Richard Riehle, Character Actor and ‘Office Space’ Scene-Stealer, Dead at 78 — SkimNews
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- Richard Riehle, prolific character actor, has died at 78 with no cause of death immediately available, per Variety.
- Riehle amassed more than 400 career credits on IMDB, with 10 additional upcoming projects still listed at the time of his death.
- Riehle's film career lifted in the late 1980s with the 1989 Civil War drama Glory, and he later landed a role in Martin Scorsese's Casino (1995) after Joe Pesci helped him get the part following their meeting on The Public Eye (1992).
- Riehle appeared across the Star Trek franchise — The Next Generation (1992), Voyager, and Enterprise — and held a recurring role on the sitcom Grounded for Life.
- Riehle's most enduring performance was as Tom Smykowski in Office Space (1999), featuring the now-iconic "Jump to Conclusions" mat; Riehle told The AV Club that Mike Judge said the mat had "disappeared."
- Riehle continued working into recent years, with film credits including Bridesmaids, Transformers: Age of Extinction, and Pee-wee's Big Holiday.
Why it matters: Riehle's death closes a nearly 50-year career arc that produced 400+ film and TV credits — from regional Pacific Northwest theater to genre-spanning work in Glory, Casino, and three Star Trek series. With 10 upcoming projects still listed on IMDB, audiences will keep encountering his work even after his passing.
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