Kevin Pollak on Monday addressed the killing off of his recurring “Mom” character, Alvin, calling the death-by-Chuck Lorre “a bizzaro world honor.”
“As a character actor, the opportunity to do all sorts of things is a blessing and a curse,” Pollak told reporters during the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour panel for his new CBS sitcom “Angel From Hell.” “‘A Few Good Men,’ ‘The Usual Suspects,’ ‘Casino’ — that little three-year run wiped out 15 years of stand-up comedy and a couple HBO specials. However people discover you is how they know you.”
He recalled drifting so far from his humorous roots that Pollak’s eventual “The Whole Nine Yards” director Jonathan Lynn didn’t think he could actually handle a comedy. All that setup was for Pollak to say that he’s grateful for Lorre and “Mom” getting him back in the sitcom game, on-screen fatal heart attack or not.
Plus, Pollak never had intentions of staying on the Allison Janney-Anna Faris series forever; his 14-episode run was actually supposed to be significantly fewer, he told TV critics.
“So when Chuck Lorre calls and says, ‘It’s time to go so I can create more of a problem for those two characters’ … it was this bizzaro world honor, quite frankly,” Pollak concluded.
“Angel From Hell” premieres Thursday, Nov. 5 at 9:30 p.m. ET. The show also stars Jane Lynch, Maggie Lawson and Kyle Bornheimer, all of whom were also in attendance in the Beverly Hilton ballroom.