. The only bad thing he doesn't do, which is our fault, is he doesn't entertain. He's not a speaker. There's that phrase: “May you live in uninteresting times.” He's uninteresting. That's his only flaw. He's uninteresting.

And we want a king. We don't want the president. A president should keep things going.

I don't believe that the Republicans are on the side of the U.S. I believe they're on their side, and they happen to be in the U.S.

It's definitely notable to see the extent to which the Republican Party has been taken over as a family business for Donald Trump.

I mean, he was a stupid man, according to his father. His father thought he was stupid. But he's outlandish, truly outlandish, in what he does, and he's fascinating. He's the villain. He's Iago. Iago is entertaining. This guy's entertaining. You can't believe what he says. You can't believe what he gets away with.

I think that if Trump had the choice to go down in history like Hitler, or not go down at all, I think he would go down as Hitler. Am I saying he's Hitler? I'm not. I believe he would rather go down in history being remembered or being known than being good, and not being thought of.

Do you see a kind of relationship between acting and canvassing? Is there a similarity in any way?

No, my dad was in the retail business, and he sold jewelry in Princeton, New Jersey, at a beautiful jewelry store. There's more of a relationship between [being] a salesman than being an actor. My dad had a product that he truly believed in. He really believed that what he was selling was of the finest quality, and if you liked it, you were getting the best there was. When I go out canvassing, I truly believe that I am selling the best there is and I believe in it.

Are you planning to do any further volunteering between now and the election?

I plan to. I don't know whether it's going to happen, because I've got a lot of work. That's why, whenever I can do it, I just grab it. Pennsylvania is now the biggie, so I’m lucky.

[We pause for a few minutes as Kind unexpectedly asks me to list the ten most important down-ballot races in the country, including the names of the candidates running.  With copious assistance from Wikipedia, I pass the exam.  Laura Gillen in NY-4, people!]

I know you played Rudy Giuliani in Bombshell, prior to all of Giuliani’s 2020 electoral shenanigans. What was the process of figuring out how your Rudy would look and sound?

I don't know if you know the actor Rod Steiger. He talks a little like Rod Steiger. He's very clipped. His teeth got in the way. So, you know, a little bit of a lisp because of the teeth, and he was very, very clipped. That was his New York thing. Steiger talked like that. And then as far as the look, I sat in the chair, and the makeup person won an Academy Award. So that was easy.  

I've been a huge fan of Everybody's in L.A., the talk show on Netflix where you served as John Mulaney’s sidekick.  I love how unapologetically weird it was. Did it ever feel weird for you while you were doing it?

It felt like I didn't know what the hell was going on. But I can't say it felt weird. All I wanted was to do a good job for John and be there for him. To be honest— you can ask anybody—I thought I was doing a terrible job. I didn't know whether I was good or bad.

You’ve been a part of so many acclaimed comedy series in recent years, like The Other Two, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Girls5Eva. Is it gratifying for you to get to be a part of so many different comedy families?

It's totally my dream come true. When I first started Spin City, they said, “Oh, your character is going to be the breakout character.” And I never wanted to be a breakout character, ever. When I thought of somebody who is known for their character, I think of Carroll O'Connor's Archie Bunker, or Adam West as Batman.

I remember reading an article when Adam West said, “I'm not just Batman.” And I wanted to say, “No, you're just Batman.” And he never rose above it. Carroll O'Connor was a phenomenal actor. He will always be Archie Bunker. And he never got to do all that he wanted to. John Carradine, I think he’s got like five hundred credits.  That, to me, is the greatest. I want to be part of this. I want to be part of that. I don't need to do one character that will define me.

When you're canvassing, do you find that people recognize you?

That's one of the reasons why I think it's important for me to go out. Not that I have any great shakes of fame, but every once in a while, somebody will know who I am, and they'll recognize me, and maybe they'll listen to me more, or they'll remember my message. And that happened a couple of times on this canvassing, and it's in a district where a couple of votes really changed everything. It could make the difference between winning or losing, which I would love.

I don’t normally like it when people recognize me—I don't mind it— but if they recognize me because I'm trying to sell a point, then I'll lean into that.