Frustrated, Fed Up and Fried

David Krumholtz is stepping away from acting after more than 30 years in Hollywood, saying the business has left him “frustrated, fed up, fried.”

The 48-year-old actor declared that he is taking an “indefinite break” amid concerns about how actors are treated and fears that he could go “broke.”

“I kinda sorta put my acting career on hold the other day. It’s been something I’ve been petrified to do for years,” Krumholtz wrote Monday in a Threads post that was later deleted, as Page Six reported.

David Krumholtz, who played Kor-El in this year’s “Supergirl” and appeared in “Oppenheimer” and “The Studio,” said on Threads Monday that he’s done with acting and ready to start a “new life.”

However, he later deleted the posts that spoke of his frustration with getting jobs in… pic.twitter.com/6FylPmjvoy

— Variety (@Variety) August 19, 2026

“Specifically, the fear was that I’d go broke and not be able to handle being out of the game,” he continued. However, the New York City-born actor said he ultimately “sent the definitive email” to call it quits.

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After sending that message, Krumholtz wrote, “A huge wave of relief washed over me.” He added, “Not sure what I’m going to do for money instead, or how I’m going to do it, but I just removed a humongous burden, one that I truly didn’t fathom the weight of until it was gone.”

Krumholtz said he has spent the past year fighting for parts that he believes provide less money and fewer opportunities despite his decades of experience.

“Exploitative art isn’t art. And artists deserve a fair pay percentage for work that assists their employers in making profits,” he wrote.

The actor, who began working as a teenager in the early 1990s, also argued that Hollywood has changed significantly during his career. “Pay was fair. And the momentum could be built,” he wrote.

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Krumholtz said talent did not always guarantee success, but studios once continued working with people who delivered profitable projects.

“And while talent was never a surefire marker of success … if you helped make a Studio money, you were guaranteed to get another opportunity to do so,” he wrote.

He blamed the transformation on major changes within the entertainment industry.

“But with conglomerate corporatizing of Hollywood, those unwritten rules of mutual respect have shifted … Drastically. I’m being asked to ‘hang in there’ by my own union and reps.”

Krumholtz also expressed frustration over expectations that actors promote themselves online to secure other sources of income.

He said he is “[I’m] asked to reinvent myself on social media for likes and follows so that I can be considered for fan conventions and internet ads just so I can make the money that simply acting on a TV show or film or stage refuses to pay me anymore.”

The “Supergirl” actor described the situation as a broad professional setback affecting many people in the business.

“I, along with many talented folks, not just actors, are being mass demoted. Imagine you excel in your career for 34 years, just to be drastically demoted for it.”

Despite announcing his break, Krumholtz made clear that he remains willing to consider the right acting opportunity.

“If you want to work with me as an actor, I am interested. If you believe in what I can do as an actor, I believe in you,” he wrote.

He also said he would stop pleading with people who believe they have already seen everything he can offer.

“If you simply don’t, if you think you’ve seen all I can do and it’s just not enough for you, that’s fine, so I’ll just stop begging.”

“I’m not above begging for financial security. But what’s the point of begging for none?” Krumholtz continued.

“It’s a goddamn shame, but I have to be responsible for what I can control and change and that’s me and my heart,” he added.

The actor said he now intends to direct his efforts elsewhere while continuing to act when he can make an impact.

“I can give of myself willingly, elsewhere. I can still act,” Krumholtz wrote.

“I can act to make an impact, rather than a measly buck. And that’s my choice. And that’s exactly what I plan to do.”

Krumholtz is known for “The Santa Clause,” “Numb3rs,” “10 Things I Hate About You,” and the “Harold & Kumar” franchise.

He also continued working this year with a role in the upcoming film “Mr. Irrelevant: The John Tuggle Story.”

In 2023, he portrayed Isidor Isaac Rabi in Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster film “Oppenheimer.”

In June, he told Page Six that his residuals from “The Santa Clause” franchise had dwindled to an estimated “$150 a year.”

Krumholtz played head elf Bernard in the 1994 holiday film starring Tim Allen and returned for the 2002 sequel. He skipped the third film in 2006 before returning for the Disney+ series in 2022.

“They’re minimal because the movie plays so much,” he said of the residuals. “This is how residuals work: Every time it plays, you make less. It’s a grade scale.”

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