Richard Jenkins has built up an impressive list of credits since he began working as an actor in 1980. Yet with all his credits, Jenkins has remained strictly in supporting roles. After his first feature film, the sci-fi drama The Falls, Jenkins landed work in a number of TV movies. In 1985 he returned to features, landing small roles in various films such as Silverado, Witches of Eastwick, and Little Nikita. From 1985 to 1994, Jenkins found television more profitable and spent most of his time working in mini-series and television movies. It was in this arena that he finally found starring roles in films such as Into Thin Air: Death on Everest And the Band Played On, and The Boys Next Door.