Rivkin started his acting career in the late '80s and appeared in films such as the thriller Freeway Maniac (1989, with Donald Hotton and Gary Wayton), the comedy The Shot (1996, with Jack Kehler and Natalia Nogulich), Ben Stiller's comedy The Cable Guy (1996, with Andy Dick, Tommy Hinkley, Lloyd Kino, Charles Napier, Christopher Michael, David Bowe, and Sean Whalen), the comedy Dead Man on Campus (1998), the comedy Desperate But Not Serious (1999, with Patti Tippo, John Fleck, Herta Ware, and Joy Kilpatrick), and Tim Robbins' drama Cradle Will Rock (1999, with Lee Arenberg, Harris Yulin, Tony Amendola, and Patti Tippo).