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Ricky Gervais is surely the most industrious lazy-man working in the business today.
“I don’t like getting up at 7:30 every morning, it’s ridiculous. Why do we have to start that early, what are we, farmers? It’s the light, put a lamp up.”
But this seemingly slothful musing is highly misleading, as becomes apparent even in a casual perusal of his impressive back-catalogue. It is difficult not to be impressed by his multi-disciplinarity, with forays in radio, television, stand-up, podcasts, children’s books and now film all gaining a widespread following and acclaim.
“I didn't even intend to do what I'm doing now. I think doing something creative is the most important thing to me, and I think it's probably just good for the soul for anyone, whatever it is. You don't have to be a film director—you can do gardening or something—but I think everyone needs to create something.”
Despite his many accomplishments in these various fields, Ricky is perhaps still best known for his original creation, The Office, written with long-time creative partner Stephen Merchant. The trendsetting mockumentary received a huge amount of critical acclaim, as well as attracting a dedicated following and spawning a highly successful and long-running re-imagining for the US, starring Steve Carell. Now an experienced TV writer, with hit show Extras enjoying two successful series (plus specials), Ricky outlines one aspect of particular importance.
“Rewriting is a vitally important part of the process. Most things I see on TV would be twice as good if they had just given it another rewrite. Maybe it's arrogance, ego, lack of judgement or lack of involvement. There are probably great writers out there who you'll never get to hear about because they handed their script over to a bad director or producer. As a writer, you've got to be involved throughout. Woody Allen was so right when he said the best an idea gets is when it's in your head. From then on, it's just a matter of how much you ruin it. But if you're constantly around, it gets ruined less.”
Having taken to comedy comparatively late in the day, and arguably in an unusual order, Ricky then turned to stand-up which, despite some initial trepidation, has also proved incredibly successful.
“I suppose I felt guilty about walking into a great job like the Office, you know? Most comedians slog around for 20 years before they get a part in a sitcom or a chance to write something. I like the romance of doing stand-up. It’s the last bastion of self-censorship outside the novel, and that excites me. I can go onstage and say anything I want. Well, I pretty much do that on the telly as well. I guess I can get away with it because I put forward a good argument.”
His most recent show, the HBO special Out of England received Emmy nominations for Best Variety, Music or Comedy Special, for Best Writing in that same category, and for its picture editing.
“This is particularly special for me, as it is my first Emmy nomination for my stand-up work”.
Ricky begins a national tour of his fourth stand-up show, Science, in the autumn, though where he found enough time to write this alongside other projects is impossible to deduce.
Currently occupying his time is his most recent Stephen Merchant collaboration, the film Cemetery Junction. Set in 1970s Reading, the setting of Gervais’ own childhood, the film details the story of two young men working as clerks at a building society. The premise might not instantly seem a rich seam of comedy, but this is a trend you can see running through all of Ricky’s work, as the office of a paper-production company based in Slough must not have appeared to be the comedy goldmine that it is now considered to be.
Ricky is known for what can only be described as antics and shenanigans on set, often trying to raise a laugh from the crew or cause a cast member to corpse. Perhaps the most notable example of this is the bullying of Robin Ince, which is sometimes included as an unlikely extra in his stand-up DVDs. This fine tradition continues into the current recording, where a moustachioed Karl Pilkington makes an equally unlikely cameo.
“[I] had a dream that I was given millions of pounds to make a Hollywood movie. But I just dressed up my gimp mate like a complete div and laughed till I burst.”
Clearly this is not all he has been doing, with an acting résumé that boasts roles alongside Ralph Fiennes, Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller he has become something of a force in the film world. Though some would say that Ricky suffers of a swollen ego at times, he aims to hold true to his sense integrity.
“I don't care if it fails, honestly. I'd rather have something that's completely mine fail than something succeed that I'm not proud of.”
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