Congratulations on a wonderful performance.

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No, I did not think so.

I loved the idea that he was the imaginary friend.

An actor often says, What is my want in this scene?

What is my purpose?

Thats what theyre there for.

So Im there to guide Joy and Sadness.

But at the end, what resonates with the audience is the very sad disappearance of childhood memories.

And there is nothing sadder than the acceptance that we are growing up.

I dont want an imaginary friend, I want the fountain of youth!

But it doesnt come.

And we cant we just have to accept it.

I think thats a very sad thing to accept.

I think thats what makes the film so resonant for people of different ages.

Theres something for kids, but adults too.

I think this speaks greater to adults.

In ways that they have no idea.

See this film at 21 and look back on your life.

Look at this as a parent… everyone has such a strong reaction.

Its just I cant think of the word, but its hard.

It hits them hard.

Jimmy Durante dies, and theres a bucket.

He kicks the bucket.

You see the bucket go down the hill?

I thought it was the funniest thing Id ever seen.

The audience was laughing and I laughed and laughed.

But I didnt know the meaning I had never heard [the phrase] Kick the bucket.

I had no idea that kick the bucket meant he was dead.

When I was a kid I didnt understand that joke, but I remember laughing!

Have people recognised your voice since?

Every once in a while I get somebody.

Ill be talking on the street and somebody will turn around and say, I knew that was you!

I could tell your voice anywhere!

I wonder how many people recognise that its my voice.

A friend of mine who happens to be… you know Roger Friedman [the film critic]?

I think he saw it at Cannes.

So some people know it, some people dont.

Its the way your voice meshes with the visuals, isnt it?

It becomes another entity unto itself.

Like I said, I knew what my job was.

I mean, [goes into the voice of Bing Bong] hes a little happier when he talks.

He talks in a higher voice…

Heres something.

I have the son of a friend who is… hes slow.

Hes mentally challenged a little bit.

And hes loud, and he gets very close when he talks.

He has no filter whatsoever.

When hes happy to see you, hes happy to see you, and hes loud about it.

Richard, how are you!

Its lovely to see you right now!

I think I may have channeled him a little bit.

It just occurred to me now, but thats who he is.

Theres an innocence and a purity.

As I say, hes challenged.

I talk very fast; the lines come out… it was an interesting character to do like that.

But there was purity theres no malice whatsoever.

Its a wonderful character to do no malice at all.

When he sits down next to Sadness and says, How do I feel?

I just feel sad.

She is woken up to different feelings.

Thats true of the film as a whole, isnt it?

There arent any villains in it.

Its unusual in that sense.

There are no villains.

So youre suspicious of [Bing Bong] at first, I think.

Is this the guy whos gonna turn the tables?

That really is a kick in the gut.

Its a real turn of the tables not only am I not bad, Im saintly.

Some fairytales tend to maintain a certain status quo, didnt they?

In the sense that the ugly characters are often evil.

The pure-hearted ones are the young, good-looking ones.

Frozenwas really a great twist.

I was quite tricked by it.

But here, theres only goodness, theres only purity.

I was watching something the other day, they threw baby showers for the wives of soldiers.

Theyre not widows, but theyre mothers and their husbands are off at war.

But there were close-ups of the babies and the mothers with the babies.

And I was thinking, God, its been forever since I last held a baby.

Thats sort of this guy [Bing Bong].

Hes like that, except he can talk and he has opinions.

But its a blank slate of purity.

Because hes been created so he can comfort a young child.

Thats why I exist, to comfort a young child.

Looking back through your career, youve worked with some incredible directors.

I was looking earlier: the Coen Brothers, Clint Eastwood…

Arthur Penn!

Not on film, but on stage.

Ive been lucky, yeah.

Is there a director youre particularly proud to have worked with?

Im very proud of the movieA Serious Man.I thinkA Serious Manis also a masterpiece.

That one deals with psychological and theological questions that there are no clear-cut answers to.

Its, whats the word Im looking for…

I think thats a really good word.

I wasnt what I was thinking but they are profound movies.

Both of them are profound, and deal with profound issues.

It delves deep, its not just on one layer.

There are layers to both of those films,Inside OutandA Serious Man.

Youve worked with Pixar quite a few times now…

Yeah, five times.

So they decided to stay with Billy Crystal and not me!

But they were right.

I would have liked to have seen that.

But personally, Im thrilled, because I got the run of the movie a lot more.

I think its a good thing.

I think its really funny that the imaginary friend should be their help.

Somebody who doesnt exist.

Thats a really imaginative and wonderful thing.

Richard Kind, thank you very much.

Inside Outis out on DVD and Blu-ray on the 23rd November in the UK.