Ricky Gervais Quotes

When people say to me: would you rather be thought of as a funny man or a great boss? My answer's always the same, to me, they're not mutually exclusive.

Fact is stranger than fiction. You see people walking down the street that would never be allowed on television. You have to tone it down.

I'm not a person that's easily embarrassed, but I'm embarrassed for other people.

Growing up, the two things that made my blood boil were religious intolerance and animal cruelty. I’ve never understood it. I can’t stand to have an animal in pain.

There was a nobility in poverty when I was growing up. My mom was poor but she was planting roses and she was cleaning the steps, you know what I mean. You didn't feel sorry for yourself.

My ideal meal would probably be the cheesiest pasta or pizza, followed by something creamy and chocolaty. I mean, just the worst things, really.

It's the team that matters. Where would The Beatles be without Ringo. If John got Yoko to play drums the history of music would be completely different.

It wouldn't happen... There hasn't been one publication by a monkey

Comedy is a medicine - a healing process that can help people get through difficult times and understand things better

My greatest hero is Nelson Mandela. What a man. Incarcerated for 25 years, he was released in 1990 and he hasn't reoffended. I think he's going straight, which shows you prison does work.

I fought a bear once. But it started crying, so I let it off.

I went to university with no money. I can't understand a society that wouldn't give a poor person the same opportunity as a rich person.

That’s the other thing I learned that day, that the truth, however shocking or uncomfortable, in the end leads to liberation and dignity.

I think what makes us human is those choices - whether to tell the truth or not.

I think the social faux par is probably what most people fear... more people fear public speaking than death and that's because we don't want to make a fool of ourselves. It's fundamental.

I can't stand it. I can't stand someone being embarrassed. I don't know why. If someone slips over and the first thing they do is look around, I pretend I haven't seen it.

No one wants to see cool people doing brilliantly. I want to see the struggle. That's the fun bit.

I'm not from around these parts. I'm from a little place called England: we used to run the world before you.

People think that it's fun to meet celebrities - but what do you mean by "celebrity"? Someone you recognise? What are they famous for? It's people who've done something that are exciting.

I want to get all the nations of the world together, it doesn't matter what colour or creed, and I want to sit them down and say: "Guys, The Office is still available on DVD."

Do this or you’ll burn in hell.

People have let me down in the past. I've loved something, and it's become a disgrace. I'd rather start again.

I think the job of a comedian is to make people laugh, but also challenge them to laugh at things they didn't know they could until now.

My favourite shows of the year are House of Cards, the Scandinavian versions of The Killing and The Bridge, and my guilty pleasure is everything MMA. Ultimate Fighter is amazing.

Of all the disciplines involved in making anything - TV, film or anything I do - the writing is the most valuable commodity.

I'm a failed pop star. I always sneak a song into everything I do.

I've got the attention span of a child.

My physique is down to 20 years of eating cheese.

I think Hollywood's gotten more reactionary and conservative over the years, because there's no longer art in Hollywood. Art suffers in Hollywood.

I always knew I had to be 100 percent in charge, even when I was a middle manager. I used to say to my boss, "Just give me enough rope and then fire me."

When someone thanks God, I don't get offended.

I use people's real voices because I want realism. So often I mention the actors' physicality because I want it to be like a real documentary.

It will be great to play a short, fat sweaty loser for a change.

Our challenge with "The Office" and "Extras" was to get it completely scripted but to find a cast that could make it look like they were saying it for the first time.

I think that's the fundamental thing - you can go anywhere you like as long as you're following a character that the audience likes and understands.

The world is not entirely comic and it's not entirely dramatic. You have a laugh and then someone finds a lump and you deal with that. Because that is what life is like.

I see myself much more as a writer/director or at least an aspiring writer/director - not necessarily in film.

A joke isn't yours. It's used and you don't know where it's been.

If you pay attention to good critics, you have to listen to the bad. So you have to ignore them all really. You can't just cherry pick the glowing ones.

I remember the first check I got for 'The Office,' and it made me feel sad. It ruined it. ... Because there was sort of a nobility in poverty.

To complain about critics in a business is like a sailor complaining about the waves. Go back to the beach if you don't like it.

I don't think humans are meant to be looked at when we're buying pants.

I think comedy has to be an intellectual pursuit. It comes down to logic and analysis. As soon as it becomes emotional, it's not comedy anymore.

There are so many films now where you know the story is a supporting role to the visual effects.

I know how much embarrassment hurts, and I love it as a theme because you can keep digging a hole. It's just an endless well, embarrassment.

Know your limitations and be content with them. Too much ambition results in promotion to a job you can't do.

If you walked around like David Bowie in 1973 in Reading, you'd get beaten up. The 1970s in a small town was more like the 1950s.. and that's the truth. The backdrop was probably Victorian.

Life is so interesting... just every day life. I remember someone once saying: "Drama is real life with the boring bits taken out."

I think the best advice I'd say to any actor when you do comedy is play it straight.

You can just keep getting it worse until you have to pull back and let the audience breathe. But yeah, I really love digging.