Richard Kind often plays men who resemble his surname — amiable if slightly neurotic guys like the ones in “Mad About You,” “Spin City” and “The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife.” So it’s shocking — shocking! — to see him browbeating Bobby Cannavale’s character in Broadway’s “The Big Knife.” In this Roundabout revival of Clifford Odets’ slashing Hollywood drama, Kind’s Marcus Huff is a monster, a studio bigwig who cries crocodile tears but will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Has he modeled Huff on any movie honcho in particular? “Not really,” says Kind, a father of three, including 8-year-old twins. “But I don’t trust any CEO’s. I think that to get where they got, there’s gotta be something askew.” Here’s what’s in his library.
American Pastoral
by Philip Roth
It’s set in the ’60s, about a golden boy. He loves his family, and everything was going right for him until his daughter becomes politically active. She takes it a step too far, and his life crumbles. I was astounded at how hard that book hit me. You can do your best by your family and still something terrible can happen.
The Winter of Frankie Machine
by Don Winslow
I read his book “Savages.” This one’s about a hitman who’s retired or at least peripherally involved, but suddenly forced back in. If you liked “Goodfellas” — a movie that, if I come across it [on television], I can’t turn off — you’ll love it. Robert De Niro has the rights to it, and I wish to God he’d make the movie. Do I want to be in it? Of course!
The Black Echo
by Michael Connelly
This is the first in his series about a grizzled police detective named Hieronymous Bosch, otherwise known as Harry. Since I had children, I’d fall asleep reading but I can read Connelly on a treadmill! I get the large print on my Kindle or iPad and jog. His books are easy to read and hard to put down.
Six Years
by Harlan Coben
We met at a charity poker event. I love his books. This one’s like “North by Northwest.” It’s about an innocent man who gets caught up in a secret world of intrigue, all because he was involved with a woman who disappeared. Harlan told me Hugh Jackman was going to do the movie and then told me not to tell anyone. Two days later, I read it in the paper!