Ricky Gervais: The Principles of Comedy | Big Think

Ricky Gervais: The Principles of Comedy
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Comedian Ricky Gervais on the cruelty of bullfighting.
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RICKY GERVAIS:
Ricky Gervais is an English comedian, author, actor, director, producer, screenwriter and former pop musician. He achieved mainstream fame with his television series The Office and the subsequent series Extras, both of which he co-wrote and co-directed with friend and collaborator, Stephen Merchant. Besides writing and directing the shows, Gervais also played the lead roles of David Brent in The Office and Andy Millman in Extras. Gervais has also appeared in several Hollywood films, including For Your Consideration, Stardust, Night at the Museum and Ghost Town.
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TRANSCRIPT:
Question: Do different mediums require different personalities?
Ricky Gervais: Of course. And it’s still based on the same principles of what I think comedy is about. I think there’s a big difference between comedy and sense of humor. And I think a comedian’s job isn’t just to make people laugh. That’s easy, that could be a reflex.
You see some comedians; it’s the rhythm. They could even throw in a fake punch line, they get a laugh. And I think it’s about making people think about it, and why it’s funny. I think comedy is about empathy. I can’t laugh with people I don’t like. I think you should know to be above the audience.
And there’s nothing remotely funny about seeing unfeasibly handsome, brilliant people come out and tell you why they’re brilliant. I want to see parts losing its way, falling over, and getting back up and dusting himself up. And you also got to see that humanity, that sort of struggle in anything, really. As opposed to changing my personality. Now I don’t but, of course, everything you do has got a persona.
Chat shows playing a sort of characters. It’s not completely me. You know, I never let my guard down when I act. When I’m on Jon Stewart, I don’t act completely like I do with my friends. You know, you still edit yourself. You're still present.
Stand-up, again, is a persona. I play a brasher, more arrogant, more confident version of myself. And then, there’s another level on that, that I usually play the guy who says the wrong thing. The target of my stand-up scene, likely soft targets, but, of course, the target is the audience’s own prejudice and middle class angst and me. I’m always the butt of a joke. I’m ignorant. I come down on the wrong side.
Nelson Mandela, what a great guy, often gets a round of applause, incarcerate for over 25 years, released in 1990. He’s been out now for 19 years. And he hasn't reoffended. I think he’s going straight, which shows you prison does work.
I play getting it wrong. And then, in the characters I play, from David Brent to Andy Millman, Dr. Pincus in Ghost Town, there’re variations of each other. I always play that part, that wisecracker in the face of adversity. And I don’t apologize for that.
I’ve never see this thing about an actor trying to show his versatility. To who? To a casting director? I cast myself. To the audience? I don’t care. All my favorite people have done one thing well, forever. Woody Allen, same character. Bob Hope, same character. Groucho Marx, same character. Different situations.
Even great actors, they play versions of themselves. They play it with their voice; Dustin Hoffman. Oh, they wear three different wigs. Who cares, you know. Things like, I don’t know, sketches; they don’t resonate. They don’t mean as much as a character that’s got a full development and a narrative.
My outlet has always been the other characters that I create in “The Office” excites me much more to be the creator and the director of every other character in “The Office” than me, putting the wig on and doing it. That’s a period of victory for me because you can’t suspend your disbelief. So that’s important to me. Realism is always been important to me.
Recorded on Feb 25, 2009.

[@bigthink]

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[@vzm4663]

"Comedy is a place where the mind goes to tickle itself." Great words 👍

[@iwilljones]

VZ Matthews that’s what she said

[@yourmomisanicelady8186]

How do I direct it to these nuts. Tehe

[@ethanlustig]

Gervais is a genius. I wish there was more footage like this of his thoughts on art

[@Mr_B31]

Yes yes yes. Fully agree with both of those points!!

[@myhatmygandhi6217]

Lol. He was a great comedy show writer but far from being a genius.

[@adithyan2023]

Truuuu

[@Paulmancieri67]

How can you not like this guy. Wonderful.

[@1madaboutguitar]

He's a twat. Simple.

[@Cybernaut551]

"A simple man making their way in the universe" -- Jango Fett (2002) Therefore, based on a Star Wars Prequal quote can show how extraordinary one can become. Grow. Become.

[@Deantrey]

"Versatility, to who? The casting director? I cast myself" Wow this one made me completely reassess how I felt about versatility. Not saying that it isn't a good thing, but I think we put such an emphasis on it especially with regards to actors (or even musicians this can apply to). But outside of comedy, look at Humphrey Bogart. One of if not the greatest hollywood movie actors of all time. Played basically the same character. Al Pacino is another one. I can keep going with those examples but I won't. It's true, I don't think not having versatility is such a bad thing. If you can bring something to every role, if it doesn't get boring, if you keep things dynamic and interesting and fresh, why change it? If it aint broke don't fix it as they say.

[@robertbloom4424]

+Lox The "skill" of acting is playing pretend. The "art" of acting is being honest. The same principle applies to comedy and pretty much all creative endeavours.

[@gargarcomedy]

He's full of crap too. If he really believes this, why does he hero worship Bowie, who played a 100 characters in his time?

[@hurry_up_and_wait]

@@robertbloom4424so what about humor that’s funny, but still “forced”? I.e. the type of people who just dissect any given topic and work to find the funny in it? Genuine question. Seems like a skill. It’s also art. Would like to know.

[@archetypesandstereotypes]

I don't agree with your reference to Al Pacino. If you compare his performances in The Godfather and Donnie Brasco, the characters he played, both gangsters in the mafia, were so different.

[@Deantrey]

@@archetypesandstereotypes you're right on donnie brasco i will give you that, some of the best character acting i've seen from anyone.

[@MonsieurDepadieu]

This bloke is absolutely brilliant, very good in a certain niche. And even has the balls to say as how he does it, talking about his own art as if every other guy could do it. Love imm

[@limadamata8883]

For me, Jhonny Depp does the same character in all movies, I wanna see Depp, not exactly another character, it works.

[@richgj88]

I like how Ricky Gervais makes his audience think about their own opinions in his comedy as well as his fearlessness attitude to challenging people's beliefs.

[@QuentinLars]

the key is depth to a character, versatility and feeling (empathy) where people are at and what makes them tick, to understand what's really going on. Ricky's a genius!

[@richgj88]

Excellent insight by Ricky into his attitude towards comedy and intended impact of his comedy to be thought provoking to his audience. The Nelson Mandela prison joke was hillarious (I can't believe I just said that) haha.

[@Charlie_Alpha_Lima]

The Nelson Mandela joke... Look at his face when he says "And he hasn't re-offended." Immediately makes it even funnier. Comedy is performance art

[@waterexisting9651]

CallMeLum I think tone and manner is everything in jokes. Actually those are above the contents.

[@FireYourDoctor]

His dance in the office didn't make me think. It just made me laugh.

[@kalindisharma1632]

Ahahaha

[@AdmiralBetas]

Ricky Gervais, a man after my own heart. As a fellow comedic artist, I think this video speaks to me more than the others here, though this channel does have a lot of gems.

[@jamiedavis3685]

i find a brilliant technique i always see used by comedians is making a joke early on and finding ways later on to refer back to it with relevance to the current situation

[@user-buter]

Thank you, sir. This information healed my soul a bit.

[@atheistpariah]

It's really, really funny how it seems that you usually end up being the antagonist in all of the comments section to which you reply.

[@Cybernaut551]

Yes.

[@borninlismore]

Comedy is about empathy, this is why I love you!

[@neilmurray1771]

Best comedian for 30 years

[@foraquid]

I have always had a mixed opion about Ricky, however I love what he says here, I am glad that today it isn't only philosophers who realise that in the undertaking of projects (whatever they may be) they are always about one thing, always trying to grasp at one idea which dominates a person.

[@davidoberlin4186]

Ricky G is the man.

[@silentjackm.d4490]

It's always been my belief that real good comedy derives from pain, that's why when i hear people say a joke is going too far or offensive I don't like it. A example is when a comedian makes a joke about falling down and busting his ass and maybe doing something embarrassing we laugh because we probably has been in a similar situation and therefore know that pain. Comedy should be offensive, it should be shocking, comedy is supposed to hurt because it allows us a chance to understand, think about, and cope with it and treat us like real thinking people. That's what makes comedy good, gives us a chance to laugh and feel good about something we normally feel bad about making it a bit easier to deal with. it's also part of the reason why you always hear the expression the biggest smiles hide the deepest pain, usually the more kindhearted a person and the more cheerful the more pain they felt, a perfect example is Robin Williams who said "I don't know if there's a purpose for me or if I have any worth in this world but I know that if I can make a person smile then that's all the worth I need."

[@Masky5150]

Such a brilliant mind. Really enjoy the insight into his creative process for his characters and comedy in general.

[@Freeknowledgefan]

What a brilliant response.

[@ronaldoquintos1675]

Sometimes being honest with our answer when asked can have funny consequences. I remember as a young f guy in my 20s I used to work at a day job. I could not keep a permanent job because I have a bit of an insomnia. So when I got a temp job that started at late night when restaurants were closing it was a perfect position for me. It was a job where we would clean the vent and wash them off. Frankly it was a difficult job but I hang in for as long as I could because I did not have to wake in the morning. Finally the supervisor noticed I been going to his job everyday, said “you like working here don’t you? I said yeah because I don’t have to wake up in the morning. He burst out laughing. I don’t know why that was funny to him.

[@mojo_joju]

To Mr Gervais; Love your work sir, thank you 👍

[@Jackie.Goldston]

he's brilliant and right on the money.

[@SamuelDaram]

Isn't there a full one hour version of this Ricky Gervais talk on Big Think?

[@waterexisting9651]

“I can’t laugh people i don’t like, i think you should never be above the audience, and there’s nothing funny about seeing unfeasibly handsome, brilliant people come out and tell you why they’re brilliant. I want to see a putz losing his way falling over, and getting back up, dusting himself off. You always got to see that humanity that sort of struggle in anything, really.” He’s so deep, and from the office to now, everything he played and talked about touched me deeply, hilariously, sadly, etc.. as i know him more, i become admiring him deeper.

[@josephcallahan1664]

Versatility shows talent, you putz!

[@joesantos2455]

Ricky...buddy...huge fan. Always will be. As far as never (you didnt specify thinking or acting like) being above your audience...have you ever seen your comedy?

[@MarmaladeStex]

I Dabbled in a bit of Stand Up and over the Phone the Man Said I ask every one this, " On a Scale of 1 to 10 how funny do You think You are?", I Replied "Does Your Scale have a Minus Section?", I think He liked the Answer!.

[@noneurbuisness777]

actually if you watch comedy specials a lot of american comedians tell stories usually with little jokes in them but then the real laugh comes at the conclusion and sometimes they'll reuse a previous story in another story and tie them together for a laugh

[@ThirdEYEperspectiv3]

I enjoy seeing things through a different set of eyes.. Empathy is taken for granted.

[@danielbedford6539]

It's funny because in the end you still shotgun "the office" as you in character trait. I think it more you than anyone else

[@misstrussteLgbTq]

This reminded me of a talk I watched Stephen Fry do where he talked of the difference of comedy that for example in Animal House, that Bluto is the brash confident cocky guy who smashes a guys guitar and the English are the guy with the guitar, our comedy is about people that get nowhere but see the hypocrisy going on around them, their downtrodden, they are the idiot (even if they are clever), they fall down but fight again but ultimately nothing is given to them in the end.

[@happyclappyslappy]

classic example lately. Lots of people said they dont like his new stand-up and that it's offensive. When one channel said he got in trouble for it I was sold.

[@hanajakrlova]

Yes. NB (as No Bullshit). Real deal. Always life-enhancing and reassuring. Go on, RG. Hana

[@thomaspeck2272]

I get where he is coming from with building up a character and not doing short sketches, but has he ever seen the league of gentlemen, they manage to make you very attached to characters even though you only see them for 3 minutes at a time

[@ruto1702]

say what you like about ricky gervais, but hes gone from ents guy at a UK university to golden globes host(!) via creator of one of the funniest UK TV comedy series (that also spawned a US spin-off!) who else can say theyve done that?? and at a time when theres so much chat about the high proportion of people in UK popular culture from backgrounds much more privileged than his (particularly in acting and pop music), his opinion is surely worth listening to.

[@MarmaladeStex]

I remember once when someone was testing out if I was Funny or not!, He tried to catch Me out and said "Quick, give Me something off the top of Your Head!" (He happened to be Bald but I resisted the Temptation to go there!) I Replied Okay!, "Knock Knock!", He obviously Replied "Who's there?", "What You asking that for?" "I thought we were Playing Dominoes!" was My Retort!.

[@privatey0shi]

perfect response

[@batgwill]

i think that a lot of their funniness is intertwined with ricky's in the podcasts, and ricky's writing really is fantastically good. Karl is hilarious because he is just so totally ignorant and thoughtless, he hasn't got that much in the way of humor. in fact if you listen to all of the episodes, not just the animated ones, there are a few times where karl says or does really mean or stupid things that actually affect ricky and stephen's lives. so in some ways karl is more douchy than ricky

[@CorellianSmuggler]

I think he's just genuinely comfortable in his own skin.

[@malcolmbryant]

It;s English, specifically the accent of Reading, a city in Berkshire, in the south of England. The accent is slightly 'rhotic' i.e. they pronounce their R's -- unlike most of England but very much like most of the USA.

[@420Abomination420]

I wouldn't care if someone called me "things", for all I know they are referring to good things.

[@BensBoringVideos]

I liked what he had to say until the end when it sort of veered off into defending the fact that he's a bad actor who can only play one character and it doesn't matter because he just "casts himself"

[@gumgumdookuin7963]

Christopher Walkin' said what Ricky spouted and he gets much love as this guy. Even if he can do one doesn't mean he's bad. People love 'em.

[@UncomfortableSilence]

True true, I never consider an actor bad if their characters are similar. But, I do give Daniel Day-Lewis credit for being able to transform, I mean who wouldn't be impressed by that.

[@LucisFerre1]

Ricky Gervais talking about The Principles of Comedy is like Ellie May Clampett talking about the principles of cooking.

[@mikeydub1]

Agreed, I've been here for days.

[@JeffreyGillespie]

He is an absolute genius at the level of Keaton or Chaplin and even now doesn’t get enough credit.

[@IrishGary1]

absolute genius

[@o.m.9752]

insanely good !

[@wako1576]

Ricky Gervais talking about The Principles of Comedy is like O.J. Simpson talking about relationships.

[@StephenAndrew777]

I think if people knew how cool Ricky Gervais really is, his life would be much more difficult to live. Shitty people have difficult lives too, once people know they're shitty, but only because people fear shitty people. There are people who fear cool people too.

[@DonVal86]

“I think you should never be above the audience.” You hear that Jerry??!

[@parikshitrajpara3699]

Jerry is egoistic bastard

[@DonVal86]

Parikshit Rajpara Watch the HBO Special “Talking Funny”. I’m American but I love Ricky taking jabs at Jerry.

[@parikshitrajpara3699]

@@DonVal86 yeah, i have seen that. It is in that video Jerry cuts Ricky talking and says "we are above audience" i did not like him at all in that.

[@Zap1199]

Well said

[@felicity4711]

3:28 So I guess there’s not much chance of Ricky hosting _SNL_ any time soon.

[@rva]

felicity4711 haha

[@MrBenedictDonovan]

Towards the end of the video he really becomes David Brent

[@BearWindAppleyard]

Definitely!

[@MrTinTooting]

I preferred the days when Ricky Gervais looked like a fat, cheerful lesbian masquerading as a retired builder...

[@christopheradams8807]

That’s hilarious, I love him. I feel like that would be close to a joke he would make about himself.

[@ozzie-sk9dh]

Brilliant😀

[@JenifAR87]

Spot on.

[@GivenFailure]

Not sure, but he grew up in Whitley, Berkshire.

[@drugrocker]

cheers for the advert ,Lucozade. but im fine without the sugar rush and future diabetes thanks

[@yanrayownsday4784]

sometimes when im alone and cant sleep at night i rub vasoline all over my body and pretend to be a slug in the kitchen

[@NoOne-gx2wc]

What a random statement!!👈🏻🤣🤣

[@PDog69]

Aha. Ricky is the man

[@CorellianSmuggler]

I agree.

[@truecrimegirl]

Actually us Brits like clever comedy that builds up to a punch line or features self-humiliation as can be seen in such classics as Blackadder and even in more modern comedy series such as The IT Crowd, Extras and The Inbetweeners. As much as I love American comedy, it is usually just full of one liners, one after the other, without really leading anywhere, probably for people with short attention spans.

[@stereomaster279]

Casting director? I cast myself. BOOYA!

[@BigSneakySnake]

EXACTLY what I was thinking!

[@AdventuresAwait123]

4:24 NOOOO MORRRR

[@waynejamel6703]

empathy

[@roukilouis9133]

Google data bank can't work properly. It's sad to think you can't load sounds and image on a software design for it in parallel for everyone watching at the same time without crashing

[@rorykeane7527]

Genius

[@lukefox836]

hahaha -- I meant, I would love to see Rowan being serious -- the man's genuine

[@juaniglesias4511]

great insights

[@Bak3dB3an]

Yeh, to me I think comedians are really important for society, look at Bill Hicks, George Carlin and Dave Chappelle. People like that are NECESSARY for humanity.

[@manxman8008]

...play to their strengths

[@Michael-du2fv]

"I wanna see a putz, losing his way and falling over." The entire premise of his show, Idiot Abroad. and it was hilarious.

[@philiphalpenny9761]

He's right. method actors or shakespearean thesps seem more concerned with how great THEY think they are. Olivier, Kingsley , Burton et. al They immortal movie stars like Cagney . Stewart , Mitchum ect. can be versitlile yet stay true to the essential persona that audiences loved in the first place.

[@1Kilili]

I want to know Ricky's favourite books. I know he loves Biology And Natural HIstory, but in terms of fiction? Anyone know?

[@alberich3099]

the Bibel D:

[@1Kilili]

I doubt he finds it that appealing though ;)

[@alberich3099]

Oh why not, it got bloodshed, sex, mystical creatures. Just the problem of being writen really bad :D

[@derpmahoy3510]

The big book of freaks

[@lukefox836]

I would to see Rowan Atkinson on Bigthink

[@flatlemur]

The best

[@turnsout689]

yeah we should all be a little more like that

[@rmon247]

yup

[@SEendzlondon]

nope hes from reading and doesnt really have an accent from a region of the uk just general tone

[@turnsout689]

It always bugs me that there's always a subtle undertone of Gervais really loving himself, but to be fair he does deserve to lol

[@ECIGARCADECOUK]

Dustin Hoffman was wearing a wig in Mrs Doubtfire.

[@OmniTriforce3]

It was robin Williams

[@kanped]

Magic Zegnegon Or Tootsie

[@OmniTriforce3]

huh

[@kanped]

Dustin Hoffman dressed as a woman in 'Tootsie'.

[@OmniTriforce3]

oh okay

[@leethecomedian]

I always thought it was philosophy, he mentions trying to make one think about what's making them laugh.

[@shogunzac]

Oh tell us more!!!!!!

[@halfhigh]

It was supposed to be moody, you've just confirmed some of its brilliance. The actors who were acting did not seem like they wanted to be there? where? in an office space? at work? Precisely what you were supposed to feel

[@TheMaggieDress1]

if you constantly make people and groups of people laugh would you make a good comedy writer ?

[@vagabondfeet]

Thank you. Helps me as I'm growing to delegate and let others be uncharged of things

[@JPBCreativeWoodworks]

Some one who should have been on his list is Jim Carrey.

[@ugowhereiwent]

You can only joke about serious stuff. Taking funny stuff seriously is sarcasm.

[@turnsout689]

2 seasons, and if it's not what you find funny, it doesn't mean it's not funny. Nice twist on the name "Gervais" though, by the way. I can really see the satire and irony in calling Gervais "Grabass", and that you didn't just replace his last name with some word that almost kinda nearly sounded like "Gervais".

[@stowe07]

It had 2 seasons and the reason it had no more is because that was not how the story was mean to be. It wasn't about Ricky forcing out as much as he possibly could from it. It was about him showing his idea and making it great, then moving on to Extras - where he did the same thing - 2 great series, move on.

[@BooksForever]

This may seem like heresy but I'd have loved to see Ricky Gervais as Samwise Gamgee in Lord of the Rings.

[@Areyourealythatdumb]

@squamish4244 the first rule of the comedy club is you don't talk about the comedy club - unless wearing a yellow and green ladies hat.

[@tazrianahmed3070]

is it the guy from afterlife?

[@stagespectre]

What are your thoughts about the grown icon of Johnny Depp?

[@Dougal-Mcguire]

can someone answer to me why Harry Hill is classed as a comedian?

[@garythefishable]

I don't think she means stand up comedians because here most of our comedians generally play incredibly exaggerated egotistical versions of themselves just like the Americans do. The Difference is in our TV shows as Americans have lots of funny jokes and witty remarks but in British comedy we like it when the character says the wrong thing at the wrong time in the wrong situation in a way that just makes you cringe. If you search " life's too short wedding speech" this is a perfect example.