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Ricky Gervais interview - Radio Times, January 2006 |
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The man behind The Office and Extras explains what he looks for in a comedy, and stresses
the importance of creative talent sticking to
their guns.
On his comedy influences
"For me, Laurel and Hardy are a blueprint for all comedy relationships. They're a forerunner of Albert and Harold in Steptoe and Son, of
Fletcher and Godber in Porridge; trapped together both physically and emotionally. One half of you says they'd be better off without each other; the other half knows they'd never cope."
"I only watched Monty Python because of my older brothers. I was too young really to get all that surrealism and bucking-the-system stuff. But I loved Fawlty Towers and Rising Damp; I think John Cleese is quite brilliant, and Leonard Rossiter was amazing."
On his approach to comedy
"I suppose I use [Laurel and Hardy] as a sort of tool to find where the comedy is in each situation. In any given scene, I'm always asking myself whether I'm providing the stupidity or the reality; whether I'm being Ollie, or I'm being Stan."
"I've always preferred comedy that is to do with characters and that comes from the heart rather than the head. I appreciate slapstick, but things like Chaplin never won me over emotionally. Puns leave me totally cold, as do comedians who just tell joke after joke after joke. The comedy I want to create is the kind people remember."
"I've always taken the view that I'd rather be one million people's favourite TV show than eight million people's eighth-favourite TV show. I've always maintained that if a show's good enough, people will find it, and as it's turned out, I've been proved right on every count."
"Let's face it, if you're a comedian, there'll always be people who don't like your work. Some people won't like it because it hasn't got any catchphrases, other people because it hasn't got anyone from
EastEnders in it. But you can't go round trying to keep the world happy,
and besides, I don't want everyone to like what I do: I prefer to see people
who like my work as members of an exclusive club!"
On the pressures facing aspiring comedy writers
"When you're starting out, trying to make a name for yourself, there's always pressure on you to compromise, to fit in with current TV requirements. And 99 times out of 100, the broadcasting firms will win out because they have this glittering prize of fame and fortune that they can bestow upon you."
On making The Office
"When we were doing The Office the people at the BBC kept
telling us not to bother too much about making it look like a proper documentary, but we took no notice. We knew that if we made it look anything other than 100 per cent authentic, the whole show would have lost its comedy dynamic."
"I'm not lying when I say that we [Gervais and co-writer Stephen Merchant] were prepared to walk away if we'd been asked to change the way we wanted to do it."
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Now take a look at our full Extras guide.
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