Transcript

"Ricky Gervais"

From SmartLess · Episode page · Watch on YouTube

· 1 h 7 min · 13,785 words · 311 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of ""Ricky Gervais"", an episode of SmartLess published January 5, 2026 (1 h 7 min, about 13,785 words). It mentions 11 people, works and ideas, including Ricky Gervais, Amy Lynn Bradley, The Office, Arrested Development, GQ.

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 10:00: Amy Lynn Bradley, The Office
  2. – 20:00: Afterlife
  3. – 30:00: Yorkville
  4. – 40:00: The Office
  5. – 50:00: Arrested Development, Faulty Towers, Golden Globes, McKenzie Crook
  6. – 1:00:00: The Office
  7. – 1:06:49: The Office, Martin Freeman

Notable quotes from ""Ricky Gervais""

  • This is so cool to have you. So, Hi, Bradley.
    about Amy Lynn Bradley · at
  • A real idiot of myself and the folks next to me. just I know you don't want to talk about The Office anymore and I'm not asking any questions about it. There's no question…
    about The Office · at
  • I do. I sent him an email after I saw Afterlife, and I thought it was, it was great. I was late to the party watching it.
    about Afterlife · at
  • The ferry $10 or whatever it is. and I stay in Yorkville. I just love walking around Yorkville.
    about Yorkville · at
  • For a guy who came in and talked about killing a man and all this. And then when McKenzie Crook walked through and he's about seven stone and looks like a baby bird, it was…
    about McKenzie Crook · at
  • Off and it's Yeah. Well, we got that. I was a big fan of Faulty Towers. That was the first time that I saw like this is my this is so perfect and they honed the script. You know often British sitcoms were written by.
    about Faulty Towers · at
  • All of us. Yeah. My god. We were inspired. Jason and I were inspired when we were just shooting Arrested Development in the first season and we were watched your show.
    about Arrested Development · at
  • Well, that's that's that's the great thing about the Golden Globes. That's the good and bad thing about the Golden Globes. Golden Globes is better to be at and the Emmy is probably better to host because at least they're all in their.
    about Golden Globes · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

Books & papers

Companies & orgs

  • GQ — Company · 2 mentions

Places & events

Sponsors

Full transcript with timestamps

Happy happy new year. Hey, happy new year to you. Yeah, happy new year. Happy new year to you.

Everybody sleep okay? Anybody party last night? Um, no. No. No. Is it New Year's Day?

Oh, sorry. It's not New Year's Day. Oh, sorry. Are you missing something? Are you

Sorry. I'm not I don't know. My calendar. Stop saying sorry. What is happening?

Is that your New Year's resolution is to say sorry for all the things you've done wrong in 2025? No. How long would the list be of things you have to apologize for?

Do you guys mind if I just interrupt real quick and say welcome to a brand new smart list?

Oh, sorry. Go ahead. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Smart. Smart. Smart. Hi guys. Are we rolling?

Yeah. Willie, you look really handsome. You got someone just off camera who's who's the surpris.

Listener, we've got a special guest. Uh the the director and co-star of the great film. Is this on? Is this thing on?

Dude, I can't believe I'm got a little peek behind the curtain here. Wow. Yeah, man.

This is so cool to have you. So, Hi, Bradley. Well, it's such a it's so fascinating. Wait, but haven't you done you've done a I feel like you've done a double or am I thinking of you and and down because you came to the live?

I I did your hundth episode. What? But but live I remember on stage and then I came to the live.

You've done this but I don't remember like but I don't you know seeing it you know seeing Shawn in his habitat and you and it's cool

for the for the listener. Sean chewing there he is. Sean's got a hat on glasses. Jason looks like the guy from the Maxel commercial.

I still have my GJs on. You know what? This is fun because we've never done this in intro uh with a surprise guest. So, uh Bradley, why don't you guess what Shawn is eating? Don't tell him yet, Sean.

Oh, okay. Uh you want me to show you or was it was there was there Yeah, show me give me a little hint.

I just do it like this. Oh. Oh. Is is that some sort of pie? Is was that is that a glaze on top? A vanilla glaze? It's a gl

probably. Hey, it's 9:31. It's got to be a glaze. All bets are off. No, it's a it's a cinnamon butter cinnamon sugar English muffin. Fourth grade graduation.

Oh, did you make that? So, butter butter cinnamon on an English muffin you just toasted.

Yes. I'm so And by the way, and and for the listener, great. Uh you you you covered all of the surface of the muffin. Look at that. Look at that, guys.

Hey, Bradley, how are you? Yeah. What are you doing over there? Did you guys have a sleepover last night?

We did. Yeah, we're living together now. Um, we're back to living. We're back to living. We've gone 180 360.

360. Thanks. Um, we just we just came from press. So, I was just like going to run to say hello.

We were just doing a bunch of uh press for the movie uh every day. And I love that.

We just did this GQ game. We just did this what was it? GQ. We just did this uh you have to guess how well you know each other how well you know each other. Yeah,

listener. They both They both do look literally like they just came from a GQ shoot. They look gorgeous, these two.

Thank you. You do. You both But we did and Bradley won because I gave him extra points. I was really magnanimous.

What was the question? I was generous, too. I was You were You were generous, too. No, the answers were like, "What's my middle name?" Uh,

the contest is like, "Yeah, it's like Yeah. By the way, do you know his sister's names?"

Yeah. Wait. Tannis and Chardonnay. No, Tannis is right. That's good. Shambbley.

Shambley. Wow. That's it. Yeah, that's good. JB. And your middle name, Will, is

William Gordon Arnette. Almost. Boy. Gary. Sean, do you know my middle name? Go with it. Go with the

Of course I know your middle name is Emerson. Okay. Nice. Yeah. Wait, is that right, Bradley? Yours, what's the first letter of yours, Bradley?

C. Channing. No. Curtis. No. No. Chad. Close. Come on, Sean. No, it's Charles. Yes, it is.

Is it? Godamn. Wait, are you googling Sean? No, I know this. God, I wish it was Chad. I'd call you Chad.

What's They were like, "What's your favorite movie? What's your favorite?" They said, "What is yours is with Nail and I Yours, Bradley, yours is Ghost."

Ghost. That's right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. The director's cut. Yeah. I What's your favorite movie?

You know, I I He knew that I couldn't answer it. Like I I don't really have one.

Doesn't have one. He loves them all. Well, you have what's a couple of them. Yeah. Exactly.

Yeah. What What are they? Like Elephant Man Apocalypse Now, you know. Yeah. Beverly Hills Cobb.

Beverly Hills Cobb. Three Stooges. And they said, "What what is one thing here? Here's what they said. What's one thing about Bradley that you that people don't know?"

Yeah. And I said, "Well, there's a lot." And then I was gonna say I was gonna say because we keep reading people everybody thinks that Bradley's had plastic surgery.

Everybody keeps saying that. I'm like what people don't know is that he hasn't.

That he hasn't. Yeah. Of course he hasn't. I get like people come like some people came up to me the last couple weeks and they're like oh you look good.

Yeah. Yeah. But it's a crazy It did make me think and then I was like I was like oh well I didn't want to get but then I'm like I should have it made me mad because I'm like people say that all the time and I'm like it's such a hilarious thing. Everybody thinks that they know you know you read [ __ ] stuff and and

I've been cut to ribbons and but but look look how it's worth it. Look at this. Huh?

Yeah. What what look is that? What did you get? This is this is I was asleep 45 minutes ago. And uh we've got a we've got a a young uh aspiring uh guest, you know, that I didn't need to do a lot of research for because this person hasn't done a bunch. So, uh I'm just kind of ready, you know.

Wow. I mean, your guest must feel great about that. Yeah, Bradley. Yeah, we actually might need a little bit of help. Give give us five more minutes here and uh and and help us with this. Uh we got we've got it's a very exciting comedic voice coming out of the UK. He's received some great momentum from his last couple of standup specials. He's got a new one on Netflix now. He's a fan of the UFC. Uh David Bowie, Animals of All kinds. Let's let's get him. Guys, give a warm welcome. England's brightest new star. I want to get this pronunciation right. Uh is Ricky Geras.

Ricky. Is that right? Do I have it right, sir? Look who's back. It's like it's like reunion night. Ricky's back. Everybody's doubling up.

Good morning, Ricky. Hi. Hi. Good morning. Does that sound good? Christ, look at the row of baths behind him.

Are those real? No, it's a it's a green screen. Ricky, can you do can you do the podcast and just make sure your camera's covering all the awards before you hop on?

If we widen out, we'll see more. Ricky, we've never met, but um Wow, what a great thing to see you.

Nice to meet you, man. You two have not met? No. Wow. I don't know anyone. I love

I I I think I think I met Jason and Will and my first even brush with Hollywood about 20 years ago and that's I just kept them as friends and didn't add anything to that. You didn't need to.

Yeah. I I love all your shows, man. Oh, thank you, man. Cheers. I loved extras. Oh my god.

What What What isn't good that Ricky's done? All right, guys. Brad's got to go.

Love you, Bradley. Bye, buddy. Bye, dude. You know, Ricky, I was uh I was on a plane uh an overseas plane, so I had a lot of time on my hands, and I went into their little entertainment uh offerings there on the plane, and I climbed into uh office Christmas uh the Christmas special.

[ __ ] I ate that up so deeply. Uh making a real idiot of myself and the the folks next to me. Um, just I I know you don't want to talk about The Office anymore and I'm not asking any questions about it. There there's no question here. It's just uh you're just you're just it. I just love your what you do. I could I could I could eat it all day. So, thank you.

Oh, that's lovely. Thank you very much. Oh, that that's just so now I've got to be nice to you.

Yeah, that's my strategy. Yeah, but but Ricky, didn't it look like Jason was reading that off a script? Did it

No, I know he can't read. He was a he was a child star. He didn't need an education. He didn't need anything to fall back on.

Nothing. So, and he's he's kept his looks cuz sometimes child stars, they start looking weird.

Well, just Yeah. Give it a couple more years. They sort of turn into like a weird little monkey, but he's he's still nearly handsome.

Let me take my hair off and you say the same. Um I watched the film with you in actually uh Carry On. I loved it. I thought you were great. Oh,

you did you did sort of menacing really well because obviously I find you funny

and there was I could still you could have made a joke at any point but it was it was really good. It was quite it was quite chilling.

Any drama is always one line of dialogue at the end of every scene from becoming a comedy. You've not

I know I know. Well, I I I sort of turned down a lot of not not big dramas, but things I I thought they just laugh. I turned down they wanted me to play Winston Churchill and I was going they just laugh. They're not going to they're not going to be lost.

I'd give anything. I would have given anything. It would have been terrible. It I'd have hated every minute of it as well because I'd had to have every day the baldw actually if I leave it a couple of years I won't need that. But it would have been it would have been 3 hours in makeup and puffing a cigar and never.

But what what was that? Was it um was it uh uh intolerable? Oh, no. Um uh uh what was a Quinton Tarantino film where Mike Myers played a German soldier?

Um uh in Glorious Bastards. Glorious. Yeah. Right. And and uh that I started to smile when I saw him and and then realize, oh wait, I shouldn't be. Um but it's fine. and you get right past it and your your acting talent like you never tell jokes. Your your acting talent is just incredible and so I you could you could seamlessly and effortlessly

I agree somebody dramatic. I mean it' be right. You got to stop this now because I don't know whether this is a windup or not. I'm just waiting for I'm just I was all the time you were saying that I was looking at Will. I was thinking what's Will going to say now? I just love the work. I just love the work you've done for animals and and uh with your time and what you've done and really how you've inspired many people.

This is THE WORST CASE SCENARIO EVER. OH. Oh god. And just how how thoughtful you are. And I think for me that just really

I don't know. Scott, I'm I can barely I'm I'm choking up. I can tell. I was saying that my crying sounds like laughing, but

yeah, I know you're not a great actor, but I could tell what you were trying to do. Um,

uh, Sean, do you have any praise for Ricky? I do. I sent him an email after I saw Afterlife, and I thought it was, um, it was great. I I was late to the party watching it.

No notes. No notes. No notes at all. No, no. I thought it was one of the best shows I'd se I've ever seen. I mean, is it

how is this the biggest entertainment podcast in the world? I have zero idea. I'm in pajamas.

Yeah, we haven't covered anything yet. I mean, you know, I was thinking about that on the walk out to to to to plug my computer in. And all I thinking about I'm thinking I'm about to chat with my my two best friends and Ricky Jerves. Like that's I'm not thinking about this going out to x number of people. And I think that's a really great thing. I hope we never lose that. In fact, um, we did a Will and and, uh, Will and I and and Ted and, uh, uh, Mitch did a few of these in lockdown, and it was just, it was it was lovely cuz you were That's when you really remembered you had friends when you couldn't see them.

That's the Right. That's how this whole thing started. Yeah. Oh, was that when you start Oh, of course. Yeah.

Yeah. It was just in lockdown, didn't I? You You did one of our first end of 2020. You were one of our first. You were in our first first batch. And uh

gosh, that doesn't seem that long ago, but 5 years ago. I know it was 5 years ago. Um and I

when I did that, I thought, listen, let's let's help these guys. And then 5 years later, right, they need my help again.

Let's a little leg up. A little injection. Yeah. A little Yeah, of course. A little vitamin R injection. Boom.

Listen, man. We're we're we're happy. We're happy that you're on here helping us out and your backdrop with your dusty old awards from 20 years ago. You know what I mean? It's just for us.

How dare you? Yeah. Look at the most of them have rusted out. I used to see you a bit more.

It's like going to a museum. It's amazing. You know, this is so educational. Have you not been coming out here lately? I seem to I used to see you a lot more. you used to like Well, the truth is I um I've still got a place there in New York and yeah, from like for the last 20 years I used to come out like

it's kind like six, seven time eight times a year whenever I had something out the second series I'd come out I do the chat show sort of thing New York fly to LA do that and but I I think and not not just because of co but since co sort of things have changed really it's like you can do everything

well yeah and and Netflix, they've got like 300 million subscribers. They send an email. I don't have to

I don't have to go on a chat show and play table tennis in a snorkel. You know what I mean?

But you're also doing But but Ricky, you're you're also doing you're also doing standup so much more now than you were 15 years ago.

That's absolutely right. Yeah. Right. So that's it's kind of changed the way that you interact with your fans a little bit.

Well, I I think I started off Yeah. writing and director and being in stuff and I' I'd fit in a little standup tour when I could between writing and you know and then I think humanity was the first one I had done it for like seven years and after humanity I thought oh no this is my job I'm a standup now who I do the odd TV show and film when I have time and it just I just flipped it and I think in the last eight years I've done four tours and four specials

and it it felt like I'm fitting other stuff in and I I want that to continue. Well, to a, you know, to a certain degree is it does get hard.

You don't mind the travel, all that touring. That's there's a lot more travel with that than doing the acting stuff right?

Yeah. But I I honestly I do the most luxurious tour possible. It's like I'm I do two or three nights away at the most and four nights at home. Um I I you know I I hop I hop private to all around Europe, you know. I' I'd do three trips to North America and get it all done then with the, you know, the biggest venues I can play. And

now, did Jane go with you? No. Yes, she does. Yes. All the good places. She comes to, you know, America, Canada, all the lovely places in Europe. She doesn't just doesn't come to the some of the the uh seaside towns of England out of season. Um but um yeah, no, again, I make it a little weekend break. So, I'll play Prague Arena and we'll go the night before. we have dinner, we'll walk around all day and then I'll pop to the arena and do a gig and then we fly home. So, it's like, you know, 46 hours of holiday and and and 2 hours of work. So, and and it it it couldn't be better. But still, the last few years I I if I do three two or three gigs in a row, I wake up, I think,

was I run over last night? I'm absolutely exhausted. It's it's age. It's like I also I think I don't know what it's like it would be like for people to see me at 70. I'm already sort of grumpy and I shuffle around.

You're not yet 70. I remember the first time I met you, right? It was the the um in the makeup trailer on uh uh the invention of lying.

Invention of lying. And I said something like, "So, you're 40." And you went, I think you were 37 or something. You went, "You think I'm 40?" You were like that.

You couldn't believe that someone thought you were 2 years older than you. And then someone came and said, "He thinks I'm 40."

I sound like Mrs. Doubtfire. Yeah, you bastard. It was like that. It was And then I think you mentioned it again. I'm 38 now. You don't. So, yeah, I get it. Like, there's no way you miss being on a set for 12 hours a day. Honestly, I do because No, honestly, I I the thought I will do it again, but the thought of doing it again, like

eight weeks up at the crack of dawn. Eight weeks. So, at the moment, I'm um just finished the tour, but I'm starting again straight away in January. I'm doing warm-ups for the next tour, which will be two years. Um, I'm just finishing the first season of an animation I've been working on for two years. But I've been doing that with having a nap every day as well. So I do all my work. I work I work 10 till 12, have lunch, come home, I get 40 minutes, nap, and then I So the I you can't do that on set. That's out of the question.

I'm a big I'm a big napper. And funnily enough, because you know Winston Churchill famously took a nap every day, even during the war, he'd get full pajamas between the sheets.

So we call it Mark Chapel, whom you all know, Chappie, we call it taking a Churchill. So I as often as I can take a Churchill this morning.

Yeah. It's great, isn't it? It's just it gives you I look forward to it cuz I wake up tired. I I wake up at 7:00, think, "Oh, I'll have a nap in 5 hours." You know what I mean? It just gets me through that first 5 hours.

Are you a good sleeper, Ricky? Like do you go to bed early? wake wake up early. Do you get eight hours? All that kind of stuff.

Yeah, I do. I I probably do. I I think I've had a bad night if I don't get 8 and 1/2 hours, I'd say.

Oh, good. Good for you. Yeah. And you know, you have to get up. Like I know that feeling like it's 7:00 in the morning like I should get up because that's what people do.

Yeah. But if I had the choice, I would just stay here. But I have to I should get up.

Well, that that's always been the case. In fact, I've got earlier as I've got older. Again, I think it was in COVID. I used to get up at half 9 and think, "Oh, I got to do it." And now I and now I can't not get up at like 7:00 7:30, but I feel like I want to I could easily if I didn't wake up, I I'd just keep keep going. Yeah, it' be lovely. But as soon as I look at the clock and go, "Right, that's that's it. You've had

I'm 6 I'm 6 a.m. every day. I can't help it." And and I was just in London again for a couple days and I I it's dark right now until about 8:30 in the morning. So, you know, you now I've got like 2 and 1 half hours of dark after I've woken up and I'm like, "Fuck, it really [ __ ] me up."

Yeah. The tears. Yeah. I I I bet I I I seem to I don't usually beat the sunrise. That's That's pretty rare. But, um

Ricky, I will say this about you talking about going to the cities and I and I know that about you. I love that you go and you really like that you and Jane go for go for a meal and you walk around. And last summer, I think we we might have texted about this. You were you went to Toronto and did some did a gig in Toronto.

One of my favorite. It's my favorite place. And you talked about how was your favorite and you love going to the island Toronto Island.

Oh, I love it. Every person I know in my family cuz Canadians are so proud in the nicest way. They're like my dad. My dad's like, "Hey, your buddy Ricky came and they went and he loves the Toronto Island." E like they love it.

Is that the name of a comedy spot or is that a literally an island? It's a park. It's like a park. It's a beautiful island. It's like an island where where residents live and uh it's it's so lovely and you just get the the little boat over for like

the ferry $10 or whatever it is. Um and uh I stay in Yorkville. I just love walking around Yorkville. And uh I then I then I I hopped to Montreal and um I love Vancouver as well. I love Vancouver. I've only been to a few, but I've been to I think Vancouver, B, Toronto, and Montreal. And that is my Canadian experience. And I'm from My dad was um from uh

Kitchener, right? From it was uh he was it was sort of near London, Ontario, sort of near Chattam. It was called something like uh Oh, Pont something. Um

and he was a World War II vet. Yeah, he was. He volunteered, right? So he he uh yeah he a Canadian he joined the Canadian army to volunteer and he got uh stationed to uh Europe and I think he spent most of his time in Britain. He drove I didn't talk about it much to him but he drove tanks he delivered tanks to the front.

Jes Yeah. Yeah. Um and that's where he met your mom when he was over there. Yeah he met my mom got her pregnant. Um uh so uh yeah my brother

and just and just stay dead and just stayed and my I think my my oldest brother was born uh 44. He's Larry. He's uh he he died recently. Um and my sister 47 and my next brother

uh 1950. So I was uh 11 years after all that. I don't know what happened there.

And your mom admitted it was a mistake. Yeah. Yeah. When I was about 13, I I said to her, I why am I so much younger than my brothers and sisters? And she just went, "You were a mistake." And I laughed. And that and that taught me that honesty is funny. Honesty has always been the funniest thing for me. Just just just people who just say the first thing that comes out and they mean it, that always makes me laugh. That's why anger's funny cuz you can't help it. It's a it's a visceral reaction. Oh, IF SOMEONE DOES THAT, I I want to laugh. It could be anything.

If someone bumps their head and they go, "OW, [ __ ] HELL." LIKE THAT. I want to go, "That's the funniest thing I've seen today." But I've got to make sure they haven't got concussion. They're not bleeding. But then I ask people their permission. If someone falls over, I go, "Can I laugh now?"

And we will be right back. And now back to the show. Now, what I love is that you're always so beautifully unapologetic about leading your audience with like this is okay to laugh at, but you know, obviously we've gone through a a a section of yours where people were a little bit uncomfortable about laughing at some of the things that were freaking hilarious. Do you get the sense that the audience that you're in front of now that it that that whole thing is starting to soften? And

it is. It is. And it's and it's cyclic. It's not the first time it's happened. I've I've experienced it three or four times in my career, let alone my lifetime. But, you know, these these things, they come and go. Um,

they're they're they're like fashion really. And it's like it's generational and they kick out the past and they they want to be, you know, quite rightly more progressive than the last one. And sometimes sometimes they get it right, sometimes they get it wrong. Sometimes things were okay. Sometimes it's the best we've ever been. We don't need to change stuff, but they have to have a go. And I think we have to go through it. And um uh I I I think that um you sort of you sort of ride the waves and you you you know um I mean comedy seems to be at the on the front line

because of course people can go people would rather someone say something awful and mean it than say some awful and be joking. Like sometimes they're angry that you would joke about a terrible thing. Sometime sometimes people are angrier at someone joking about the terrible thing than the terrible thing

because they know they can't do anything about that and they can tell someone off for laughing at someone terrible.

Is Jane still your your your most trusted sort of barometer of that which is uh funny or not? Like do you trust her laugh the best?

Yeah. Well, I I I do um run things uh past her I because I'm excited. I think I you know we're just a vessel for ideas, you know. I don't sit down and go, I've got to have a great idea. That's because it it doesn't happen. You you you live your life and then something comes in your head and you go, "Oh, thank you."

And I usually have I'm going jogging and I I come up with a idea. Oh, that's a good joke. And I run home and I tell Jane, I go, "Look, I've got an idea." I tell her, she says, "Please don't say that in public." And I know I that's some I can work on that. That's got it's got something.

Well, but and I mean I know you're joking, but you're also being serious. Is it because is it because you trust your ability to match performance to content that it would make it somewhat palatable and like yes I get it's offensive but I know I can deliver it in a way where I Yeah.

Yeah. There's lots of things one I like the challenge you know there there's no I can I can point out funny things um but there's you know it's they're like found objects. Where's where's the added value? What have I done to it? So the harder dive, the the the thing that tantalizes me more is can I make a terrible thing funny? How do I do that? How do I make them, you know, and I deal with taboo subjects on purpose? Cuz I sort of want to take the audience to a place it hasn't been before. So you're already as soon as I as soon as I approach a subject, I can feel the what's what's he going to say about that? That's it's the elephant in the room. Sometimes pointing out the elephant in the room is funny enough.

Right. It's like just even and you're probably you're probably touching on a lot of things that people want to say themselves or thought themselves.

That's exactly it. I think it's exactly it. And you know when you see an impressionist and they do an impression of a person and then you can do the impression of that person

of the impression. Yeah. Totally. It's like I've reduced it for them to go well this is the meme. This is this is that terrible thing you don't know how to approach. This is a good way to do it. And it's it's a discussion. Is the thing that excites you about it, Ricky? Because I I I I think that I see it a lot in your comedy, and it's something that kind of excites me, too. I'm not a stand-up, but that that you this idea I I I can relate to the the sort of the idea that getting into subject matter that is taboo or dangerous or that people don't want to talk about and figure out a way to to sort of shed a light on it, make a joke about it, and do it in a way that you can kind of work around really hard parameters. That's exciting. I feel like a school. That's where I feel like a school boy where like I'm getting away with saying the thing that the teacher that I'm not allowed to say. So, how do I get to it?

That's okay. And still get my point. You know what I mean? Well, that's the thing. Obviously, you want everyone to laugh, right? But, um, you can't you can't second guess. You can't try and make anything so anodine that everyone likes it because that won't happen either. Most people are going, "This is horrible. This is anodine." So, you got to you've got to polarize by mistake. If you're doing anything that's slightly interesting, slightly contentious, as many people are going to hate it as like it because everyone's different. So, you just do what you think is right and funny. And I I um I do want to I I I do want everyone to to like it, but if they don't, there's nothing I can do about it. You know, some people say uh like journalists, they say things like um is there anything you won't joke about?

And I want to go is there anything you won't write about? Mhm. It depends on what you say. It's mad. And that's and most offense most offense I've noticed comes from people mistaking the subject of a joke with the actual target.

They see a joke about a contentious and think think think think think think think think think think well that's got to be that you you can only that can only be bad. And it's just not true because we discuss bad things all the time and we come down on the right side. So, I'm just doing it and hoping there's a punchline as well. There's just there's nothing wrong with that at all.

Talk a little bit about the difference. So, you you do many things incredibly well, but one of the things I really marvel at is that your your standup uh persona, and I don't mean to say that it's it's it's contrived, so persona is probably the wrong word, but

it is to a certain degree, but there's there's a swagger um that that that you have on stage when it's

possibly have in real life, but it's it's but it's part of the joy that I I love that there's just there no [ __ ] given or no apologies. Not in an [ __ ] way, but just I just love going on that ride. Yet, when you're playing some of your most iconic characters, Andy Milman or David Brent, like there is a there's a level of vulnerability and insecurity and and brokenness to them that is so heartwarming and um and earning and lovely. like how do you how are you able to find the the the bullseye of humor in both of those polarizing kind of strategies? You know, one's with swagger

as long as it's a as long as it's a realistic portrayal. It doesn't matter what it is. And because, you know, people are complex. So, even my villains, I I sort of give them a bit of redemption or a bit of backstory or why are they like that? And I think you'll find that with everyone. everyone who's who's sort of like a little bit nasty or arrogant, it's cuz something bad happened to them probably or they've never had a hug. You know, there's there's usually a reason to it. And we're all like that. And we all go around thinking, h we all live in our head because we walk around thinking, "Oh, everyone everyone is thinking I'm I'm a loser. I've got to act a bit." And we cuz look at them. They're great. But they're living in their head, too.

They've got all the same insecurities and all as you. So I think that the comedy at its best is saying we're all idiots. Let's just admit it and get on with it. So even when I do the swagger on that is a bit of a persona because I've got to have that I've got to have that faux arrogance so me falling down is funnier. If I just come out and clown and go oh slipping over boring. If I come out and go right I'm the best thing since sliced bread and then slip over. That's so much funnier. That's so much funner in life and in character. Um, and the other thing is I've got to keep comedians, standups, and certainly British stand-ups. We're we're jesters.

We're court jesters. We're down in the mud with the other peasants laughing at the king, right? We're low status, right? Now, how do I keep low status? Cuz everyone knows how much we earn now. So, but I've got to keep I can't fake it. I can't pretend. I can't go, "Oh, I was on the bus the other day going to claim a welfare check. you're liar. Right? So, I I I can't do it like that. So, I keep my low status in two ways. One, I show them that it's not all glam. All the all the silly things I've done, all the mistakes I've made, all the faux ps I've made in Hollywood, all the, you know, all the ways the press have called me an idiot and caught me out. And the other way I do it is I talk about things where they're better off than me. I talk about being fat and old and going to die and going bald and and my balls distending and you know what I mean? So they so that that's how I keep I in in a

way I don't think that I keep low status. I try and keep same status, right? Yeah. That's what I want to do. I I want I want it to be us against the world.

And are you able to Yeah. Are you able to tap into some of this sort of uh explanation and theology when you're trying to court folks uh on the extras to sort of, you know, uh when they come out and they parody themselves a bit? Like are you able to sort of make them feel comfortable like like we're all idiots. I'm an idiot. Come on and have fun at yourself.

I found that the the stars that I approached, right? That was like a day after them, they wanted to do it. They wanted to go,

let let me show the world I've got a sense of humor about myself. Cuz there's so many rumors about these people. They want 12 white kittens in their trailer. They want the trailer to be big. They they someone else has to flush the toilet. They want to go, "Let me let me show them I'm normal. Let me show them I'm an idiot." And and some of them made it worse. Some of them went, "Oh, no. Do this. Do this. Do this. I did this once." They It's It's cathartic. It's like It's like a day off for them, you know. And uh I I uh I I I think that's fun. And I and I sort of I've played it, you know, myself a couple of times when I've been the other side of like Kirby enthusiasm where, you know, where I was thinking, "Oh, I've got to parody my myself here." And it and it is fun. I you do it anyway. If you write yourself a part, you've got to you've got to parry you, you you know, a little bit.

And um but it's it's nothing new. It was nothing new that the Muppets used to do it when I was a kid. I used to watch the Muppet Show and they would have on Big Stars and they would be the idiot. The Muppets won. The Muppets won over this. I thought

it's like it's like being interviewed by Jiminy Glick when Marty Short is Jim. Oh my god. I was interviewed by him and I just laugh.

You can't compete. Like the worst thing you could do is try to one up him. It's like no, just

No, you can't. I was just I just was laughing. I wanted to hug him. I wanted to go right I wish I I want to say I wish this was real. I wish you were like this all the time. But I felt that I did a Muppet film, right? And Constantine was the evil Russian frog. And I just wanted I wished he was real. I wish I could take Constantine. I did all my press stuff with Constantine cuz it was so good having

Yeah. You you I I like being I like being, you know, the lower status, the you know, it's good to play the arrogant idiot who wins, but it's much it's much more fun to um I like it when I'm insulted in fiction. I love

I love me being the butt of the joke. So, how about could that possibly be a new um uh angle on whatever sort of filmed entertainment like scripted entertainment you might be doing next? Cuz you know, fans like us, like we love the standup stuff, but we we we want more. We want it all. We want what like what is it going to be another show? Is it going to be another movie? Is there anything close to the to the

Yeah, there is something that's that's that's close to parrying myself that I'm going to get around to one day. I can't even tell you about the title. I've got the idea, but I can't even discuss it now because

would it be maybe shooting in the next 12 months? Yeah. Oh, you'd Oh, you lot would be roped straight in as my only friends in

We're available. Yeah, you're you're in it. Um um and uh but I'm I've I've just finished uh a thing called Nearly. It it's like it's like 2 years and it still isn't quite finished and it won't be out till the end of next year. Doesn't animation take a long time?

But it's a six-part thing about it's called Alicats and we're a group of sort of feral cats living in a a disused basement and we watch TV and go out and cause havoc and uh it's it's a lot of it is improvd as well. There's there story lines, but they're the sort of, you know, the meanest, sweariest cats in the world, but, you know, they're they're losers as well. They're the bottom of the pile. They're they're it's all about sort of like survival. And it is all about that thing that when you're the bottom of the pile and, you know, you can you can be angry, you can lash out because there's there's a reason,

right? You get away with a lot because you're not there's nothing perfect about you. Yeah.

Yeah. I I think that's that's funny, isn't it? Because that's one of the big differences between sort of drama and comedy. You know, the the lead in a comedy is a putt, whereas the lead in a drama is perfect.

He can't slip. He can't hit his head. You know, he can get shot, but then he's got to go. It's just a flesh wound.

Right. I can't do the voice. Will do the do the butch voice, will you? Do the butch voice.

Do that butch voice you learn when you got your When my balls dropped. Uh, hey, listen. Hey, Rick. Listen.

Um, when when this summer did you do did you when you were doing The Office, which is a great It's kind of Jason's earlier point is that it is a great acting triumph that that series for you playing David Brent and uh and I'm sure you got asked him [ __ ] million times. I'm sorry.

They all are. He never sucks. No, I know. And and did you did you how much of that was um and then when you were first making that of course it's kind of like you you know they made the internet without the internet you know what I mean you made the office without knowing with no reaction you made it in a vacuum that first season

there was no reaction so you're doing it did you have any idea that you were what you were doing was was was special

or working I knew it was different I knew it was different you did know it was different you think it was going And were you guys improvising? Were you improvising a lot?

No, I was uh uh I was the only one that really improvised at all and I did that at the beginning and the end of the scenes or just to make the actors think a little bit and make it real or do something different to to make them laugh or or whatever or just somebody but it was I'd say it was 99% scripted. And what we found um and I've always found this actually

but the behavior was was was improvised though. Do you know what I mean? Uh, well, sort of. You know, I I I did want to be an actor's medium. I remember saying to the like sometimes the the DP might uh go, "Oh, it'd be good if you came in and sit there." I go, "No, no." I said, "Come in and sit where you would." And I said, "We'll film it. It's like wildlife."

But we, you know, we had to stage it a bit cuz they had to be cuz we didn't cheat. So, you know, some documentaries.

But you wanted cameras to react, right? Yeah. It's one, well, it's one camera. So if someone went through a door,

we wouldn't cut to a camera there waiting for them. We'd follow them through the door. So it was all possible. So we probably cheated less than real documentaries in a way, which was a bit of naivity, but I think it came across. Um,

but we had to find people who got it just that that they had to say these things. And I do remember that, you know, we were meticulous. No, do it like this. No, cuz it's got, you know, we saw the whole picture. So we would make them there were sort of multiple takes for them to get it you know how how we wanted it.

Did you find that the cast bought into it early on or did it take some convincing cuz they didn't have the reaction from the audience either you know. No, no. I I think well it was finding them the it was the once we done this sort because um it's the first thing I I did for and I sort of cast it with someone in my mind like I had these characters like Gareth was based on a kid I went to school with right when I was like 14 15 and he was in the territorial army and he spoke like that right and he he he said this is a true quote of this guy I won't say his name um he said when you're captured by cannibals Right. And you're in the pot and they're cooking you. They show you pornographic pictures so you get an erection and there's more meat and right and so and he he and once right I I did this in my stand. I um as a joke I was talking to him once and I told him when we were a little bit older I told him that um uh

um I said if you get a crab drunk it walks forwards. And he came back off holiday, right? He's going on holiday with his parents and he said, "You're talking [ __ ] Jace. I did it to a crab in my beer." And he just walked sideways. Right. So, this was the sort of So, so Gareth was based on him and he was quite

How did you find that incredible actor that could hit that tone without any winking at all? He was just What was that?

What made it even better was this guy was quite a sporty guy. He played cricket, football, he was big and and I was looking for this guy. I was looking for a guy who came in and and talked about killing a man and all this. And then when McKenzie Crook walked through

and he's about seven stone and looks like a baby bird, it was even funnier cuz suddenly him talking about I could kill a man. Yeah. If I was in the jungle, you know, you couldn't you could you definitely couldn't survive. You could you'd be eaten by a lizard immediately. So, so there's surprises with but we cast and cast and cast and and um I remember it was like uh you know 2000 and um in England at that time

you either got these people who talk like that who was like you know they were like that they were sort of like you know this and that and or they wore bonnets and spoke like the royal family. There was there was no one who acted in between and comedy was sort of quite heightened. everyone still talk funnily like that they and so you tone it down and once we found the people that could do that they could do anything they could just do it they could just act naturally and do you know

did you have success I mean I I I love the American office uh as well but my my as far as I'm concerned can't touch what you guys did in England were you able to have at least the amount of success comedically tonewise with the other international iterations of the show cuz you've done it what 16 times did I read around the world

I think yeah well I I usually on all the others I you know I I okayed it I' I'd see a rough thing I'd see they'd cast a

a fat 50-year-old as Bren I thought this is they're doing it right um and I I often watch the first pilot some of I haven't I haven't seen a minute of them I've seen clips um but you know and they have to make it

there there was funny one there There was a French one and you know when um uh Tim puts Gareth's uh stapler in jelly.

Yeah. Yeah. They in France they put it in a big cheese. It's that easy. You just How do we translate this?

We like cheese. Let's put it. I thought you were I thought you were going to say they went on strike in the pilot and then they just came back. Episode four,

right? We're doing satire now. And listen, man, we're having fun. Yeah. We'll be right back. And back to the show.

What a great success though that that I mean it I'm sure you felt like you were in such a

such a a vacuum there in in England and you're doing what only six episodes a a year and but then it get then it takes off and

it's Yeah. Well, we got that. I I was a big fan of Faulty Towers. That was that was the first time that I saw like this this is my this is so perfect

and they honed the script. You know often British sitcoms were written by you know people banging out on a typewriter over the weekend and they you know they do loads and this was like you know 12 episodes so perfectly like the possibly the most perfect far ever committed to TV 40 hours. I thought that that's that's what we do. We do it. We We This is boutique. This is, you know,

but it was But that was a sitcom, right? Shot precenium style, right? Multiple cameras, audience, studio a like you But you did the opposite of that in that it was single camera, very quiet. There was a lot of humor in the in the in the discomfort of silence and awkward beats.

Well, I stole that from Spinal Tap. Anything you say that I invented, I'll tell you where I stole it. Okay.

Well, we all do. All of us. All of us. Yeah. My god. We were inspired. Jason and I were inspired when we were just shooting Arrested Development in the first season and we were watched your show.

We watched your show and we were just we were crazy about it. We were like, "Holy [ __ ] look what these guys are doing." Like we were [ __ ] blown away.

Yeah. I give you all credit. I mean, because as you know, a huge fan of all of yours.

Well, then like I think we told the story last time you were on. Then it was like we got word to us that you might be interested in actually coming over and doing an episode of our show. And Will, wasn't there like some sort of like ridiculous argument high up at the studio level with them like wondering, "Yeah, should we really buy him a first class ticket to come over?" I think like the phrase was he's not going to put uh uh new people in the tent. Like it's not worth the [ __ ] plane ticket to bring him. Remember like

they were right. But what didn't Wasn't Wasn't there that like ridiculous No, cuz Ricky No, cuz he wanted like 12 kittens in his trailer and he wanted

cuz that when Ricky made that point earlier, he was just reading off his own writer, you know.

Yeah. No, it was uh um Arrested Development or Arrested as Will calls it. But he always kept me. Yeah.

Did you just get I think it was I think you were voted for like 5 years when it was how long it was on. You were always voted best comedy of all time, weren't you?

The the the the best unwatched show. Yeah. Yeah. Well, and then uh uh we got we got a little bit of a awards uh attention and we got to stay on a little bit longer. And speaking of awards, we've got we we going to ask you for some advice. Ricky Rick is going to be blown away by this. You ready?

We've got a nice bit of love from your friends. No, I know you've been you've nominated for a Golden Globe.

Yeah. So, I think we're going to get up there on stage, maybe present at a at a minimum.

I think you've got a great chance. I think you've got a great chance because this is really fun. You've got all the big guests. You're like, you're huge. It It's friendly. You're you're very

You're not Hollywood in that I mean, but you're very you're very Hollywood, the three of you. I mean, you're

you know, three people at the top of their game. I I think you got a very good chance. I think

what I'm trying to think, we don't I I just don't want our pattern to like I hope they don't write us some weird pattern.

Just say no. Whenever even when even when like Arrested Development wouldn't uh give me a first class ticket, I was still arrogant. And when I was handing out awards, I said, I'm not doing it with anyone. I'm not going out with someone I've never met doing a bit of stick. I said, I'm going to come out as me and I'm just going to do the thing. and they let me do it. And

yeah, the best thing like it too too is the default is just to just read the prompter like without any bits, right?

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I I I think I complained every time I got there. I said something like I've come a long way for this and I didn't win. I was usually up for an award. I I tell you what, I you know, I've been nominated 25 Emmys and I've won two. Now that is just taking the Mickey, is it? That is like get him over here again. Get him over here again. Let him think he's going to win again. Get him over. And at least I thought, oh, you're right. I used to hand out an award. At least I used to get up there somehow.

Your host, but your hosting of the Globes, what did you do? Five or six years was just priceless. Oh,

do you watch it, Ricky? Do you do you watch it at all anymore? The Globes. The Globe. I don't I don't think I've ever watched an award ceremony I wasn't at. I well for first for for a start the Globes and the Oscars and all those in America I'm in bed they're like they're 3:00 a.m. Yeah. So that's out of the question. I sometimes check out I check out the monologue if it's a comedian,

you know. Um so I thought, yeah, oh yeah, whatever. Um but no, I don't I I mean I don't know. It's it's all changed. You can't take it seriously. You mustn't take those things seriously. You got to treat it like a a night out meeting your friends or a job or, you know, it's like

um uh it's an it's an industry award. I like meeting all those people, all those fancy folks. It's it's nice to see.

The only the only the only reason it's on telly is because it's an industry award for really famous people. The the teaching awards don't get televised, do they? You know,

they they don't do it for science awards. Really important awards don't get televised. They put a bunch of booze on the table, too. They try to get everybody hammered. So, when they go up there, they do something interesting.

Well, that's that's that's the great thing about the Golden Globes. That's the good and bad thing about the Golden Globes. Golden Globes is better to be at

and the Emmy is probably better to host because at least they're all in their seats and they're listening and you can do your I've never hosted the Emmy is because it's too much work and you have to rehearse. Um but the show

there's no rehearsal hosting the Globes. No rehearsal. No, I I talked about this in my uh special um uh 30th of December. Um

yeah, I came in I came and saw I saw you Oh, you saw it just before I think I filmed it in before you filmed it and I saw I went I saw Ricky at the Pladium in London. Uh Chappie and I went over and and watched it. It was great. It was brilliant, man. It was It was brilliant. It was brilliant. Brilliant. And yeah, you talk about it was fun. I And the the audience was so psyched and you were really funny talking about like hosting the Globes and what that was like.

Yeah, I talked about some behind the scenes just like what it was like for me and uh and what happened and uh there there's a couple of really funny stories, but um uh I can't I can't tell you. Don't Don't do it.

No. No. Because they need to watch the Was was that was the Was the show that Will went to Is that the one that you filmed? How do you decide which one to film?

It was this it was the it was the venue and maybe the week, but not the not the night cuz I I did about I did like I think I did 14 shows and I taped two of them. I don't think

How is that traditionally um decided? Is it usually you you want to film one of the later shows because you're still working on the material? You want it to be you want it to be ready. Uh you want to be ready and you want to be as soon as possible while it's still fresh and you're still sort of you know into it and you know loving it. So it was within the last sort of like five or six shows actually. You want it to be a venue that you can do a night before warm up in the same venue.

Uh and you want it to be as intimate as you can without it looking you have to wear the same outfit.

Yeah. I was going to say wear the same outfit. Well that's fine. I do that anyway. I could do it tonight. Yeah,

I haven't I haven't changed my hairstyle in 22 years, so it's not a problem that um

and you do you do two just in case. And usually you sort of you make sure you nail it on the first one and make sure you've got everything and then the second one you just have fun.

And in the cold light of day, the first one is always the best. Yeah, of course.

Because it's more self-indulgent. The second one you're going, I'm having a lovely time. They love they're riffing. I'm riffing. Then you get into the studio and go, "Well, people at home aren't there, so they just want to hear what you had to say clearly." And it's always that first one that wins every time. Um, but um, it know I I even do things on the night that I haven't done before, little things I try out and um, cuz you can always edit it out. So yeah,

you know, I I film too much and crunch it down. I probably do 70 minutes and it comes out at 65 just so things didn't hit so much or I you know or two jokes about the same thing. I go that just sound that sound too much or cruel or whatever or someone that wasn't ready. I'll go I won't put that in. I I'll work that up. That'll be in the next special. So,

and as far as your material goes, have you found that the the sourcing of the ideas that you get um has has changed over the years? is the ratio kind of stayed the same as far as like pulling from like family and friends funny ideas and news ideas and

or it's still it's still it's still um uh Hitler AIDS in that order [ __ ] yourself

classics evergreen evergreen the stuff that got us here you know what I mean yeah uh you know

well also that translates as well so if I if I work up my show in England I've 50 shows in England and it's all about what was on telly last night or our prime minister or you have to go about universal subjects and joking aside my us universal subjects are usually um things like what it's like you know uh you know ego bad days uh getting old or you know uh so I I I tried to be more timeless than topical

right so this one this one called mortality is that the theme of the whole thing is is sort of mortality is or

again it's a jump off you know it is about me getting old and grumpy and you know uh getting annoyed at stuff more and more. Uh it again it's quite classic you know everyone goes through the phases of their life. Um sure

you know I I think it it it is about it's it's not it's not zeitgeisty but it is clearly about now.

Um but I hope it I hope it lasts. But I will say Ricky, that's one of the things again about sort of The Office and your standup which is and you just said I was about to jump in and say that it's not Zeke and that's what gives it all those best comedies aren't because they do have that evergreen thing. They do it is about these characters who are flawed uh the the relationships between people certainly in the dynamics of the office between the different things. I mean that that you know is just as relevant today as it was 25 years ago.

Well I think so. I think if you if you if you go classic, sometimes I even go retro like this project I'm working on now, Alicats, it's like 2D retro. I want it to be Hannah Barbara mixed with sort of 60s Disney. So if you look at it in 20 years, you don't go, "Oh, what were I thinking of then?" It just looks

It's already sort of classic. It's already stood It's already stood the test of time the way it looks, you know. Um, so I do, yeah, I I am quite conscious of it sort of being universal and timeless and and uh uh cuz you notice as well if you suddenly it's going well but you you get to Paris and you go I can't do that bit can't do that bit they won't know who he is I can't do it it's really sort of demoralizing so you know I

and they know they surrendered you know what I mean so you don't need to tell you know what I mean

you don't need to do that joke you don't have You don't have to remind them, you know.

Uh what uh when did you did you enter the war? After my dad volunteered in 19 trying to think and boy, it's been funny. I I did change my number. So I I don't remember getting a thank you. So maybe that came maybe that got well. Ricky, if with all of your your your your your influence, your access and and and and credibility, capital, all that stuff, if you could you could point all of that towards something that is not comedy, not standup, not movies or television, something like that, like a documentary or something like that, what what would what would the audience be surprised that you would if you had to shine a light on something? Would it be like animal rights? Like a documentary on animal rights?

Well, that's the first one, I suppose. I I think that um and where did that come from? Did you have did you have like a pets as when you were a little kid and Yeah.

Yeah. It was um it was it was always quite important, you know, pets were like, you know, member of the family, you know, growing up sort of like a uh just a working-class family in England. It was it was all about the kids and pets. So I remember um when I was uh I was about 15 and my my brother as you know you know 26 27 at the time he came over with a couple of his kids right and the kids came running into the the house to to my mom and they went nanny nanny um daddy just punched a man in the face and knocked him over in the park. Right.

And my mom was like horrified. Right. Right. Yeah. And then Bob comes walking in and she went, "Shit, they said you punched a man in the face." And Bob went, "Yeah, he kicked the dog." And my mom went, "Oh, fair enough."

And that was it. And that was like that that was a life lesson. It's like some some things are all right. Sometimes violence is justified.

No, it was it was always about, you know, I've always I've always thought animals were unconditionally sort of perfect and beautiful and should be treated well. It's it's all about it's it's about empathy, isn't it really? And uh I know I know you guys the same. I don't I I've never understood animal cruelty. And then then the more the older you get, the more you find out, well, there's so much animal cruelty that you didn't know was going on. And you're you're sort of like you're cashing in on it without knowing. And so that's why I became vegan as well because the terrible cruelty in the sort of farm industry and you know and I thought oh I can't I I can't really I can't really be saving dogs and eating sheep and so yeah you just you know

if if if you had to make a choice between bringing one person back to life one it could be any person historical figure family member whatever it is or give voice to one animal that is alive right now. Like your pet could talk or you could bring back a person. What would you pick?

That's really good. Well, it would be Oh my god. They're both pretty irresistible,

aren't they? Yeah. It's too risky, isn't it? Bringing someone back cuz you might bring back Oh, I'd love to.

You might bring back Einstein and he keeps going. It's boring. Yeah, I know. E= MC². I know. I've got it. I've got it. Shut up.

[ __ ] me. Why did I bring Yeah, now he's got to catch up. It's got to be my cat talking, hasn't it? It's got to be my cat.

You've just got the one pet. One cat. What if What if my cat was really boring?

Oh god. Or had an attitude. Yeah. The real pain. Sleeping. I know you're sleeping, but we can talk now.

What if your cat What if your cat just said, "I've been this whole time I've been all over you because I'm a sadist. I just want you to [ __ ] kick me."

Oh god. I just That's what gets me off. I just want to get kicked. And you spent all this time telling people not to kick and that's the only thing THAT GETS ME OFF IS GETTING KICKED.

OBVIOUSLY, we're going to cut this bit, right? We're definitely going to cut this.

Keeping this bit leading with it. Yeah, it's the opener. It's the only worry. I'm not going to sleep now. I'm not going to sleep now. What? Oh god.

All right. So, now you got a chatty cat and uh and and All right. I think that's that's a good decision. What What's the cat's name? Um, she's called

Pickle. Are you sure? Yeah. Yeah. No, I've I've had lots of cats. Um, and uh Yeah. Yeah.

But so if you had to give voice to one, it's going to be Pickle. Clearly, it's got to be Pickle cuz you like your current

your current cat is your favorite and you just you you probably forget how much you love the other ones and you go, "Oh my god, this is you know." Yeah. You sort they become a member of the family, you know.

What's the life Sean? Sean. Sean, what? Hang on one sec. Sean Sean, what's your what's your dog's name?

Ricky. Excellent. That Yeah. I've always known that my name should either be a child or a dog. It's It doesn't really suit a man in his 60s, does it? Ricky.

Never. Richard ever. When he's bad. No, it was Ricky. Ricky Dean Jay's. It was apparently um it was a thing uh what shows lower class from a name most in America and the top name to show you were from a lower class was Ricky.

Really? Oh, really? Yeah. Apparently. That's funny. Yeah. Somebody is having a having a having a a gag on you. They say

Sean, what do you think Ricky your dog would say if if he could talk today? Um uh how do I get out of here?

How about stop curling my hair? Yeah. Well, I crimp it. I just crimp it. I don't curl it. I crimp it.

Ricky is such a beautiful dog. And Ricky, you're a beautiful guest. When's the special? When's the special? Where's the digital?

The special's out. It's out now. It's out now. It's out now. It's already out the charts. It's already made number one. F. This is absolutely [ __ ] pointless. This.

Okay. You ready? I'm going to do this. So, Ricky Ricky, your special came out December 30th. It's already number one across the world.

I don't know how we booked you. What incredible success and congrats on all the nominations.

Really great show. Really great. Let's do let's do one just in case. Just say say uh uh Ricky um just after your special came out you had your testicles removed from cancer just in case. Let's do every scenario.

Yeah. Just run them down. Actually, I'm all right with I'm I'm all right with testicular cancer now. When you're about 50 that you you you forget about it. It's [ __ ] It goes, "Don't worry about your testicles, mate, but we've got to check your ass now."

I'm out of the woods. My testicles are safe. They're absolutely safe. Well, there's a fear of them getting trotten on these days.

Safely tucked in your socks. Yeah. Um, we love you and thank you. And, um, please say hello next time you're out here.

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I did last time. I I Oh, I wasn't there. Where was I? Oh, you weren't this. No. When was that? That was the last time I played the bowl when we all came to Ted's house.

It was two years ago. It was a while ago. It was a while ago. I will I say I You were in England recently, weren't you? You didn't say hi.

I'm not It's You're It's Will that has a sleepovers at your house, not me. Wow.

I'd love to. I I need friends. I don't have any friends. I got these two. Help me out.

I know. You're all busy. You're all too busy. We're all too busy. I'm too old. I'm old and grumpy and antisocial and you're you're too busy. That's bad.

We'd be perfect. I'm just like a cat. I don't talk. I'm sitting You know what, Jason? You know what it's called? It's it's called making an effort. You make an effort. I go there and I make an effort. I reach out to Ricky and I say, "What are you doing?" He says, "I'm busy. I'm going to come see your show." It's called making an effort. Okay, Ricky. Thank you so much.

Teach me, Willie. Teach me. All right, Billy. All right. Have a great rest of the day. Byebye.

Thank you. That was absolute a pleasure for me. I hope it was a pleasure for you. And uh it's I understand I'm the first first second guest.

The first You are the first guest first guest to do two to do first repeat. The first repeat.

Yeah, that's the word I was looking for. I'm getting tired. The money's the same though, so don't look for an increase in your check.

I won't. Wait, is it It's Yes. After 9, isn't it? It's uh No, sorry. Half past 6.

Yeah, half past 6. That's I've only got 2 hours before I think about bedtime. Dinner time. Say hi to Jane at the dinner table for us, please. I'm going up to eat now. Thank you.

Yeah. Love to Jane. Uh, great to see you. Cheers, guys. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Thanks, Ricky. Bye. Bye, buddy. Bye.

The great return. Our first return. And that's that's the bar. That's the bar right there. You don't get to come back unless you're uh Ricky Jerves. Good. You know,

you know, I don't remember him going into so much detail about the office. It was really cool to hear that. And um, you know, like cuz you last time you guys saw that? I I seriously I was on the plane a couple weeks ago. I hadn't seen it since we watched it. Willie,

it's been it's been a minute. But you know what? In that time, I will say I will say and really, you know, and I know Ricky was part of it and and credit to Greg Daniels and my shirt and all those brilliant people that we love over the office and all the performers. The American Office was very funny and I I had ended up watching the bulk of it during co because I missed some there were gaps in it

and [ __ ] hell. I mean, first of all, Steve Carell was, you know, because Ricky cast such a huge shadow, right?

You know, what he did on on I remember thinking like, who is this guy Steve Carell thinking that he can do what Ricky Jerves and he made it his own.

He just did it different. He made it his own and he drilled it and so good and stuff.

All of those characters were so specific and everyone in the American office came made it their own, kicked the door down and uh I think inarguably uh became a a bigger success than the British one. Yeah.

Yeah. Well, yeah. I think who like you said, it's so hard to write a part and a tone and a voice of a character and then have an actor match that. Like what are the odds of that?

Yeah. Yeah. I loved Yeah. I also love Martin Freeman. I'm such a fan of Martin Freeman's and he was so good.

Um and uh and I love that show that he did, The Responder. The Responder. I think I mentioned that before. It's a BBC show set in Liverpool. He plays a cop that came out two years ago. He's unbelievable.

You just fire up Brit Box and and you just start knocking down shows kind of. Yeah. No, I know.

Are you doing a plug for the for the Brit Box? I mean, I'll do it. Do I have Bit Box?

No, you have. You do. Do I just I just I It's a certain channel. I got to find it.

That's a fun call back. That's a fun call back to do. I have 2B, you know. Sean, do you have one yet?

Well, I was thinking of 2B to be to buy No. No. It's too much of a reach. Okay. What about um

uh sort of by by Well, their shows are so their shows are so those are show, you know, all those shows like the office. so good and they're so rare that they're really hard to come.

Bye. Bye. Smart. Smart less. Smartless is 100% organic and artisally handcrafted by Rob Armjarf, Bennett Barbco, and Michael Grant Terry. Smart less.

Questions about this episode

What is discussed in ""Ricky Gervais""?

In order: 0:00 Amy Lynn Bradley, The Office; 10:00 Afterlife; 20:00 Yorkville; 30:00 The Office; 40:00 Arrested Development, Faulty Towers, Golden Globes, McKenzie Crook; 50:00 The Office; 1:00:00 The Office, Martin Freeman.

What is mentioned in this SmartLess episode?

11 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Ricky Gervais, Amy Lynn Bradley, The Office, Arrested Development, GQ, Afterlife. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is ""Ricky Gervais""?

The episode runs 1 h 7 min; the transcript is about 13,785 words in 311 timestamped sections.

More from SmartLess

About this transcript: the episode's spoken words as captioned on YouTube, split into timestamped sections. Reclip.Me locates every person, work and idea in the text, keeps the time it is first named, and quotes the words around it verbatim. Last updated January 24, 2026.