Happy Sad Confused - Ricky Gervais

Episode Date: March 13, 2019

Ricky Gervais joins Josh to ponder the great mysteries of the universe: life, death, whether you'd rather be two feet shorter or taller, all the important stuff. Plus Ricky talks about his new Netflix series, "After Life"! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Conditions apply. Visit rbc.com slash avion. Today on Happy Set Confused, legendary podcaster, actor, writer, director, comedian, Ricky Jervais. Hey guys, I'm Josh Harowitz. Welcome to another edition of Happy, Sad Confused. Welcome to a, yeah, I've said this before. I always say, oh, this is a special podcast.

This is a meaningful one for me. people ask me who's on my list of people I haven't talked to, who I wanted to get in here for the podcast. Ricky Jervase at the top of that list absolutely has been for several years. I've been such a huge fan of his work, of course, going back to the office and extras, those two in particular, such classic influential pieces of work that influenced all of pop culture, but certainly my own work, certainly has been impacted very much by his embracing of the awkward, his embracing of extras of skewering celebrity. His just no-holds-barred approach to comedy is something I really respect.

I think he is just a, you know, he's not a triple threat. He's a quintuple threat or something. He can do everything so well. So I was so thrilled to have him on the podcast. asked. I actually had an opportunity to spend a bit more time than even on the podcast with Ricky this past week. I did a Q&A with him in front of an audience for an event promoting Afterlife his new show on Netflix. And then Ricky was kind enough to come in for a long conversation here. And he was a delight. I should mention his new show, which is getting some really great reviews. It's getting a tremendous response. I really enjoyed it. It's called Afterlife. It is currently available on Netflix, just six episodes. I just plowed right through them. Honestly, I just bent them.

It was not a chore. It was a delight. It really was. It's an odd show in that it sounds on its face to be kind of dark and depressing. The premise is that. It's about a guy dealing with loss and grief. He has just lost the love of his life, his wife. But he kind of takes that horrible event and uses it as an opportunity to,

just sort of say and do anything and just be kind of like the unfiltered version of himself. And therein lies the comedy, but it is also truly emotional and moving at times. It's a really unique blend, and certainly something that in some ways moves Ricky into areas he hasn't explored yet, and in other ways calls back to the emotion and comedy that was even there right from the start in the office. So check out Afterlife. It is on Netflix right now. I highly recommend it. I'm not going to say too much more because the main event today really is this conversation with someone I so admire.

He is one of the funniest men on the planet. So why waste time with my prattling on? Here he is the one and only Mr. Ricky Jervais. I'm eating those grenade bars too now Yeah, they're just They're so I don't Snack on rubbish when I'm hungry No, me too

But then I eat like five of them I know, it's still slightly better than That's how I rationalise it Until some horrible form of cancer Directive grenade bars come something I know, yeah You never know, do you? Get it by a bus

You can be lovely and healthy exactly some people turn down the pudding on the titanic you could be hit by a bus full of grenade bars it could all just have the irony it's a lovely like a poem exactly um as you can see this is a super cash sir thank you so much for coming by

my pleasure have we started it's hard to tell it is hard in these weird podcast times that you've you really created these it's your fault for the podcast I feel like I've come for a job yeah so where's your resume this is just This is just his office, and he's stuck up two mics, which is, that's all you need. I mean, I'm not being funny about it, but it's a bit odd. It is a little odd.

We're also very close. We're leading into the table. You're leaning in. It's like, we're going to do an arm wrestle. That's the end of the podcast. It's the last 10 minutes. I hope we've been training. Well, we used to do the podcast.

There's literally a studio through this wall. That's a more conventional studio. Right. And yes, the sound quality is probably 20% better. But it just feels like this is home for me. and sometimes if I don't know the person this gives them a sense of who I am and it's a little bit of a shortcut It's a power thing then isn't it?

Totally a power move And you give me a lower chair and there's a light shining in my face Yeah You'll find the chair also lowers Very subtly throughout Every five minutes I feel more and more inadequate

Great Come on then What we got for me I have nothing We had a blast the other night Thanks again for spending all this insane amount of time with me But it's all for a good cause

We're promoting your wonderful show And it was actually lovely I sort of dread those events and then the crowd were amazing it played well, you were great the questions were great it was like I always feel slightly guilty that I ever worry about those things

because they're always okay but it's because when I put something in three weeks time that's three weeks of me thinking I'd rather be sitting at home in my pants drinking wine do you know what I mean?

Yeah if they just oh we're doing a thing to I go okay if I'm there anyway it's over with But it's that, it's the anticipation, yes, yes. I'm definitely going to be having to, I don't have a choice to do something better that night, and it will be sitting at home in my pants drinking wine. So, yeah, everything has to compete with that.

So the secret is really just to book you, like, like, with 30 minutes notice. Then you're fine, super chill. Yeah, jump out of, I mean, I was lazy when I was poor. So imagine what it takes now to get me out of it. Were you? Okay, okay. Okay, so you're in a good mood found rightfully so, because the reception's pretty great.

I've never had a reaction like this. And I don't mean just reviews and, you know, friends and all that. I mean, the Twitter reaction is insane. I literally can't keep up with the tweet. And humanity was good, but this, I think this is like five times the traffic of humanity. So I don't know what that's a reflection of. I assume it's a good marketing, the fact that, you know, Netflix send out an email

you know 150 million people get it in their inbox you know for and the front cover so for a few days I'm like Google you've got to see that word Google

whatever you went to see you see afterlife on the Netflix page and so people go I'll give it a go and then they binge watch it and so the model is incredible the Netflix model is incredible I mean it's still got to be good I was going to say you actually have to

oh you have to deliver no you have to deliver Yeah, so, but I think the traffic, you know, assume what you do is, you know, good enough to people to watch, the traffic's been insane because of the success of Netflix, you know, and social media. I know, I don't know what it had been like with the office, but it wasn't around then, but I think it's more reflection of, it's that binging plus Netflix, which is the internet, plus social media. it's been insane yeah do you feel like i mean do you steal yourself before like a big launch like this and i know these these shows that you self-generate yourself and that there's so much your baby are are very important to you needles to say but like there's baggage good and bad that goes with everybody's name and especially your name i feel like people come to your shows and your your your your whatever you do with preconceived notions yes i agree more and more than anyone else i know

Any other comedians? It's like, it's odd. Whenever I do a sitcom like this, which, I mean, it's not a traditional sitcom, obviously. It's a comedy drama. But it's people, they seem to judge me against. One person, when extras came out, one journalist said, this is Sub-Dickens.

And I think, well, why are you judging me against Dickens? What are we? Everything sub-dickens. Exactly. Yeah, is it? It's it, isn't, that's a bit, that's a bit unfair. So, yeah, people come to me with, I, I, I hated him in the office, or I hated his stand-up, but I'll give this a go. But, as I look at these tweets, and I try to like them all, and I, it's, it's, it's fair, I've had, I've even liked tweets that said, I hate Ricky Chavez, but this show's really great.

and I think it's like I'm That's a major endorsement in a way And it's like I think I'm training them Okay I'm giving a positive feedback for being nice Right right Ignoring them with that So

You just imagine them on the other side Looking at that behind Isn't he like that Yeah So it is nice to View what people are thinking and saying But of course It's nicer when it's all lovely

Yeah You know, if this was, if there was snotty ones or, you know, even 50-50, you think, you remember the 50 that didn't like it, you know, so this has been pretty unanimous, more so than anything I've done, actually. And just to give a little exposition out of the way, so the show's afterlife, it's, it, the premise seems to be very dark, and it is very dark, and it is very dark, no, it is very dark, and the premise is, it's uncompromised and obviously a dramatic story, slightly high concept. So it hits the ground running. You see my wife on a laptop that I'm watching in bed looking pretty sad. And she's going through chemotherapy. And she says, if you're watching this, I'm not around anymore.

I couldn't say any of this to your face too embarrassing. Not for me, for you. Not for you, for me. Yeah, you were never any good at hearing how nice you were. And then she said, but you're absolutely useless. And she leaves a guide of quite mundane things like when to take the bins out and, you know, how to fill the dishwasher and change the salt. And it's quite sweet.

So, you know, I've lost my wife. She was a love of my life. She's being stoic. She cares what happened before she dies. And I'm a broken man. So that's it. And so the high concept came here, imagine you lost everything. What would you do?

And he decides, what first he decides to kill himself but the dog's hungry so he feeds the dog which I think you would do I certainly would and that gives him long enough to think and he says okay I'm going to do this living thing

for a while at least but I'm going to punish the world I'm going to punish the world for this is unfair and I'm going to I'm going to start saying and doing exactly what I want from now on because I've got nothing to lose and he treats it like a superpower he says you know I've always got do what I want for now on and then I

I've always got suicide to fall back on. So it is very dark, but there is comedy in that for two reasons. I think one, we live vicariously through his freedom. We all go, I wish I could say that. I haven't got the nerve or something. You know, the mugging scene. We hand over our money because we don't want to get hurt, or we've got a baby in a stroller, or they know where we live.

He says, I've got nothing to lose, bring it on. So it's that sort of freedom. And I think the other part of the comedy, where all comedy comes from in sitcoms, even one slightly strange is it's usually an ordinary guy trying to do something he's not equipped to do that's what we're laughing at

and what he's trying to do is become a bad-ass psychopath right which is against his nature it's not him he can't do it yeah he can't do it because you know if you look back once you've seen the whole thing you look back and you realize that actually he was nice to the vulnerable people he was nice to his dog his nephew the old lady in the graveyard who was kind to him

The new girl who was, you know, scared and in the headlights, he is naturally a nice, caring person still. So you can't pretend to be a psychopath if you're not one, amongst other themes in it. And it basically asked the question, if you lose everything, is life still worth living? That's the question it asked at the first few minutes of the show. It must be a different kind of satisfaction you get from something like this

versus, like, you know you can make people laugh. Yes, it's exactly right. I should be able to make people. That shouldn't be a revelation. People saying you're funny, I should go, well, I should be, because I get paid an awful lot of money to be. It's like saying to a doctor, oh, you know what, that rash is. I went to school for it. Exactly, yeah. Exactly, yeah.

And so, yeah, when they say it made me cry, that means a lot too. When they say I was crying and laughing, that's the best. And that's by far, I think 95% of people have said that. One minute I'm crying, one minute I'm crying, one minute I laugh. Which is great because that's what life is. And, you know, fiction is real life with a boring bits taken out. So it's turbo. He's really sad and he's really rude.

And, you know, you really laugh and then you're really sad. And so I am very proud of that because it's slightly more ambitious than I've done before, I think. So, yeah, it is. And I think what's weird is all you have to do is just, be honest it's not there's no secret to it there's no revelation it's just i decided to as i got older just be more more honest and braver and i think most people start off with good intentions like i'm going to do an uncompromised thing right right and then someone interferes and go oh you know you'll get less viewers if you do that under post doesn't that or do you really want to say that

that's a bit and as soon it's watered down and it's like everything else right and i think what happened there and i and it's because we second guess people it all the things that i deal with in this show is what everyone deals with every day and talks about and jokes about and sell that. But when you send the goats to go on and tell you go, oh, can people take it? I want to go, well, of course they can. It's happening in their real life. Why couldn't they watch it on the telly? Right.

And that's what's odd to me. The people go, yeah, no, it's really good. It's really true to life and everything, but shouldn't get it on the telly. Why not? That's madness. What do you think enables you to go to these places or want to go to these places that most people don't? I mean, could you... Because it's like I don't

patronise the audience. I've seen in the future. I know they can take it. Right. Because I can take it. Right. And I've we have conversations about these things every day and everyone can take them and everyone's grown up about them. It's like in my stand-up I deal with taboos

for a reason I want to take the audience to a place it hasn't been before. But as soon as people hear the subject, they think, well, this is a comedian so he's making fun of something, right? As opposed to thinking, well, it depends what the target is. And I've heard people on posh,

podcasts and radio shows discussing whether Ricky Chavez should joke about that subject. I'll go, well, you're talking about it, and that's what I'm doing. I'm just doing it in a funny way and a bit quicker than you. So, comedy and everything, it's a discussion. It's just a disguised

discussion. You know, people ask me why I did things. And I go, that's what I thought are doing. I've no reason of doing these things. Right. People say, well, why did the, you know, why did you give the drug addict that money? Well, Because it seemed like a more interesting story than not giving him the money.

It's like, that's my thing. If you don't like it, you've got to write your own drama when you don't give the drug addict. That's what I want to say to people. Yeah. I was it? I liked all those jokes. I didn't like that joke. Well, you've got to write a different one and you've got to do that.

You've got to do, you've got to make, because that's what I'm doing in fiction. I'm perfecting the world. The scene with the children's menu, that happened to me in real life. And in real life, when you said you can't have that, it's on the child's menu. I went, oh, all right. So 25 years later, or I can go, no, this is what I should have said.

Have you always had a, is it fair to say you've been preoccupied or not preoccupied or not preoccupied with death mortality? Is that something that's? Yes, but only in a comedic way, not in a real way. I've luckily never suffered from fear of it or any sort of depression, and it is luck. I've always known it was the biggest taboo. I've always talked about it. And I think I've given reason that I'm an atheist,

so I don't fear death because I think it's the same as... It feels the same as before I was born. Right. So there's nothing to fear. You won't know any better. Exactly. Exactly. That's the best thing about being dead.

You don't know about it. It's like being stupid. It's only painful for others. So there's nothing to fear. Fear pain. Fear... Fear dying, how I die. Yeah.

I don't want to... I don't want to die in agony, or, you know, yeah, of course not. Or found in a wardrobe wearing ladies' tights. In pain, like the combining a total. It was a normal nitrate orange in my mouth. If that ever does happen, I'm not into that stuff, so one of my mates has stitched me up. Oh, good.

It's good to have someone. If you find me in the way they go, well, Ricky's told me he doesn't do this stuff. Code orange. So one of his mates has done this. And they would. If you know my mates, they probably would do that to me. They would love me to be found.

I died peacefully in my bed, in my sleep, and they go, let's dress him up and put him in a wardrobe. Have you thought, because I had Fred Armisen in here, and he's already intricately planned his funeral. He wants to be very scary. Yeah. He wants to be creepy, organ music, everything. Yeah, I don't care, obviously.

But the only reason I like to think it would be a nice funeral and people were crying is because that means there's people around now who like me. Right. So that's it. I can't, um, no. I think you should have, I think everyone should have one funeral when they're still alive. Oh, yeah. Do the funeral when you're still alive. Just make it like it is. And you're, you're secretly watching. You hear about it. And you go, yeah, that was nice. So we should look out for the first announcement of Ricky's death. That's just a fake out. I mean, not a lot of people get that big, well, no one gets that big day. They know they, you get that big day. You know, you get that big day. And I do not mean, it's like, yeah. Well, I've told all my family that, individually, that I'm going to give them my whole fortune. Oh, no. Yeah.

That's going to be a little disappointing for some, wouldn't it? And it's going to be a fucking blood bar. It's going to be a game of throne. It's going to be. I want people to like me now. Yes. It amuses you to know that in the future. They will kill each other for your vast fortune.

I don't care about the, you know, the look on their face when that. I leave the money and I'm dead. That does me no good at all. It's a clerical error. I meant to. Exactly. Did your parents live to see your success? No, not really.

Yeah. Well, I mean, you know, they still liked me. My dad saw, my mom saw, I think, the pilot of the office and she didn't make to, and then my dad saw a bit of the office and he went. would they have been shocked do you think to see this trajectory in the last I think it would have blown their mind although I don't think they'd have been I'm still there I'm still their kid and I'm still I'm still my sister and brother's little brother you know it doesn't mean anything they're not going it's you know it's like yeah I don't go at home with any attitude or airs and graces right now

I know my place I'm the It means nothing in a way. Because one of the fascinating things to me is like, so when the office hit, you were, what, roughly around 40? Yeah, 30. Right? So, like, it feels like to us that didn't know you, and most people didn't know you, you kind of came out fully formed. Of course. It was like, who was this guy?

Well, that's very true, and it sort of didn't. And for a couple of reasons. One, I've always done that. I've always people watched. I've always played around. I've always done impressions of people to make kids in the class laugh. at the teacher and my family impressions of you know i've always done that right um uh you know social satire um so when it's saying it came out fully formed at 39 like it was my first

go it wasn't right i've been honing my skills like anyone for um you know 40 years nearly you know from dear dot i was like that and i was i was thought of that like um uh comedians there's a thing uh you know some comedians of funny bones and some uh have to work at it right and i always thought oh i've got funny bones but actually i don't know because when i started because i was late i had been working at it in pubs with mates and at home so i don't i don't know that that's you know i like you i like to think i've got funny bones yeah but uh because i started so late it's like doing exams in your 40s it doesn't really count i know i could pass all my exams and do my degree, but it's like, well, you should, you know, so a comedian

that starts the 18, that's why it takes them 20 years to be funny. So starting at 39, you have got a little bit of an advantage, you know, you're aware of your own inadequacies. I was already getting fat and old. I had a perspective. I had a voice. I had a confidence. I had a, the audience thought, well, this bloke's lived a bit, you know? So I think all those things, Looked like I came out of nowhere and got it right first time, but not really. Well, and I was surprised to see that, like, again, looking back, immediately preceding the office and correct me if I'm wrong, like you were, it wasn't like you were completely unknown in where you were. Like, didn't you have a chat show that you had just done? So my first, my first thing, I worked in an office for 10 years, which is what the office was sort of based on.

And so, you know, I must have been taking mental notes. And I'd done David Brent as one of a few characters I did. I got a job on a sketch show American characters for a comedian in Britain in about 97 and I was on the radio around the same time being funny on other people's shows

just turning up like I just worked there and I did just work there I wasn't a DJ I worked in the office I went from one office to another office it just happened to be a radio show so I popped up I was meant to be writing them things

and doing stuff for them and the news and I said, oh, it'd be easier. My laziness, I went, I'll do it. Just because I couldn't be bothered to type out things for other DJs. So I went, I'll just pop on. And I popped on, and I was funny. And it sort of built. And I always said, don't introduce me as a funny guy.

Say the guy who works upstairs. Right. So I was new about that Trojan horse. And I got a call from a new show in about 98. Well, I was still on the radio. I did that job for about a year. And it was a new show called the 11 o'clock show. Now, what it was like was sort of SNL, but off the charts.

Like the things they spoke about, swearing. It was just, honestly, it was like they let teenagers take over television for half an hour. And it was everyone's least favorite and favorite show. Do you know what I mean? Yeah. It was that bunker mentality, you know. and I did that and the first thing I did on that

was because it was a fake news show I did a reporter that got caught up in the story and started to editorialise so I'd come out and it was real stories of the day and it would be like nurses have

gone on strike today for extra pay and then I go don't get me started and I'd always get it wrong I'd play the sort of pub or right wing sort of bigot. Right.

Before we found out that half the population were exactly like that. That unfortunate twist in 2016 or so. And so that was the gag, really. You know, I mouthed off and I shouldn't have been, I was the wrong person with a job and I was sweaty in a bad suit and unshaven. So that was the... And found success and that people responded about it. Yeah, and they did, you know, they were saying,

And I remember thinking that the whole show was shocking But sometimes I went in the studio with the presenters And I told the presenters to be shocked at what I said So it looked like I was the most shocking Right, on the already shocking show And I wasn't You know, it was just a little It was like a marketing tool

Right Just like I walk out of the Golden Globes And I pretend I'm a bit drunk And I might say the wrong thing I've written the jokes I know exactly what I'm going to say It's marketing, you know So that was it

And then they offered me My own chat show Which was a sort of spoof chat show Where I was still the wrong person for the job And I was meant to interview Celebrities But I'd accidentally insult them Or

It'd be more about me So playing A version of yourself A version of that same guy Who went for the reporter to get into the chat show And he was bullish and You know accidentally insulting And, uh, and, um, did you enjoy that?

I did enjoy that. It was my first thing and, and, uh, and I stopped that because the office was about to go into production. Um, and not wasn't going to be busy. I thought it would ruin the office because I wanted the office to people to, I didn't want to get too famous. Yeah. So I wanted the office for people to think, for people to buy that this guy was. For one minute, they thought it was a fake documentary and we cast all unknowns. Now they're not unknowns either, obviously.

And, you know, in fact, by series two, you're not unknown. known but at least you get that project out of the way before you confront it um so that's the very fast no yeah yeah trajectory i'm curious in the intermittent years have you ever been approached for talk shows like have you been like yeah like here and in england yeah and this is the internet here is i'm in america here in my office i'm in new york when i say here yeah yeah that's not intrigued you though to get to try your hand like a broadcast or cable or like a late night show No. I mean, I did this job, so I didn't have to sit behind a desk and work five days a week in a suit. Maybe one day.

But it's not what I... I mean, it'd be fun, but it's not what I do best. It's not quite... It's not quite timeless and definitive for me, because you have to churn it out. And again, as I say, throughout my career, my laziness has been mistaken for integrity more than once. When I was looking back down the internet rabbit hole about you, I was reminded of an infamous conversation you had with Gary Shambling.

Yeah. So what happened there again? Well, is that because for people that haven't seen it, it's a very awkward seemingly conversation. It is, yeah, it is. It's, it's, and I find it hard to talk about it because I don't think he was feeling well. Got it. at that time.

I'd say that. And he's talked about it since, and he's been very gracious and said, oh, he tried something it didn't work. And what he said was,

because he'd invited me to talk on his DVD extra about Gary Shannon because he knew I was a fan of Larry Sanders. Sorry. And I said, yes.

And I said, oh, and I'd interview you. And he said he came in and he thought we were doing his thing. Right. You were both kind of,

coming at it from your own shows and there was a kind of a strange show. Yeah, and that might be true it might not. But I still I put it in

and I celebrate it. He tried some things and he and, yeah. I mean, you said concrete after he passed, I know, and yeah, yeah. I was still a hero.

That wouldn't affect me. That wouldn't, I wasn't one of those people that said, oh, never meet heroes. Right. It was still, it's still a gene. He was still lovely.

And off air, he was lovely and talking about, you know, he just tried something that people thought, oh, my God, they hate each other, which just isn't true. Right. It was just, you know, a thing that he was doing that, yeah. Got it. Yeah.

I know we're bouncing around a bit, but I'm kind of fascinated by like sort of the, because I was a fan from the start, at least from the start when the office hit, of sort of the trajectory your career took in terms of acting. Like, it felt to me from the outside looking in that, you know, you had this amazing opportunity, like, your profile just, like, exploded. And then for a second or two, you kind of played the Hollywood game or kind of like, I'll play in their sandbox a little bit. Although I never did, really.

I think people thought that because after the office, I think the first thing I did was I popped up in three. uh episodes of the biggest movie franchise ever right um which was uh nightly museum now that was me returning the favor for ben stiller doing extras that's all that was and then i did one then i said they got two you got i go all right and i remember and i love doing it and it was fun they said you're scenes with ben and i remember cut in every appearance i was i cut it down to two days at the weekend because i was doing something right um but of course you pop up in a film that makes a billion dollars and it looks like

you're everywhere and you're, you know so that was never the intention my first film that I took I was offered a film when the second episode of the office went out

they called me I said who's the lead they said you are I went who's going to go and see that and I said you want John Cusack and they went oh okay

now I put the phone down and I thought that's show integrity Now, what they probably thought was, what's an idiot? What an idiot? Turning down a film. But, you know, I, um, uh, JJ offered me, JJ Abrams, um, he loved the office and he got my email and said,

come and do alias that was on. And I did an action role and I haven't watched it. I haven't watched it. I loved alias, but I haven't watched me because it was my first role being serious. And it's not my, I get no joy about seeing my fat face on telly or film. My joy comes from coming up with the idea. and building the thing. And then he offered me a part in Mission Impossible.

Then he offered me a part in Star Trek. And I was busy and it's not my thing. So for all the things I've popped up in, I've said no to 50 times that. But it still looks. The first thing I did that I was committed to it, I thought, no, this is a good thing. And it was written for me.

And I thought, if I don't do this, I'll never do a movie. It was Ghost Town. Right. And so still not mine, though. I still don't count. Yeah. I still don't count that as my movie.

Even though we sort of collaborated and he let me do, you know, and, you know, I was on my first lead in a real Hollywood film with one of the greatest writers and, you know, I still don't count that as mine. yeah um so uh uh that was it really um i can't think of any what else did i do um well those are star dust you did uh a little thing for matthew vaughn oh again again um you know a friend and um yeah just said come and i said yeah you know um you could still be running around the world watching tom cruise hang off planes to this day well that was what my fear was if i took a big role in a film that wasn't mine i have no say i'm in my winnebago for seven hours a day and then I pop up and do one thing

and they go we lost the light I'll see you tomorrow and I go I can't I finish at four when I'm filming my own so it is

it's partly I'm only excited about the creation of it partly I'm a power freak and I can't sit around and not be in charge that drives me mad

partly I really do get no joy about seeing my fat face unless I've created the thing so there hasn't been like an opportunity, an audition a thing in like the last five, ten years that you've really kind of like

want to put yourself out for. It's just no, no, no, all the time. But not because, listen, half the things you get off at aren't very good. Yeah. The half that are good. I'm still excited about them because it's not mine.

And then am I busy? Am I doing something better? Why would I, um, oh, I did the Muppets. Again, I love the Muppets and it's a friend. James Wray was a friend and I thought that would be fun. Right. And it was in London, so it was here.

So I honestly do think, how hard is this going to be? I was offered the Winston Churchill role. And they badged me for age, and I kept saying, no, no. Even my agent was saying, it's going to be a great movie. And as Jane pointed out, I'm playing a 62-year-old Winston Churchill. She said, you'll be in makeup for three hours a day. And I went, yeah, correct. No, definitely not.

But my main reason was, I'm not the right person for the job. Right. There's better people to do that. There's people who love dressing up and doing voices and being in character for years. I'm not one of those people. I want to start writing my next project or going on tour.

You know, this is my... Well, you're spoiled in a way, in a great way. I know. You've created this amazing infrastructure where you can, thanks to all the great work you've done, you have this creative license now and you have the outlet with Netflix. It's sort of like, why fuck this up?

There's nothing I'd rather be doing. you know, my favorite films all time if they said we've got to you've got to do this but you can't do this next project. It's no, it's no, if it's easy and down the road and, you know, yeah, why not? But I honestly, I don't care for that. I don't care for that sort of...

You've kind of imitated the model in a different kind of way and his name is now, for right reasons like taboo to talk about, but like Woody Allen, who I know was like an influence for you growing up. He was a huge influence to me. Well, I thought, he was. I remember seeing play it again, Sam.

I just thought it was the funniest thing I'd ever seen him. The wrong person, the puts. And also in Annie Hall, when he was making her laugh and she laughed, I thought that's new, because usually they're sort of above the comedy in a movie. They're saying funny things, but they're not laughing. It's like they don't know they're being... And I took that and I did it the other way. I did it with David Brent when he thought he was funny and he wasn't.

Right. And you didn't see that happen very often either. Like a joke falling flat. You know, like where everyone in friends is funny, handsome and funny all the time. And there's no acknowledgement of it. Yeah, but the audience are cracking up because they're witty. Whereas what if someone isn't witty, you know? You'd actually be pissed off at your friend, be like, I just said something really funny.

Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah, I, um, he was not my biggest. influence i i'd say um uh i'd say maybe people like christopher guest yeah um that i mean that to me is a sublime um i don't go and see comedy films because i can't take the risk i think what why why why did you do a film about it should be funny all the time there's right there's funnier podcasts and you know but there's there's ten exceptions to me it you know spinal tap a couple of woody gallons um you know and then lately i i airplane team america i just thought right okay that's

there's something the absurdist broad comedy that that that that often will last longer in some ways like there's something just so instinctual about airplane i feel like it's crazy and it was new yeah it was new and it was so dense and fun just funny funny um and uh you know i love things like the simpsons and family guy again that um it's funny it's funny it's funny it's funny. Whereas I don't sort of see the point is it going to see a wry comedy or a knockabout comedy

or an amusing romantic comedy or, you know, I just think it's not essential. And also now it's not essential to pay $20 to go to... It's like Netflix of sort of... Again, you know, if you want to get me off the couch

watching Netflix, this has got to be a major event, you know, or I watch that film on a plane you know, on a four-inch screen as the director intended as Christopher Nolan always imagined but yeah I've got nothing it's all personal choice and

and everyone's the same it's just that people like me don't usually say it like I'm doing my thing because that's what I like doing I am spoiled I want to have fun every day I don't want to not look forward to one hour of one

it makes me angry I love to what you said the other day at our Q&A when we were talking about people like cracking up on set and you're like why get mad at that we're actually you're laughing doing your work you're work think of a job any other job when you're you can't do it because you're laughing yeah you know you don't get away with that in a hospital you can't do your job because you're laughing so much oh you're fired you're fired where I say she was very offended you know it's like what a joy that is and that's that that's that's that's exactly it

When I'm doing my thing and I've surrounded my friends and I'm making them laugh and being paid, there's nothing I'd rather be doing even though I still stop at four because I want to get home and get on the couch with a glass of wine.

So I want it all. I want to create this, I want to wake up in the morning and go, I've got an idea, I want to do the idea, I don't want to stay the welcome, I want to be at home and I want to have a real life.

And I never forget real life is more important either. I never I never forget that I never say this is going to be traumatic but it's going to win an award I go it's what's an award right you can't sell them they're not worth anything I've tried

I know that real life is more important in this bizarre age of like quote-unquote cancellation culture are you kind of shocked that you people haven't tried to cancel Ricky Treveiz well I'm sure they have I'm sure they've started it but unless you break the law there's nothing anyone can do

if I make jokes that people don't like their only form of protest or censorship is for them not to ever watch me again and I'm really happy with that and they can try and stir up stuff but you know it's when you say a comedian gets in trouble again if he hasn't actually broken the law

and done something they're not in trouble they're selling more tickets they're selling more tickets by people being outwaged so no it annoys you at first Then you sort of embrace it and use it. You know, I sometimes go looking for trouble because I monetise it. I sometimes tell trolls that they've just made me about 200 grand with that tweet because I'm going to say that on stage, it's five minutes.

I'm going to play to 800,000 people. And then it's going to be a percentage of, you know. My accountants have cracked the numbers. You've literally just made me. Exactly, yeah. So, no, it doesn't bother me. I'd never be upset by that. I've never been upset by anything on Twitter.

I've never, I mean, if someone liable to me, I'd probably say, you know, but it's got to affect me in some way for me to even care. And, yeah, and, I mean, the John Wayne thing recently was... Right, right, this unearthed Playboy interview, right? Nearly a spoof. The fact that this man, 48 years ago, in Playboy magazine, already, we're talking, right? Not unearthed. It went out of the time.

It's been around forever. Right. It wasn't a found, right? Wasn't woke enough. Said some awful things. But this is 40 years after death. So people, when he was trending, right, saying, you know, this is terrible. He's a racist.

I want to say, yeah, he's a dead racist. What do you want us to do about it? What can we do about this? And I think that's what, I think that's got virtue of signal in Israel. These social justice warriors sometimes, what they're doing is they're finding something that's bad, and they're telling the world they're not like that. Right. It's about them. It's about separating yourself from...

Yeah, and there's some great spoofs now on Twitter, Titiana McGrath and Jarvis DuPont that are really out there social justice warriors who, honestly, they're the funniest tweets you'll ever see. Really? Yeah, because just being those people from council culture who are outraged by everything. Honestly, I couldn't do them justice.

But your listeners should check them out. Do you talk about this kind of thing with, like, friends or comedians, like, you know? Yeah, yeah. This has to be the talk in all the rooms right now where it's Kevin Hart having to deal with this stuff. Again, the Kevin Hart thing. So, 10-year-old tweet, they were pretty silly and shitty and boring and, you know, homophobic, yeah. And he apologized for them and never done it again. Right.

But then 10 years later, he has to keep apologising for it, and he loses him a job, you know. So, and my point about that is, if you have to keep apologising for things you did 10 years ago that you don't do any more and that you've already apologized for, there's no value in improving. He might as well do the tweets again. Right. You know? Right. So where is this, forgive me, where is this, you know, I'm not a Christian, but I do like that. let those amongst you who are saying cast the first stone. I mean that's a great, that's probably

my favourite thing in the Bible. And people forget that. People are hypocritical. Oh, they go after it. Oh, they want blood. It's Chardon Freud. It's crazy. And I talk to the other comedians and they all agree with me. Some of them don't say it because they don't want the flack, but they agree with me. And you know what's most hated in the comedian fraternity? The comedians who join in and try and get someone cancelled. they are, they are priors to be. Whether they think they, whether they know it or not, they are, they're hated more than the person that did a bad thing.

Right. Or said a bad thing. We don't want to end on too serious a note. So our relationship... We're going to play a game now. Our relationship began with fuck, marry, kill, Ricky, as you may recall. Oh, still my favorite. And I love how worried everyone else was, who did it.

So, yeah, for context, for those that haven't seen it, it still exists on the internet, as everything does. We played Fuck Mary Kill at the Night at Museum, the third film, I think, Junkett. It was you and Ben. It was very uncomfortable. The juxtaposition of your reaction, which was pure joy, of these very inappropriate fuck-marry kill questions I asked about. Teresa and Gandhi and Martin Luther King.

That was one scenario. Hitler, there was Hitler, Mao, and Stalin. Yeah, yeah. The big three. And Ben, oh, my God. Poor Ben Stiller. He actually said, I'm not comfortable with this. No.

What happened? Do you remember what happened after I left the room? Did he just say that's my day of press? I think he laughed. I think he laughed. I think he laughed. At one point, I was acting out. I was saying, go back and kill Hitler. And I said, no, go back and change Hitler. I'd go back and I'd hug him, right? And I hugged Ben and he went, wait, am I hit doing this? I went, yeah. He went, oh, God, come on. We've since made up. He was hit here for the podcast recently. He's lovely.

It is. It's great. Would you rather be two feet taller or shorter, Ricky? Do you know what What's really weird is I did a really exaggerated version of this On my podcast Did you really? I did I asked

I've done a thing with Ashley Jensen Because in extras the thing was She kept asking me What would you rather do And it got on my nerve at it And so I turned the tables And I've asked her But the most banal weird ones

And I asked her Would she rather be 10 foot or 10 inches And she's so 10 inches And I was going, no, it's 10 foot. I was going, you'll be get trodden on with 10 inches. She was going to last one day. I said, where would I get my clothes? I went, where would you get your clothes if you were 10?

At least no one would take the Mickey out of it if you're 10 foot. You could get, you'd be a proper, you'd be like Game of Thrones. You'd be going around crushing cottages. You would be a multimillionaire in the NBA. Yeah. Okay, so two feet taller, that makes me seven for eight. Okay. Or three foot eight.

Seven for eight. I'd be seven for eight. seven for eight because I, you know, I be a basketball player or something, wouldn't I? I think that's more practical. So it's basically NBA or pantomime. You're buddy

or your buddy of Warwick. Talk to him about that. Would centaur or Murman? Would you be a cent? Is the centaur the I think it's half horse? Yeah, so it's a horse's body in a man's face. Yeah. I'm not a Murman.

I've got a, no. So I'm basically a fish with a head or a horse with the head. So basically what you're saying is, what would you rather be a horse or a fish? Will a fucking horse? Of course, is this? I didn't know it was such a no-brainer, okay.

Yeah. Would you rather be reincarnated? I don't know why mermaids are considered sexy. No, yeah, I agree. I'm with you. I'm with you. No. Because you go, you look at the head and go,

oh, nice face, all nice head. And then it's like, oh, twist, bad twist. What the fuck? What, where do I, where do I start? How does this work? I know, although it's still better than the other way around. Is it though? I mean...

Oh, I think so. Yeah. I mean... You could do your business but you have to face the head of a fish. It's like the fly. It would be... You'd have to do it in the dark, wouldn't you?

Yeah. Yeah. thinking of me going down the high street morning it's rickie he's going at four you know traffic just going over cars it'll be great yeah just yeah yeah would you would you rather have uncontrollable farts that never smell yeah oh or there's no point there's no point in that one it's it's it's the second one or uncontrollable smelly farts that don't make a sound that one Okay, so you want to just, like, emit really horrible odor, but

no one hears it. Yeah. I want to annoy people, and I don't even know it's me doing it. That's a, like, that's that would be a superpower for me. That's your Marvel hero, that's your... That would be a super... Just people throwing up, like, so bad, like a sulfurous methane. When they go, they go, oh! And I instantly vomit,

and I pretend to be vomiting. I'm going, who's that? Who the fuck of that? Right. And it's like, it'd be amazing. I'd clear out of... the queue pret and mange and I go

to rent the queue it would be you've really looked at the bright side of this you'd be amazing it'd be amazing yeah

yeah do you own any color in your wardrobe is it literally all like if I opened up your closet yeah is there a flash of color

is there a yellow an orange a pink I there might be a little bit in some suits that I don't wear anymore

because I can't get into them I um uh No, all my t-shirts are pretty much black or grey. There might be a navy blue one. Do you have a stylist? Have you ever had a stylist?

Oh, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. Fucking hell. Did you, did you, did you, did you manage to say with a straight face? I can't remember. Oh, God. Jesus Christ, the stylist, yeah. Oh, that's amazing. When I do a show, right, the wardrobe costume person,

they try and get me not to wear a black t-shirt because they also know that I'm only doing it to keep the clothes after. So there's no coincidence that Derek was track suits and cardies and there's no coincidence that Tony in this one was jeans and grey and black t-shirts. Listen, who cares? I like to be comfortable. I don't look good in a lot. Armani, there's no point. So I look shit.

Don't bring Armani down. Don't, yeah. No, no, I mean any, Paul Smith, Armani. Got it. I see. There's no, I'm never going to look good, right? So I'm going to be comfortable. Right. I'm going to look shit whatever I'm in. So I wear a track suit bottoms. So who am I trying to impress? Yeah. I had people on the red carpet that was interviewing me, right? I'm up for, I was up for Golden Globe or Emmy a couple of years ago for Derek. And they were laughing at my shoes because they were too comfortable.

Who cares? Those camp-lop people like Ryan Seacrest getting the camera to look at my shoes thinking, what is this? Is this not a fashion show? There was a big thing when our prime minister was Gordon Brown, there was a big thing in the paper.

Like, oh, look how scruffy. It's good. He's a fucking prime minute. I want it to be scruffy. Don't worry about. Don't spend 10% of your brain on your appearance. I want to be worried about the state of the economy. Just look at a homeless man. I want him to be...

I don't have to do in his fucking hair. I really think you might have cracked the code to life I feel like you forget Oprah You know how to I don't know you've just you've cut through all the bullshit Yeah And you've learned how to be a happy person But I did that I worked out about 14 They don't have to go around the houses to be happy

What makes you happy? Just do that Just do that straight away Cut out the middle man There you go Yeah life lessons from Ricky De Reyes Um Truly an honor to have you in here man I'm such a fan of your work

Everybody should check out after life. It's on Netflix. You have no excuse. It's in a gazillion homes. It's right there waiting for you in your box in your living room. But it's honestly a great piece of work. I really enjoyed it. I mean, just not to go down a dark hole at the end, but like I literally had just had like a very sad, untimely passing in my family when like when this came into my email box. And it was a really, it was a wonderful laugh over three hours, but it was also a cathartic kind of an experience for me. And I know a lot of people are feeling similar. Thank you very much. Cheers.

Thanks, Rickie, as always. Cheers, pleasure. And so ends another edition of Happy, Sad, Confused. Remember to review, rate, and subscribe to this show on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm a big podcast person. I'm Daisy Ridley, and I definitely wasn't pressure to do this by Josh. infamous tales that continue to captivate audiences, decades, or even hundreds of years after they

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