“Seinfeld” actor Michael Richards said he is “immediately sorry” but “has no plans to come back,” referring to the racist riots that effectively ended his career nearly two decades ago.
The three-time Emmy Award-winning actor, who played Cosmo Kramer from 1989 to 1998, has largely stayed out of the spotlight. Ever since he was filmed yelling the N-word at a group of black people in 2006. who heckled him during his stand-up set at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles.
“As soon as I said that on stage, I immediately regretted it,” Richards said of that night. People Magazine interview“I have no desire to return,” he said in a post published Wednesday.
“My anger was all over the place and came through hard and fast. Anger is quite a force. But it happened. Instead of running from it, I tried to dive into the depths and learn from it. It wasn’t easy.”
The interview is the latest in a series of steps for Richards to return to the public eye as he prepares to publish his autobiography, titled “Entrances and Exits,” next month.
In April, the 74-year-old actor made a rare appearance at the premiere of his former co-star Jerry Seinfeld’s new film, Unfrosted.
“I’m not a racist,” Richards told People magazine about the Laugh Factory incident in 2006. “I have nothing against black people. The guy who said I wasn’t funny just said something I’ve been saying to myself for a while. I felt insulted. I wanted to put him down.”
Richards was advised by crisis managers to do damage control, but instead spent the past 17 years “deeply analyzing” his insecurities, including his anxiety about becoming a celebrity. He said he decided to. Because of this, he has repeatedly turned down offers to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and host Saturday Night Live.
“I felt like I wasn’t right for the role,” he said. “I was never really happy with my performance on Seinfeld. The fame just added to my insecurities.”
“For some reason, I never really felt the joy of being an artist,” he said of his time as Kramer on “Seinfeld.” “I was a good character actor, but I was content being the character, not being me.”
Since 2006, Richards has rarely appeared on screen, appearing as himself on “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and a few episodes of Jerry Seinfeld’s talk show, “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.” He also had a supporting role in the sitcom Kirstie, which was canceled after one season in 2014.
