"RE-RELEASE: Ricky Gervais"

Summary

SmartLess Podcast Episode Summary: "RE-RELEASE: Ricky Gervais"

Hosts: Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, Will Arnett
Guest: Ricky Gervais
Release Date: February 13, 2025

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1. Introduction of Ricky Gervais

The episode kicks off with the trio reflecting on their past guest appearances and leading into the surprise reveal of Ricky Gervais as the mystery guest.

Will Arnett ([04:25]):

"This is a person who has won almost every award it's possible to win. Well, you let him tell you about it."

Ricky Gervais ([04:25]):

"Oh."

The hosts express their admiration, setting a warm and humorous tone for the conversation.

---

2. Early Career and Influences

Ricky delves into his early aspirations, particularly his brief stint in the music industry, and how it influenced his comedic trajectory.

Ricky Gervais ([35:13]):

"Because it didn't work out all in, but in retrospect, did it all wrong. I was in a balance."

He reflects on his failed music career and how it steered him towards writing and directing, ultimately leading to the creation of "The Office."

Ricky Gervais ([36:10]):

"It would have certainly been... we were sort of the hair and makeup and synth pop, but this was the mistake I made."

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3. The Office and Its Impact

A significant portion of the discussion centers around "The Office," its creation, and its profound impact on both British and American comedy.

Ricky Gervais ([16:24]):

"It was an impression I used to do of like bosses and stuff. I worked in an office for like 10 years."

He explains the inspiration behind David Brent and the mockumentary style, highlighting the balance between humor and genuine character struggles.

Jason Bateman ([15:20]):

"A comedy of discomfort and awkward pauses and loss of dignity with just sort of a look or a moment as opposed to jokes or anything like that."

The hosts commend Ricky's ability to infuse authenticity into his characters, making them relatable and endearing.

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4. Stand-up Comedy Philosophy

Ricky shares his distinct approach to stand-up comedy, emphasizing vulnerability and the evolution of his material.

Ricky Gervais ([22:17]):

"It's so funny and sad at the same time... someone trying to be funny and successful isn't as funny as someone who doesn't want to be funny and wants to be taken seriously."

He contrasts his stand-up persona with his fictional characters, discussing the balance between bravado and genuine emotion.

Jason Bateman ([23:26]):

"Your all the vulnerability that you put into David Brent... is really the root of the comedy."

Ricky highlights the iterative nature of stand-up, where constant refinement ensures his material remains relevant and impactful.

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5. Cancel Culture and Free Speech

A deep dive into the challenges of modern comedy, Ricky addresses the intricacies of cancel culture and the importance of free speech.

Ricky Gervais ([30:14]):

"Art is being brave. It is being brave and putting out there."

He expresses frustration with the rapid pace of social media judgments and the erosion of nuance in public discourse.

Ricky Gervais ([32:33]):

"It's like reading every toilet wall in the world, okay? And when you look at it like that, you shouldn't ever be offended by anything on Twitter."

The conversation underscores Ricky's commitment to maintaining his comedic integrity despite external pressures.

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6. Personal Life and Hobbies

Ricky opens up about his personal routines, living arrangements, and leisure activities, painting a picture of his life outside the spotlight.

Ricky Gervais ([49:05]):

"I've got a place in New York... especially this year. I've spent most of my time in leafy Hampstead."

He discusses his love for animals, particularly dogs, and the dynamics of balancing travel with pet ownership.

Ricky Gervais ([50:47]):

"I absolutely love dogs. I think to me, all animals are unconditionally perfect and beautiful."

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7. Reflections on Fame and Satisfaction

Exploring his relationship with fame, Ricky reflects on his achievements and personal fulfillment.

Jason Bateman ([56:29]):

"Now, Ricky, I have a semi serious question here... have you exceeded your expectations?"

Ricky Gervais ([56:44]):

"I think you hone it and hone it. You keep folding the samurai, you keep honing it."

He emphasizes the importance of pursuing passion over external validation, striving for artistic satisfaction rather than mere recognition.

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8. Current and Future Projects

Ricky provides insights into his ongoing and upcoming projects, including his work on "After Life" and stand-up tours.

Ricky Gervais ([52:18]):

"And I'm filming in April, so I feel like I feel the gap. I can't do gigs at the moment. Again, that's ready to go."

He discusses the timeless nature of his comedy topics, ensuring his material remains relevant across different contexts.

Ricky Gervais ([53:06]):

"We're always... Luckily we'll always have killer diseases and fascism. So keeps us going."

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9. Closing Remarks and Final Jokes

The episode culminates in light-hearted banter, showcasing the camaraderie between Ricky and the hosts. They engage in playful teasing and share humorous anecdotes, ending the conversation on a high note.

Ricky Gervais ([56:28]):

"The microphone is the same volume. Everybody has equal access to it."

Jason Bateman ([67:42]):

"I want to... I can be small, have a four and a half."

The hosts express their admiration and affection for Ricky, wrapping up the episode with laughter and mutual respect.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Ricky Gervais ([22:17]):

  "It's so funny and sad at the same time... someone trying to be funny and successful isn't as funny as someone who doesn't want to be funny and wants to be taken seriously."

• Jason Bateman ([15:20]):

  "A comedy of discomfort and awkward pauses and loss of dignity with just sort of a look or a moment as opposed to jokes or anything like that."

• Ricky Gervais ([30:14]):

  "Art is being brave. It is being brave and putting out there."

• Ricky Gervais ([53:06]):

  "We're always... Luckily we'll always have killer diseases and fascism. So keeps us going."

---

Concluding Thoughts

This episode of "SmartLess" offers an intimate look into Ricky Gervais's comedic genius, his perspectives on fame, and his unwavering commitment to authentic humor. The engaging dialogue between the hosts and Ricky provides listeners with valuable insights into the art of comedy, the challenges of modern entertainment, and the personal philosophies that drive one of today's most influential comedians.

Transcript

[Will Arnett]

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[Sean Hayes]

Hey guys, I'm sure you're like the rest of the country and you checked out the super bowl and all the great commercials. There was one that really stood out called Stand up to All Hate, that starred Snoop Dogg and Tom Brady. It was really, really powerful. And the reasons for hate are just so stupid. It's a strong reminder that hate in our country continues to be out of control. So please join us at Smartless in standing up to it. If you see hate, speak up. Call it out. Your voice is a powerful tool in this fight. Learn more by following ot's upwithhate on Instagram and TikTok foreign.

[Will Arnett]

Hey there, Will Arnett here from Smartless. It's the podcast where Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and I interview somebody. Two of us don't know who that person is because one of us has brought on a surprise guest. That's the whole conceit. I wish I could describe it better, but I'm. I'm not that smart. So it's Smartless, and it's starting now. Smart.

[Jason Bateman]

Smart.

[Will Arnett]

Smart. You never did a guest spot over on the Mork and Mindy, huh?

[Jason Bateman]

No, but I would have.

[Will Arnett]

What was your best guest spot when you were a kid?

[Jason Bateman]

Knight Rider.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah, of course.

[Jason Bateman]

Knight Rider just made my year. I was 15 and so I couldn't drive yet. So this was an opportunity not only to guest on the best show in the world, but also drive a Trans Am owned by the Hoff. And see how they do all the tricks over there. They had like a little guy sitting behind the seat that was like looking through this mesh sort of headpiece in the seat. Sure. I loved all the movie magic.

[Will Arnett]

I was gonna say, you would have made a good Computer. If they already had, you would have been a good. I would have cast you as a computer. I'd still cast you as a computer.

[Sean Hayes]

Wait, because, Because I know that about you. It was on the other day, not your episode, but Knight Rider and Scotty and I turned it on and they did this like super fancy interior shot of the car. And I'm telling you right now, it was disgusting in there. It was like. There was like dust and like wrappers all around it and like all the scratches on, like it was not pristine.

[Jason Bateman]

At the on set dresser was not great on the show.

[Will Arnett]

35 years later, you're taking shots at, you know, transpo and picture cars. Great, great. We'll have the local on your ass by Monday. Hey, guys, I'm so glad that we're here today because we have a guest on our show and we say this a lot, you know, deserves no introduction, but. But this is just another example of that. This is a person who has won almost every award it's possible to win in. Well, you let him tell you about it. Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Ricky Gervais.

[Ricky Gervais]

Oh.

[Sean Hayes]

Oh, it's a nice shot of the awards in the back.

[Jason Bateman]

Look at all the awards, guys.

[Ricky Gervais]

It's not all of them, it's half of them. There's lots of walls.

[Sean Hayes]

Wow.

[Ricky Gervais]

I nearly laughed a couple of times when I was waiting with.

[Jason Bateman]

Wait, what did you win? The. What did you win? The guitar?

[Ricky Gervais]

I didn't, I didn't win that.

[Jason Bateman]

That's. That's just something for the ladies when they're looking at your awards. Let me play a little too.

[Ricky Gervais]

Oh, God.

[Jason Bateman]

Oh, my words.

[Ricky Gervais]

What a joy this is.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah. It's so nice to meet you. I've never met you. I'm a huge, huge fan.

[Ricky Gervais]

Thank you. How's it going, man?

[Sean Hayes]

Good, man.

[Will Arnett]

You guys don't know each other?

[Ricky Gervais]

No, no.

[Sean Hayes]

You know, there's one time I saw you standing outside of the Beverly Hills Hotel creepy, and there was nobody else, and I was like, oh, my God, that's Ricky. I'm a huge fan. Should I say? And then I fast forward in my head. If I just go, hey, hey, Ricky, I'm Sean. And if I didn't know if you knew who I was, and then you'd be like, hey. And then it would just end. And so I was like, maybe I should skip that.

[Will Arnett]

It's kind of how it's going now. It's kind of what's happening.

[Sean Hayes]

Well, you know, God, one time I was at Christmas party at Meg Ryan's house. This is Decades ago. And Steven Spielberg was in there. And I'm talking and I've never met him. He's like, oh, my God. And I couldn't believe he knew who I was. We were talking and talking and talking for like two hours. It was awesome. And then I made this huge goodbye. I was like, bye, Steven. Nice to meet you. I go out to the valet in front of the house and nobody's there, right? And I'm waiting for my car, waiting for my car. And then Steven Spielberg walks up and it's just us two and we already had a massive goodbye. So then I was like, hey, how are you? And it was just awful.

[Will Arnett]

It would have been better if he had just said, hi, how are you? I'm Stephen. If in that moment or if he.

[Jason Bateman]

Just said, bye, Benjamin.

[Sean Hayes]

Bye, Benjamin.

[Will Arnett]

Ricky, do you remember a few years ago you were walking across the street here in LA and I saw you and Jane walking across and I pulled up and I whirled my window down and I sort of said, hey, can I get a pic? And you were. At first you were like, oh, fuck yeah, how you doing? Then he realized and you went, don't.

[Ricky Gervais]

Give me the fucking wave. It's Will. And you actually got out.

[Jason Bateman]

We're going to let the guest talk here in a second, but how many times have you guys been in the car and you like honk at somebody and then you pull up alongside them and you know that person.

[Sean Hayes]

Oh, yeah.

[Ricky Gervais]

Oh, you mean angrily honk.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah, yeah, sorry.

[Ricky Gervais]

Americans honk just anything willy nilly. If an English person honks, it's like an affront. It's like people get out. What the. But in America, it's just like you hunk for anything, right?

[Will Arnett]

Yeah, yeah.

[Ricky Gervais]

It's like you've. You've really devalued the honk.

[Jason Bateman]

Especially in New York.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah, I think you're right. We should take it back. I think that you're right.

[Ricky Gervais]

Take it right back. So a honk is like. It's like the finger or something. What the fuck?

[Jason Bateman]

Hold on, hold on a second. What about time differences? So you're in England, I'm in. In la. So I'm drinking coffee. Was that ale I just saw?

[Ricky Gervais]

Ale?

[Jason Bateman]

Is that what you people call it?

[Ricky Gervais]

Yes, forsooth. It was a mead, sire.

[Jason Bateman]

Look at that.

[Ricky Gervais]

God, that looks. It's a beer.

[Will Arnett]

As opposed to a lager?

[Ricky Gervais]

Well, it's a. It's an ipa. An Indian pale ale. Yes.

[Jason Bateman]

And what is that, by the way? That. That, that came in after I stopped. So what is ipa?

[Ricky Gervais]

Oh, oh, am drinker here now.

[Jason Bateman]

Well, Sean.

[Will Arnett]

No, no, no, Sean is a. Big.

[Jason Bateman]

Sean's still up from last night.

[Ricky Gervais]

Yeah. Good.

[Jason Bateman]

What is so Indian Pale Ale. Do we. Do you know what that is?

[Ricky Gervais]

I can't be more specific. I mean, it's. There's a three word description and I don't know of any other drink that's got three words already to really specify what it is.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah, but wait a second though, but wait a second. The Indians were not known for making beer when I was last drinking beer. So where did that come from?

[Ricky Gervais]

Sorry, are you saying Indian in the real term? The subcontinent of India in Asia or what you call Indians, which are Native Americans. Just what you arrogantly called Indians.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah, I just want to say, Ricky, just give Jason enough rope. He's about to hang himself. Go ahead, Jason.

[Jason Bateman]

My career.

[Sean Hayes]

No, leave some slack on it.

[Jason Bateman]

But, but I'm assuming the Indian of Indian Pale Ale means people from India.

[Ricky Gervais]

Yes, Yes, I think, I think so. I think it was. Okay, so it was probably something equally racist in that sort of British colonial history.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah.

[Ricky Gervais]

So we said we're having that, we're having that. This is Indian Pale Out. It's ours now. It's ours. I don't. I honestly, we've gone into rounds beyond my knowledge of what I'm drinking. All I know is it's 5% alcohol, it's 6pm that's all I need to know.

[Sean Hayes]

And do you have a. Is this a daily thing about this time that you have an Indian Pale Ale?

[Ricky Gervais]

Yes, it is.

[Jason Bateman]

I mean, are you only good for about 20 minutes?

[Ricky Gervais]

Is this an intervention?

[Will Arnett]

Yeah, this is intervention, the podcast. I don't know if you knew that. Come on in, Jane. Jane, come on in.

[Ricky Gervais]

I'm going to jack up in a minute. Is that all right?

[Will Arnett]

Oh, that's fine. It's just drinking. We don't mind. Exactly.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

So did you just. Now you're rewarding yourself because you've just probably. Probably just popped out of the gym. You're probably in and out. Yeah. Have you. Would you? Oh, of course. Yeah. Look at that.

[Jason Bateman]

He's showing us his guns.

[Ricky Gervais]

And that's all natural. People say to me, hey, you on the juice? I go, fuck you.

[Will Arnett]

Fuck you. But that's why they think your rage is outrageous.

[Jason Bateman]

You know, you do have a build, Rick. You always have. Was there a time in your life when you were. When you were a gym rat and you just to just blast buys and back.

[Sean Hayes]

Blast.

[Jason Bateman]

Listen, you must have. Cuz that's that. That you're not born with. With pipes like that, are you?

[Ricky Gervais]

No, no. It's just a shame this is only audio because they can't see me. They can imagine I'm posing at the moment and I've got terrible. My fake tan is dripping off me.

[Jason Bateman]

With a guitar and an ipa.

[Ricky Gervais]

Exactly. Yeah, I do, I do. I work out every day. I try to. It's getting harder and harder, but. And I probably shouldn't be because everything is absolutely fucked on me now. I've got two sprained ankles, which I. Which is terrible. I still run on. No, terrible knees. I can't bend without them cricking. I've got a bad back. My shoulders are. I've got tennis elbow. Yeah, I'm absolutely. But I refuse to stop doing anything.

[Will Arnett]

Mostly from street fighting. Is that right? Because I heard, yes.

[Ricky Gervais]

I'm like, yeah, hand to hand. Yeah. I'm punch drunk.

[Jason Bateman]

But how. How old are you?

[Ricky Gervais]

59.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah, I'm about to be 52 and everything hurts.

[Ricky Gervais]

You're older than me.

[Jason Bateman]

How dare you? This hair is real, look.

[Ricky Gervais]

Oh, yeah. I've had no work. I don't have two body waxes a day.

[Jason Bateman]

Wait a second.

[Ricky Gervais]

Botox, you twat.

[Jason Bateman]

I'm on swim team. I can't have any hair on my body.

[Ricky Gervais]

You're only. He's only 52. Is he telling the truth, Will?

[Jason Bateman]

No, I won't be 52 till January.

[Ricky Gervais]

Christ.

[Will Arnett]

He won't turn to the side because then you'll see the Scotch tape and all the rubber bands and stuff. But he. From the front. He looks amazing from the front.

[Sean Hayes]

Ricky, do you have a place in la, or do you only live in England?

[Ricky Gervais]

I've got a place in New York. Had it for a while, actually, but especially this year. I've spent most of my time in leafy Hampstead. Will's been here.

[Will Arnett]

It's beautiful. It's a. It's a great spot. And you live next to the vicar.

[Ricky Gervais]

I do, yeah.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah.

[Jason Bateman]

Who's that?

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah. Who is that?

[Ricky Gervais]

Well, it's just a vicar. He said the vicar, but it's a vicar. There's thousands that. I live next to one of them.

[Jason Bateman]

What's a vicar?

[Ricky Gervais]

A vicar?

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah.

[Ricky Gervais]

You don't know what a vicar is?

[Jason Bateman]

Uh. Oh.

[Will Arnett]

Allow Ricky to relieve you of your ignorance. Go ahead, Ricky.

[Ricky Gervais]

A vicar. You might.

[Jason Bateman]

It's a deep list.

[Will Arnett]

Like a preacher. Like a preacher. Like a local priest.

[Ricky Gervais]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Sean Hayes]

So you live next to a priest?

[Ricky Gervais]

A vicar. Yeah, it's true.

[Sean Hayes]

You live next to a priest's house.

[Ricky Gervais]

Listen, this podcast, is that I mean, it's like. It's like I'm teaching you, like, English and then I have to explain it. I mean, we spent three minutes on. What's Indian Pale Ale? It's not that important. What's a vicar hell?

[Will Arnett]

Well, you. Listen, spent time with Bateman before, for Christ's sake. You know what you're getting into?

[Ricky Gervais]

I have. I couldn't believe my luck. I was a. I was a huge fan of. Of Teen Wolf and.

[Will Arnett]

Sure. Two.

[Ricky Gervais]

Two? Oh, I haven't seen two. No, you're not. You're not. Ah.

[Will Arnett]

Can I. So. So can I tell you. So the first time, Ricky, that I became aware of you was from watching the Office, and Janine Garofalo had videotapes at the time of the Office, and she brought them back and she gave them to Amy and me, and we watched. And we were about to start Arrested Development, and Jason and I started watching both obsessively. And we were just absolutely obsessed with the Office, and we just thought we'd never seen anything like it. It was just brilliant. And I remember about. You were coming to. You had come to LA for maybe the Golden Globes or something, and. And we met briefly and we exchanged numbers, and you were going to come to the set of Arrested Development, you remember? And I remember saying to the set, pa, I said, can I get a drive on at the lot? And she said, yeah, give me the name. And I said, ricky Gervais. And you weren't yet a household name in this country.

[Ricky Gervais]

I'm still not.

[Will Arnett]

And she said, well. And she said, what is it? I said, ricky Gervais. And she said, can you spell it for me? And I actually stopped her and I said, I want you to remember this moment of you not knowing this name because you're going to be really embarrassed when you look back at it. And she was like, okay, whatever. And then. And you came and that was our first experience, and we were just. Jason, do you remember how blown away we were back? We couldn't.

[Jason Bateman]

I couldn't get enough of that show. And I still. It's uncomfortable for me to even talk to Ricky. I'm a little starstruck.

[Will Arnett]

It was, oh, I ended up getting enough of it. I ended up getting enough of it. But you.

[Jason Bateman]

That was at the very beginning of the show, that and Jeffrey Tambor shaped, at least for me, the whole comedic tone of Arrested Development. I kind of knew that there was that kind of funny, but I'd never seen it executed so consistently. And that was just sort of my North Star. What I was trying to, you know, point towards it was.

[Will Arnett]

It was a weird way to say this, but it was liberating to watch you in that show. It really was. It opened up a whole other. For me anyway, it felt like it opened up a whole other way. Like, okay, this. This is a possibility to go there.

[Ricky Gervais]

If he's not acting well, we can all get away with it, then I can do it.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah.

[Ricky Gervais]

I mean, if he's just mumbling and not looking. Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

He makes me look like a genius.

[Jason Bateman]

I mean, a comedy of discomfort and awkward pauses and loss of dignity with just sort of a look or a moment as opposed to jokes or anything like that. And that the length of those episodes allowed for that kind of. That editorial pace too, is something that we sort of tried for. I don't think we could with. With our format, but.

[Ricky Gervais]

Well, I think it was lucky the format allowed me to do that with a fake documentary because I was emulating something. I was trying to emulate a very ordinary man who wanted to be famous. So it was sort of. It was easy to not be a trained actor doing that. Do you know what I mean?

[Will Arnett]

Yeah, of course. But what was the genesis? We've never really. I'm sure you've had to explain it before.

[Ricky Gervais]

It was an impression I used to do of like bosses and stuff. I worked in an office for like 10 years. So it was like a Frankenstein of people I'd met growing up and you suddenly. And I was always. I was always the idiot. I was always trying to make people laugh. And, you know, I was that guy. I was sort of that guy without ambition or rather without. Without nerve. I think I'd lost my nerve. I'd just been a failed musician. After like five years of trying. I got a normal job and then I worked my way up to sort of middle management in an office like that. In fact, the little pre pilot that we shot, I went back to the office I used to work in and I used mates as extras. And I just ad libbed around this character showing off to the camera. And the seed of that was we had 10 years of these quaint docus in the 90s on British TV. The new big thing was Docuso. We had one called Airport, we had one called Hotel, we had one called Liner was set on. And it was just normal people filmed and they'd become sort of stars for 10 minutes. And of course nowadays they become stars forever and make millions. But then it was. That was their 15 minutes of fame. And, you know, you wheel about. Tell Me. So it was ordinary people wanting to be famous.

[Jason Bateman]

And was it the same type of format? Would they address camera? Would there be testimonials and things like that?

[Ricky Gervais]

Yeah, there was usually a narration as well, but we didn't do that. But there was often it was things like the cement for the swimming pool is late and they have to open in an hour. It was stuff like that, right, Was.

[Jason Bateman]

It was sort of a Michael Apted. Was it inspired by the up series at all, do you think?

[Ricky Gervais]

Well, that was. That's the. The greatest. That's incredible. I mean, that's still going and. Yeah, yeah. But that really is beautiful social commentary. Sure. These got watered down, you know, and then people would be doing them because they think, well, I can be famous. Everyone says I'm a laugh, I'll go on there. And it's like there was suddenly too much, you know, so then it was people trying to be famous. And so that's what I picked up on with Brent, that he was a bit sad, he was forgotten, and he thought now's my chance. And if it wasn't a fake documentary, it wouldn't work because once you know why David Wendt is acting like that, it's so tangible, it's so great that he just wants to be loved and famous.

[Jason Bateman]

It's heartbreaking in a hilarious way.

[Ricky Gervais]

Yeah.

[Sean Hayes]

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[Sean Hayes]

Our show is sponsored by BetterHelp. Ever hear people say that something is like therapy for them? Playing tennis is therapy for me. Listening to music is my therapy. Cooking is like therapy. Well, you know, it's therapy for me. You guessed it, therapy. Because when it comes to sorting out issues, figuring stuff out, and just making you feel better about yourself, you can't beat the real thing. Better Help Online therapy is the easiest way for you to try out therapy for yourself. BetterHelp is convenient, flexible and built around your schedule. Start by filling out a simple questionnaire to be matched with a licensed therapist who fits your needs and preferences. Connect with them via phone, video, text or chat. Whatever works for you at a time and place that works for you. It's surprisingly affordable too. So if you ever struggle with depression, relationship problems, social anxiety, or family conflicts, give BetterHelp a try. It's not a substitute for therapy. It is therapy. I talk about it all the time. I've benefited from therapy myself, as you all know. I've been in New York for almost three months now. Three months is a long time to be away from home and Ricky and all my familiar surroundings and stuff like that. So I talked about it in therapy last week. Not that earth shattering end of the world, but it just helped to talk it through and that's what therapy does for me. You can visit betterhelp.com smartless today to get 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelp. H-E-L-P.com smartless I think that one of.

[Will Arnett]

The things that I certainly, I personally really connect with what you do is is it that desperation? So many of your characters have this sort of misplaced or they just, they're so desperate for whatever it is.

[Ricky Gervais]

It's so funny. It's so funny and sad at the same time that I think the funniest characters and obviously in real life, you know, the documentary aspect of it, we like real life is the most dramatic and the funniest Comedy and fiction can only try to emulate all those things in real life. So. But someone trying to be funny and successful isn't as funny as someone who doesn't want to be funny and wants to be taken seriously. So my favorite characters were those people that demanded being taken seriously. So it undermines everything. Someone being pretentious and then slipping on a banana skin is funnier than a clown slipping on a banana skin, because we know the clown doesn't care. He wants to slip on. So I think when someone wants to be taken seriously or says things like, I am a comedian, that's funny. I remember. I remember getting a letter soon after the office, right, by someone saying, writing to get a part. And the letter started, Dear Mr. Gervais, I am a brilliant actor. And I thought it was signed Sean.

[Sean Hayes]

Oh, so you got it. You got it? Because I didn't. I still haven't heard, so I don't know if you got it.

[Ricky Gervais]

Yeah, desperation's funny. Anger's funny. People with no sense of humor is funny. People with no sense of humor is funny.

[Jason Bateman]

One of the things I think is so admirable about you, and there's no question here, so don't feel the need to respond because I know your humility will keep you from doing that. But your. All the vulnerability that you put into. All the vulnerability that you put into David Brent and many other characters that you play is really the root of the comedy. The man is so broken and a mess inside that that is what I find so heartbreakingly hilarious about it. Yet on your standup, it is almost the polar opposite of that in that there's so much confidence and judgment is sort of the character that you play, and you can still get equal laughs with that. So the fact that you're able to make people, you know, double well, that's.

[Ricky Gervais]

Very interesting, because I don't think you need Stand up slightly different. Stand up is slightly different to fiction in the sense that when you do a sitcom or a film or whatever, you do your best and you try and you try and make the plot work and the characters work and the art, and you do all that, and then you put it out there and there's nothing you can do about it. With Stand up, you do it every night. And the audience, it's more like evolution by natural selection because they choose the bits for you. It's more like a science because it either works or it doesn't. And by the end, you've got a perfect thing that works every night to everyone around the world. Because it's tried and tested. It's, you know, they've chosen it for you. So that's slightly different. So what you don't want with stand up is an audience to feel sorry for you because you haven't got time. And it's. No, you don't want that. No, because.

[Sean Hayes]

Okay.

[Ricky Gervais]

Because it's the pure. It's like the purest. Because it's the purest. Because jokes are more of an intellectual pursuit. You don't really need a context for joke again, because they work or they don't. A joke can sort of work on the page. You can read a joke and it still works. You don't need someone telling it. Obviously, you add to that. I think my favorite stand ups do add to that. They've got a context. They, they build character.

[Will Arnett]

They've got props. Yeah, props in a bag. Sure. Those are your favorite snap. You love a prop comic. Be honest.

[Jason Bateman]

You are being humble here. What I'm trying to say is that you're the comedic flavor, right? Your comedy comes from vulnerability, let's say in David Brent. But with the standup, it comes from sort of this feigned brash arrogance. And that you're able to do both so well, I find just incredible.

[Ricky Gervais]

Well, that's just because it's another character and you commit to it and that evolves as well.

[Jason Bateman]

But you can't just write a bunch of jokes and anybody can say them. They're going to get the same laugh.

[Ricky Gervais]

No, but you can because like, by the time humanity came round, I sort of hit that sweet spot where the audience had known me for 15 years. So they knew what I was doing, they knew the irony. They, they understood the nuance without me having to explain it so I could come out and hit the ground running. The important thing is this behind the scenes, right? I think with particularly stand up is traditionally it's a low status thing. It's a. We're a court jester. We go out there with the other peasants and we tease the king. Okay. And everyone knows what comedians earn these days. So I can't really go out there and pretend to be struggling. Right. I think that would be. That would be nauseating and dishonest.

[Sean Hayes]

I would like to see you try though.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah.

[Ricky Gervais]

So I keep my low status in two ways. One, I invite them behind the curtain. I say, what you think it's. You think it's plain sailing. Do you're being rich about? Well, look what happened to me when I met so and so or first time I took a private jet they thought I was the cook. So I do all that. Right. And the other way I do it is I talk about things where I'm worse off than them. I talk about being fat and old and in pain and going bald and. Do you know what I mean? And being hated by the press.

[Will Arnett]

I don't know what you mean. I don't know what you mean, but let me. Do you think I mean, Ricky, you started as a stand. You were doing stand up before, right? You'd been doing stand up off and on. Yeah. For years.

[Ricky Gervais]

No, I started. I started before the office, but I only started in about 1999, I'd say, was my first try.

[Will Arnett]

And then you started doing that in 99. Then the office hits. And then over the last 10 years or 15 years, as you've grown and done more and more standup, you kind of. You build that currency, right, with your audience. That's the thing. You build the momentum of that sort of relationship that you have.

[Ricky Gervais]

Yeah, I have to go out there and I want to be the one that says the wrong thing. Whatever the current regime is, I have to say the wrong thing. I have to go against the grain, which is why it was hard for the last sort of few years. You know, I didn't realize half the people would agree with those things on face value. So irony was put in danger recently.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah. I remember going to that small little theater. You were working stuff out. Remember, like a couple years ago, I came up there.

[Ricky Gervais]

Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

And you were working out jokes in the audience. And I remember you. First of all, the relationship was, they knew you, they came. Cause they were huge fans. You had a limited number of seats. It was basically free. But you were working stuff out and the relationship was, hey, I'm trying stuff. And some stuff was, you know, over the line for them or whatever. But you're figuring out, well, that's the.

[Ricky Gervais]

Thing, you know, you do have to find the funny, but you have to go for it and you have to be able to play. And that's the problem again with today as well, because I've done shows that I'm trying stuff out and it's been reviewed, and I'm gonna go, well, that's mad. You can't do that. You can't do someone who's just started a painting go. It's rubbish. I haven't done it yet. I've just done the bat, you know, it's crazy. So you have to fight against that. And I try and keep politics, explicit politics, out of comedy, because I think if you're relying on the audience agreeing with you and getting a round of applause. It loses something comedically. I want my jokes to be liked. I don't care whether they're right wing or left wing or whatever.

[Sean Hayes]

Right.

[Ricky Gervais]

Because the joke either works or it doesn't. And it actually shouldn't matter. It's meaningless anyway. Nowadays, left and right wing, it's a meaningless term. But I think it's important that you evolve, but not with those reasons. You don't evolve because it might be taken the wrong way. You don't evolve because you might be bullied by a reviewer. You don't evolve because you want everyone to like it. That gets you nowhere.

[Sean Hayes]

When did that happen for you? Because that's a certain fearlessness that I think you have to achieve. You can't. I'm sure there was part of you when you were much younger that you didn't have that right.

[Ricky Gervais]

I've probably got more fear now. But you have to fight it. You have to be you. You have to know that art is being brave. It is being brave and putting out there.

[Jason Bateman]

Because you've got more to lose now. Right.

[Ricky Gervais]

Well, it just makes me angry. It makes me angry if people don't get something or. So that makes me work harder to still get the same joke out there and everyone like it and be able to defend it and sleep at night, which I always have done. There's this myth that I go out there and I say what I want and I don't care about what people think of me. That's just not true. It's a hell of a challenge to.

[Jason Bateman]

I do love it, what you do say at the end of it. I don't care, you know?

[Ricky Gervais]

Yeah, of course.

[Jason Bateman]

I love that.

[Ricky Gervais]

And that's marketing. And you have to be militant about it. You have to act like you don't care. But actually, you know, it annoys me when any sort of someone thinks that you've done this or you've gone too far or I want to go, well, I've worked that joke for a year with, like hundreds of thousands of people. You thought about it for three seconds and you've got it wrong. I think because reviews now are so fast and people don't think there's no nuance on social media, like 10 years ago, like 20 years ago, if someone complained about something, it would make me think, I'd go, oh, God, you know, really? Now someone says, I'm offended, I go, yeah, of course you are. Everyone is. It doesn't matter.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah, I brought this up before that, you have that great tweet that's been shared millions of times, I think. Now, would you say, just because you're offended doesn't mean you're right?

[Ricky Gervais]

I know people even understand that and they still fall for it. They still think, no, this is different. I did a tweet when I was doing the warm up for this new show. I said, guys, are there any things I should never joke about? And of course, everything people said was funny. Everything people said was funny. They list diseases, things like one person said losing two children, which I thought was just an amazing thing to tweet. Just an amazing thing.

[Jason Bateman]

As opposed to one.

[Ricky Gervais]

Yeah. I was so specific. So specific.

[Will Arnett]

It's sadder than one, but funnier than three. I mean, that's. That's a definite for sure. I remember I said something similar years ago on Twitter, but something along the lines, like, apropos of nothing, like, I hope you're not offended or. And all these people immediately got on me. A few people sort of saying like, well, what is it you're talking about? They were pre offended.

[Ricky Gervais]

Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

And I hadn't even said anything.

[Ricky Gervais]

Yeah, of course.

[Will Arnett]

So, yeah, so you're right. It's watered it down. Who gives a shit?

[Ricky Gervais]

Because it amplifies it. You know, Twitter is like reading every toilet wall in the world, okay? And when you look at it like that, you shouldn't ever be offended by anything on Twitter.

[Sean Hayes]

But it also depends on the messenger. Like, I think you are a messenger of that. Like you said, like, it's all branding and marketing. That's who you are. It's kind of like Don Rickles, who I thought was always hilarious. He was so offensive to everybody he met. But because it was Don, it was almost okay. But if it's somebody else trying, it's not gonna work.

[Ricky Gervais]

Well, that's the other thing as well. It's like I'm offended when a comedian says sorry. Cause it usually means they've got a film coming out or something.

[Jason Bateman]

The last big venue standup I went to was you at Hollywood Highland. I don't know how many years ago that business of big venue for standups.

[Will Arnett]

Ricky would text me time to time on his way to an arena, just like, oh, God, 18,000 tonight. I don't even know. I don't even know if it's a big number. I. Sorry, I've got to go.

[Sean Hayes]

Lost perspective.

[Will Arnett]

18,000 people are waiting. Sorry, I've got a dash.

[Ricky Gervais]

Wait.

[Sean Hayes]

Ricky, can I ask you something? Because I don't know if I'm. I Hope I get to see you again. I, I, I just.

[Jason Bateman]

So far it's not looking great.

[Sean Hayes]

It's not going good. It's. I think you're brilliant. But, you know, I always wanted to ask you, like, I always found it interesting. You and I share several things in common. Like, I started out really early wanting to be a pop star like you. But you kind of succeeded with an album and everything. And we're both gay. Right?

[Jason Bateman]

I don't think he was ready for that. I don't think he was ready for that. That's not this podcast.

[Will Arnett]

This episode is about to go huge.

[Ricky Gervais]

We've both slept with Bankman.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah, guys.

[Sean Hayes]

And lived to tell about it.

[Jason Bateman]

Podcast.

[Ricky Gervais]

No, but can I go and get a beer?

[Will Arnett]

Oh, yeah, go get a beer. Hang on. Let. Let him go get a beer.

[Sean Hayes]

Okay, good.

[Jason Bateman]

Hi, guys.

[Sean Hayes]

Hi, jb. What happened to your hand?

[Jason Bateman]

Oh, I was pulling my golf bag out of the back seat of my Tesla.

[Sean Hayes]

Oh, God, is that. Wait, is all of that true? So far.

[Jason Bateman]

And I sprained the tip of my ring finger.

[Ricky Gervais]

Yes.

[Sean Hayes]

Well, I'm glad you got your ill, so maybe we can get back to my question about music. So listen.

[Jason Bateman]

Jesus, Sean, keep us on the rails.

[Sean Hayes]

Sean, I'm actually, I'm actually interested just because. Because I find it interesting that you were also very seriously, like, I've seen those music videos, and I just thought it was interesting that you pursued that. And were you all in on that and then it didn't work out, or were you pursuing that and acting at the same time or whatever made you famous, you know, and then you had it.

[Ricky Gervais]

Because it didn't work out all in, but. But in retrospect, did it all wrong. I. I was in a balance.

[Sean Hayes]

Because I love those songs, by the way.

[Ricky Gervais]

Thank you. It was, it was very fast. It was. It came and went very, very quickly. And I think you only know about it now because I'm famous for something else. And those pictures and videos pop up on Jimmy Fallon. So like anyone else in every generation, I think it was.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah, I found it fascinating because I was pursuing the same thing. And I also then went into comedy.

[Ricky Gervais]

Well, okay, so it started at college and we did a demo tape and we got signed and we did two singles, and then we were dropped and it was like. It started and finished within a year, and that was it.

[Will Arnett]

Oh, wow.

[Ricky Gervais]

You know, I think even if it had been a success then in 1984, whatever it was, it would still have been over quickly.

[Jason Bateman]

But there are some bands that were good back then that are still around, like.

[Will Arnett]

And would you and Rick Astley have done a duet?

[Jason Bateman]

Do you think you and Rick would have Wham or.

[Ricky Gervais]

It would have certainly been. You know, we started with the sort of the hair and makeup and synth pop, but this. This is the mistake I made. The mistake I made was I wanted to be a pop star and I should have wanted to be a musician. And when I started doing this, I realized that I consciously and militantly called myself a writer director. So people didn't think that I just wanted to be on telly, because I didn't. And I came to it very wary. I came to this very, very wary, not because of the music thing, but because of, I think, the press in England. And I never revere famous.

[Jason Bateman]

I never.

[Ricky Gervais]

I've never asked for an autograph. I've never been impressed by seeing a famous. And I. And I thought. I thought that of myself. I thought the people I admire, I admire because they've done something absolutely brilliant. But my heroes are like scientists and.

[Will Arnett]

Things like that, you know, And Andrew Ridgley.

[Ricky Gervais]

Yeah, exactly. So I feared fame. I didn't want to. I didn't. I didn't sign that deal with the devil. Make me famous and you can go through my bins. In fact, I probably feared it too much. I was probably two minutes that. Now I'm sort of chilled and it's fine, you know.

[Sean Hayes]

But don't you think people that have fame wanted it?

[Will Arnett]

What?

[Ricky Gervais]

To a certain degree, yeah. But the other thing is, it's a bit ambiguous when you're an actor, isn't it? Because I think you're allowed to really want to be an actor, and because it's fun and it's great and it's interesting and it's better than most jobs without saying, I want to be famous. I think it can be because if you're a successful actor, you're probably a famous actor, but thank you. And certainly there was easier routes to being an actor than actually writing and directing a sitcom for three years. There's easier route. In fact, it annoyed me once when the Office broke and it seemed like I was just famous overnight without all the work. Someone on the red carpet said to me, what advice would you give anyone else who wants to be famous, like you? And I said, go out and kill a prostitute. And they looked at me like I was mental. It just really annoyed me like that. Like, there's such easier ways to be famous than actually writing a sitcom from scratch. You know.

[Sean Hayes]

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[Will Arnett]

In Netflix's new limited series Zero Day, the country is devastated by a catastrophic cyber attack that downs America's infrastructure. A respected former president played by Robert De Niro is called out of retirement to find the perpetrators of the cyber attack, only to discover he may be losing his grip on the truth and possibly reality. Watch Zero Day on February 20, only on Netflix.

[Jason Bateman]

While Hilton is always expected to have top notch service, you'd be surprised at the unexpected places they're offering it now. They've partnered with AutoCAD Camp, which offers insanely cool Airstreams in iconic outdoor destinations. Hilton also has an exclusive partnership with small luxury hotels of the world, providing Hilton Honors members access to over 300 luxury boutique hotels across the globe. And they've added romantic and refined nomad hotels and graduate hotels in your favorite college towns to their portfolio. Explore all the new ways to stay with those Hilton Honors points you've been [e-mail] Hilton for the stay.

[Sean Hayes]

Do offers come to you and you kind of flirt with that, or do you only create your own things and only want to create your own?

[Ricky Gervais]

I think the offers have dried up because it's been no for like 10 years that I've used to be busy and you start off in your flat and I remember I think the second episode of the Office had gone out in like 2001 and my agent got a call from a studio making this movie and they sent me the script and I said what part am I. And they said, the lead. And I said, it says here he's 26, right? And I was 39 at the time, or sort of 40. And they went, we can change that. And I thought, okay. And I said, I think you need. I said, who's gonna go and see this? No one knows me. And they went quiet. And I went, you need John Cusack for this. And they sort of went, okay, well, thanks for the call. And in my head, I was oozing integrity. And they were going, what a guy. But actually, they probably went, what a fucking idiot. Who do you think he is, turning down a lead movie he's not gonna get?

[Sean Hayes]

That's interesting.

[Ricky Gervais]

And so it was no, because I was busy. It was no all the way. The first one that I said yes to, because I read it. The first one I read, actually Jane would read them and say, no, no, no, or you might. And the first one I did that. I. I thought, if I don't do this, I'll never do one was Ghost Town. And it just. I was reading it and I was laughing. I thought, this is me.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah, I loved it. I love it.

[Ricky Gervais]

This is me. This is written for me. And so I did it and I loved it. But it still. It still doesn't feel like mine. The things I've done, loads of things I've popped up in, things I've done the Golden Globes, I've done this and that. But if I say, what have you done? I'd. I'd list, you know, three or four sitcoms, a couple of movies, and my stand up, that's what I'd say was mine. Right.

[Sean Hayes]

Right.

[Ricky Gervais]

Do you know what I mean?

[Sean Hayes]

Is Jane your filter of pretty much? Like, is she your go to barometer of. Of everything?

[Ricky Gervais]

Yeah. Now, I don't even. I say no to everything because I'm sort of busy, but when I'm working stuff out. Yeah. I. I run things by. If I go for a run and I got an idea for a routine, I come back and I say, what do you think of this? And she says, please don't do that. And I know it's. I know it's good. I know.

[Will Arnett]

I love how many times we've. We around or having dinner or whatever, and how many times Jane has said, you guys have to keep your voice down.

[Ricky Gervais]

Shut the window.

[Will Arnett]

Shut the window.

[Jason Bateman]

I have one more question about the office. So it was an incredible success on its own. And then when it got brought here to America, another incredible success in feathering your cap with that. Was it comfortable or uncomfortable to watch it take its, I don't know, necessary or unnecessary slight comedic tone shift to an American pacing and whatnot.

[Ricky Gervais]

You've got to think that it's not your baby. You think that, you know, Ricky, just include in that.

[Will Arnett]

Because I sort of going off what Jason's saying. It was such a huge shift. When you see it changed the way certainly in this country, people started making comedies, for sure. There was such a direct effect. I remember watching somebody on a very famous. Who created a very famous successful sitcom here saying, you know, and then we decided in the pilot, why not have the characters talk to. To the camera? And I thought, shut up.

[Ricky Gervais]

Well, the thing is, I didn't invent the genre. In fact, my biggest influence, I think writing it there was someone else's work, was Spinal Tap, which is a fake documentary. That's just. I mean, that's. No one owns fake documentary. I suppose what was different, slightly different about it was that it was. We left the boring bits in. Like David Bent made bad jokes and no one laughed. I. I want to explore that gap, that social. Because that's the worst thing for me. I don't get embarrassed, but I get embarrassed for other people. If we're in a group and someone makes a bad joke and no one laughs, I just want to go back in time and go, right, do it like this. Let's do this again.

[Will Arnett]

And Ricky, what You guys did so well on the show. And I remember this kind of reminds me of when Mitch Hurwitz was putting together the pilot of Arrested. What you've done so well.

[Ricky Gervais]

Is anyone listening? Arrested is short for Arrested Development. It's a TV show. He just. He leaves off the last word. It's just there. We haven't got. There's limited time. If we. I worked out that if we said Arrested Development every time we. It'd be three months of our life.

[Will Arnett]

Great. Now we got to go cut that out. But you, by the way, Ricky has called me on that, like out loud in a restaurant. Arrested Development, so. But what you did such a great job is when you put that show together, you recognized you'd have David Brent do the worst joke or do something super embarrassing. And then you always made sure to anchor that by looking at the reactions of the people around him. You whip hand or whatever. And that's what happened. I remember, with Arrested hang on Development. But that Mitch said that when he's putting the pilot together of Arrested Development that he had. He was like, it's not working. And he realized that he needed to have all these crazy characters do stuff. And he needed to see Jason's reaction to it because that put it in the context.

[Ricky Gervais]

Well, that to me is that to me is the comedy. Someone doing something weird is one part of it, but it's how does it fall? What's the fallout of it? That's what's always interested me. And again, I learned that from Lauren and Hardy. So Stan doing something stupid was funny, but it affecting Ollie was the joke for me. That's what comedy, some comedy didn't have before that. There was no fall, no one got hurt in the wake of someone doing something ridiculous. Like people would be acting and they'd be saying stupid, but they'd be acting like he said, somewhat normal. And so you have to react to that, people.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah, there's nothing weird about Martians on Mars. You put a Martian on Earth. That's interesting.

[Ricky Gervais]

Well, that's another good, Very good point. Because that's why again, David Bent was the boss. And so he shouldn't have been acting like that. He should have been the grown up, but he was acting like the child. So again he. It was the big thing. There was, you know, men as boys and women as adults, which again, I think is reflective. But again, Laurel and Hardy did that. The Laurel and Hardy, they were children and their wives had to catch them doing naughty things. Who was it said steal from the best? And I certainly have in, you know, Lauren Hardy and Chris Guest and those guys.

[Sean Hayes]

So, Ricky, what do you. Cause I'm like, this is gonna be over and then.

[Jason Bateman]

And he'll never talk to you again.

[Sean Hayes]

And we're after. And in my mind you go off and you start writing and creating and doing all of these things. But what is the reality? Like, what is your days consist of? What do you. What do you do? Like, what will you do tonight?

[Ricky Gervais]

I'll. I'll go and watch Arrest.

[Will Arnett]

Arrested.

[Ricky Gervais]

A Scandi noir serial killer or spy thriller on Netflix or Amazon prime or Walter Presents or BBC4. I want European or Middle Eastern or South American drama. I've just found. I've just found now that with all subscription I can find the best dramas in the world.

[Sean Hayes]

And why don't you be in one?

[Ricky Gervais]

Yeah, because I can't. I can't speak any languages.

[Sean Hayes]

And also about English.

[Ricky Gervais]

I see my favorite thing, right? This Scandi drama is like series three and suddenly an Englishman or an American pops up and I go, oh, fucking hell. Yeah, they just. They just ruin it. Yeah, they just fucking ruin it.

[Will Arnett]

Have you watched Long Long Grenade, otherwise known as Spiral, That French cop show.

[Ricky Gervais]

It's. It might be one of the best programs ever.

[Will Arnett]

Me too.

[Ricky Gervais]

Amazing. Another one as well. There's only one thing that might even be better than that, and that's the Bureau. Have you seen it?

[Will Arnett]

Of course. It's incredible.

[Ricky Gervais]

Incredible. It's incredible.

[Will Arnett]

There's a great Belgian show as well called the Break. Have you seen about this?

[Ricky Gervais]

Amazing. Have you seen. Oh, the 12, another Belgian thing. The 12th.

[Will Arnett]

The 12th.

[Ricky Gervais]

Oh my God.

[Sean Hayes]

My God. Wait, did you. Have you guys seen Quincy? Yeah.

[Jason Bateman]

And what about Chicago Fire guys?

[Will Arnett]

These guys. Jason spends all this time trying to figure out how IPA is made so he doesn't have time. Time to watch.

[Ricky Gervais]

Well, that's. That's so. So okay, to quickly answer. I get up, I have a coffee breakfast, we go for a. A long walk, which is. Which is habit now. We get that where we used to do that when we were allowed to go out one hour in dogs, Cats.

[Sean Hayes]

I know you have pickle.

[Jason Bateman]

You don't walk a cat, you stupid ass.

[Ricky Gervais]

Well, my, my. Our cat died. The beginning of the lockdown. We just got a new one.

[Jason Bateman]

You see what you've done, Sean?

[Will Arnett]

Where to go, Sean? You're fucking dead.

[Jason Bateman]

Go on. Sorry. So you're walking the cats now?

[Ricky Gervais]

We go for a walk.

[Will Arnett]

Just.

[Ricky Gervais]

I. I go for a walk. An hour's walk. I scruffle dogs.

[Will Arnett]

Ricky, why don't you and Jane have a dog? Because I know you love dogs. I know, but why are you guys more. Are you consider yourself cat people or why don't you have a dog?

[Ricky Gervais]

No, I absolutely love dogs.

[Will Arnett]

I love.

[Ricky Gervais]

I love all animals. I think to me, all animals are unconditionally perfect and beautiful. You know, the only animal that I think you can ethically keep is. Is a. Is a pet. A domesticated animal. But I love all animals. But the reason I have a dog is we travel too much. And a cat. You can have a cat sitter. It doesn't care. Okay, Yeah, a dog. I can't stand the dog. The dog doesn't understand. They have an emotional intelligence beyond some people. I can't bear that I have to travel so often with a dog.

[Jason Bateman]

So wait, what then? What happens with the cat? The cat just stays home, you leave out a big, big bowl of milk and.

[Ricky Gervais]

And no, we have people look after it. Don't like the Flintstones.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah, yeah.

[Jason Bateman]

So your guess is that cats are so emotionally stable and secure that you can go travel around doing all your shows for a couple of weeks and they're good. But a dog, your Guess is that they're just emotional basket cases and they need you there a little bit more often than once every couple of weeks.

[Ricky Gervais]

Well, it's. It's. It's. It's based on them. It's based on knowledge. No, science.

[Sean Hayes]

Science, because.

[Jason Bateman]

Because of all the interviews they've done with the cats and the dogs.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah. So is Jane. Is Jane a dog or a cat?

[Jason Bateman]

Jane's a woman.

[Sean Hayes]

Oh, no, I'm kidding.

[Will Arnett]

Is she.

[Sean Hayes]

Is she like the independent? Like, you can go away and I don't. I don't need to see you, or is she a dog? Like, where she's like, I. I'm gonna miss you. I need you back.

[Ricky Gervais]

Oh, I see. Oh. Oh, I see.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah, I was trying to elevate.

[Jason Bateman]

Jane's got some sexy indifference like a cat. Right. It's like she. She doesn't really need you. She's all fine by herself, you know? Right.

[Ricky Gervais]

No, Jane, Jane, Jane.

[Jason Bateman]

She needs you.

[Ricky Gervais]

I'd like to think Jane needs me.

[Will Arnett]

Wait, wait. Can you get through that one more time without laughing? That would be great. We're still rolling. She needs you. And then. Don't laugh. She does need you. And you could bring the dog. Cause you're only gone a couple a night here, a night there. Because you've got to go and do these arenas and God bless you. And I feel the same way. I need to do arenas to, too. But. So let me ask you this. So what do you. What do you think? You've been at home, you've been working on. I know you're working on three.

[Ricky Gervais]

I'm working on my body now. That's why you can't see my hands.

[Will Arnett]

Oh, he's doing. He's doing leg lifts. He's doing leg lifts under the table. But you're. You've written series three. Yeah. Of After Life. Yeah.

[Ricky Gervais]

Yeah. I mean, I did that quite quickly.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah.

[Sean Hayes]

And series three is season three.

[Ricky Gervais]

Season three. Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

Sorry. We're European.

[Ricky Gervais]

And that's ready before sort of workshopping and, you know, and all that. And I've basically cast it in my head and that's ready to go. We're filming in April, so I feel like I feel the gap. I can't do gigs at the moment. Again, that's ready to go. In fact, all my gigs this year have been postponed till next year, so I do that after I film. So that's ready to go.

[Jason Bateman]

What about the jokes in that? That might be topical that are not going to work next year? Or you just kind of update.

[Ricky Gervais]

Well, luckily when you're still doing stuff about, you know, Hitler and famine, aids.

[Jason Bateman]

Sure.

[Ricky Gervais]

It's pretty timeless evergreens. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Will Arnett]

Good for you.

[Ricky Gervais]

We're always. Luckily we'll always have killer diseases and fascism.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah.

[Ricky Gervais]

So keeps us going.

[Will Arnett]

How do you think that looks? So you're ready to go back on the road. You've been working on your stand up sort of non stop and refining it.

[Ricky Gervais]

I will have to change it slightly. I will to, I think, depending on what happens. Because I think if the vaccine comes in, I think people want to forget it and so it wouldn't be, it wouldn't be timeless. And if I was doing it now, I'd start with it. In fact, I did a couple of little warm ups when we were doing social distance gigs and I started off again. It's great to be gigging. I haven't gigged this year. The last normal time was Christmas, wasn't it? That was the last time with friends and family and we didn't have a traditional Christmas. You got to move with the times. We might be cultural. We had bats. We ate a load of bats.

[Will Arnett]

Oh, you, you ate bats.

[Ricky Gervais]

So I started off and got.

[Will Arnett]

Oh, we should talk. Ricky, who. Who makes you laugh? I know you get asked this a lot. It is like one of those standard questions, but it. Who, who makes you laugh?

[Ricky Gervais]

Well, you do, you know that.

[Jason Bateman]

Well done.

[Will Arnett]

Well, present company excluded. Present company.

[Sean Hayes]

We got what we wanted.

[Jason Bateman]

Print.

[Will Arnett]

Print.

[Ricky Gervais]

Oh, you have to categorize it. You have to categorize. I mean, who makes me. I mean, are there people who.

[Will Arnett]

The way that they.

[Ricky Gervais]

Larry David. Yeah, I think, I think Larry David is underrated. I know he did the biggest sitcom of our generation, but I think curb enthusiasm, 10 series of curb Enthusiasm and the quality just hasn't changed. And he's remarkable and he's brave and he's fun and he's a great performer. He's fearless.

[Sean Hayes]

You guys are very similar that way.

[Jason Bateman]

Self effacing too.

[Ricky Gervais]

Yeah. I think he's the all round comedic creator of the past 25 years.

[Jason Bateman]

And Chris Guest, it sounds like Chris Guest you like a lot too. Yeah.

[Ricky Gervais]

Chris Guest, probably the biggest single influence on me is both sort of his style, a friend and a mentor because I knew no one in the industry. And when the office went out, Chris Guest called me. He said his wife had seen it and said, you've got to watch this. And he loved it and I could see why. He must have seen his influence in it. But he called me up and just said, I don't want to say. And I was blown away, of course. And then we became friends. And then I'd call him when I wanted advice. I remember an early film I did, they wanted to do one of Those screenings where 40 people give you notes. And I said, I don't want to do it. And he said, why would you? He said, if you're letting them edit it next time, why don't you write it with. With them? And I just thought that was such a lovely wow. And then he told me a story that the director of Rain man did one of those things, and his favorite comment was, I enjoyed the film, but I was disappointed that the little guy didn't snap out of it by the end. And so he'd given me that, those, Those little nuggets to fear TV by committee. And he's just lovely, and he's still funny. I remember he asked me once, he said we'd just be mucking around like, you know, idiots, like kids. And he said, if we're not suddenly not funny and no one finds us funny, how will we know? And I said, who cares?

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah, who cares?

[Ricky Gervais]

We're laughing.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah, for sure.

[Jason Bateman]

Now, Ricky, I have a semi serious question here. I don't want you to cry when you answer it, but with all of the information we've heard about how started and what you thought you were going to be and the music and whatnot, you're in your mid-50s. Have you exceeded your expectations?

[Ricky Gervais]

Oh, fucking out. Of course I fucking out.

[Jason Bateman]

Well, but, I mean, I'm assuming there is a higher place. We always sort of reset our goals as we start to approach them. Right, where. Where are you at right now? Are you satisfied and yet still want more, or have you hit. Ah, I'm where I'm past where I ever wanted to be. And I could get. I could get happy with retirement, even, and know that I've done.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah, before you answer that, Ricky, just know how great it is to hear how Bateman's brain works. Go ahead.

[Ricky Gervais]

I. I think you, you, you hone it and hone it. You keep folding the samurai, you keep honing it. And what you like. And what I like is no interference and only doing things I absolutely love. So I. I want to do less and less and just more of the thing that I absolutely love love. And that that's come down to. I suppose if I'm doing sitcom, it's just doing the no compromise with. No compromise. Yeah. And stand up is already there. Really. There's already no stand compromise with stand up. I Think Stand up is like just about the purest art form outside the novel. Where what you think is what you can say and it's what they hear and that that's pure. Because even with something like Afterlife in know, I get final edit, I do it all, but there's still 60 people involved. You still have to go. They have to give it to someone and they still have to go with put out on this day, you said, whereas Stand Up, I say, I want to do this venue on this day, sell the tickets. The tickets are. I go up, I'm doing this, this is it, good night. And I did. Every single step of the way is absolutely as I wanted it. So it's more and more. How do I get to that? And I've always known that the most important thing is being sort of happy, really. I've always tried to cut out the middleman. Just wanted to be. I'll show you a story that sums it up. I think we must have been like 1971. I was like 10 in school. And there was a big. There was a big thing in the early 70s where a lot of unskilled or semi skilled workers were getting money to go on oil rigs. So you had carpenters that they were suddenly going to oil rigs. And where they were earning about 50 quid a week. They were earning like, you know, 500 quid a day on these oil rigs. And it was a big thing. It was a big thing in the pace. And I remember the teacher doing a thing to the class saying, okay, kids, what would you do with the money if you could earn £500 a day? And it went round and the kids were saying, I'd buy my mum a house, I'd buy a car, I'd buy a horse. And it came to me and I said I'd work one day a week. And I remember thinking that would be amazing because I could have the other six days.

[Will Arnett]

I'm with you, man. I really admire, first of all, you know, I'm a huge fan of your stand up and I think it's so. I watch it in awe because I think it's so scary to. You know, I've never done it. It just seems like. Like the scariest. It's like you say it is so raw. It's just you.

[Ricky Gervais]

Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

And your relationship with the audience and everything that's coming out and man.

[Ricky Gervais]

But it's. But it's. It's not. It's not scary. It's the thing that you do it. I think, I think Driving a car. Scary because I, because I can't do it. But when you realize that you, you've got that safety net for the first. You go out there and you try stuff out and if it's not working, you don't, you don't put the tick. I've done 50 gigs before I sell out a real gig and I know what it's going to be like. It's going to be the same as that. You know, I mean, the scary thing is, you know, recently the scary thing is, you know, this cancel thing being canceled. If you say the wrong thing and suddenly, you know, Netflix can take you off their platform or, you know, so that, that's the scary thing.

[Jason Bateman]

But how do you vet that then? How do you really go through your stuff? And who's going to be the arbiter?

[Ricky Gervais]

Well, you can't. You can't because you don't know. You could be the most woke politically correct stand up in the world at the moment, but you don't know what it's going to be like in 10 years time. You can get canceled for things you said 10 years ago because you don't know what it's going to be like in 10 years time.

[Sean Hayes]

And it also seems like the people that try to you specifically, because I remember the Golden Globes were all of them, they're so fucking funny. But you were so great. But I remember the same people, it seems, that try to cancel you are also your fans, are also the people that hire you and also the people that still wanna work with you.

[Ricky Gervais]

The thing is about this, I think the misunderstanding about cancer culture is, you know, some people think that you should be able to say anything you want without consequences. And that's not true because we're members of society and people are allowed to criticize you, they're allowed to not buy your things, they're allowed to burn your DVDs and they're allowed to turn the telly off. What they're not allowed to do is to bully other people into not going to see you. Or, or there's some people that are doctors who are great doctors. They're getting fired from a hospital because of a bad joke they made on Twitter. And I'll go, well, that's not relevant to what they do. So I don't think what's being canceled, it's having no platform, isn't it? And what can they do to me? Because I've got this now. Who's going to cancel me? Twitter? YouTube? If I have to, I'll go to Hyde park and stand up on a bench and shout, shit.

[Will Arnett]

So I got in a lot of shit. They almost canceled me because. Because I've. I. I killed a hobo. And I said, that's nothing to do with my job.

[Ricky Gervais]

No.

[Will Arnett]

That's something that I did on a weekend.

[Ricky Gervais]

Well, that's the other thing as well, You. If you don't break the law.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah.

[Ricky Gervais]

People just cannot or not buy your material. Whereas some people get cancelled because they've. They've actually broken the law. I talk about this in my newsstander about, you know. You know, what, what being canceled. And I suppose that's a scary thing because it's a real consequence.

[Will Arnett]

Right.

[Ricky Gervais]

No one looks at the argument anymore. They look at who's saying it and they make their decision. There's no nuance. And some of it's down to politics, some of it's down to social media because it's too fast. It's way too fast. As I say, 20 years ago, if you were offended by someone on television, you got out pen and paper, you went, dear BBC, oh, I can't be bothered now. You fire off a tweet and that tweet goes on the fucking news because someone else argued with it. So it's this road rage. It's things happening too fast that you can't take back, and people dig in and people want to be heard. People want to feel that they had an effect. It's why people heckle a comedian. They want to feel they were there. I was here. And so now people are heard.

[Jason Bateman]

And the microphone is the same volume. Everybody has equal access to it.

[Ricky Gervais]

Yes. An idiot stands next to a genius on Twitter and it looks the same. It's the same file and. Exactly. Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

And that's what's so dangerous. And the genius has earned it and the idiot has it. And yet people don't. They don't make that distinction at all anymore.

[Ricky Gervais]

Well, exactly. And it comes back to what we said at the beginning. Just because you're offended, it doesn't mean you're right. And in recent years, we've had this thing where people would say, my opinion is worth as much as the next person's. And that's true. But recently we had my opinion is worth as much as your fact. And that's simply not true. Now people are offended by facts. People now know that when I do Happy birthday, Earth, 4.6 billion years old, I'm having a go at fundamentalists. And they know. They go, why? Because they take facts personally. People take facts personally.

[Sean Hayes]

I could talk to you about all that stuff for like nine hours straight. I love that. I loved everything.

[Will Arnett]

Oh, man, I bet he's looking forward to that.

[Sean Hayes]

Listen, and I. I mean straight. No interruptions, no sleep.

[Will Arnett]

Ricky, what was that joke that you talked about? You said that sort of. That idea of people being offended or online or on social media was the equivalent of running down to the town square and, oh, when people.

[Ricky Gervais]

Yeah, I do it in humanity, when that woman's arguing with me. Getting offended by a tweet. Like I was tweeting them. Like, I'm just tweeting. I don't know who's following me. That's like going into a town square and seeing a. A message says, guitar lessons. And you go, I don't want guitar lessons. People, it wasn't to you. People jump in the way of a bullet and say, why are you shouting at me? And people have done that on purpose. They've tried to give ideas human rights. That's why. So if you criticize Christianity, people say, well, why are you criticizing Christianity? Christians? And I go, I'm not. I'm. That's the ideal. I'm, I'm, you know, I'm discussing an idea. It's like me getting offended where someone hates maths. It's not mine. Maths isn't mine. It's a. It's a concept, it's an idea. So. But anyway, this is for our nine hour podcast.

[Will Arnett]

Man, that's gonna be a real hit. I tell you What. Part.

[Sean Hayes]

Part 2 through 12.

[Jason Bateman]

When are you coming to Los Angeles or when. When can. Will always gets to see you, always gets to hang out. Well, I want to. And I won't bring Sean.

[Ricky Gervais]

I see, I do. I do actually see four people when I'm in la, don't I?

[Jason Bateman]

I can be small, have a four and a half.

[Ricky Gervais]

Will and Mitch, we always invite you, but you're always, you're always having a body wax or something.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah.

[Jason Bateman]

Hurry out here, please, or I'll come see you there. Don't make like you don't know me when I call you.

[Ricky Gervais]

You'll never come to England.

[Jason Bateman]

I want to. What did you call it? Leafy. Where do you live?

[Ricky Gervais]

Will's been here. Will. Will calls me up and goes. I mean, I'm around the corner, I go, what? He calls me up. He's here all the time, back and forth between Samuraitz and.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah, hopping off yachts.

[Will Arnett]

And I never go to Samuraitz, only G. So listen, I'm not. I didn't even say it right.

[Jason Bateman]

No, you didn't.

[Will Arnett]

Well, listen, yeah, I do. I do miss. I do miss hanging out and I do miss going over there. I love spending time in the, in the uk and I love spending time with you.

[Jason Bateman]

All right, goodbye. We love you.

[Sean Hayes]

Goodbye, Ricky. We love you.

[Will Arnett]

Thank you so much, guys.

[Ricky Gervais]

But, and remember, well, you tell the other guys, if anyone asks, is he in the sas? No, he's just a comedian.

[Sean Hayes]

Right, okay, got it, got it.

[Jason Bateman]

Okay, wait, play us off real quick with something. With that, grab that guitar. Play us off with something. Just a quick, just a quick little, just a single chord.

[Sean Hayes]

Oh, we didn't have to touch this.

[Jason Bateman]

Here we go.

[Will Arnett]

Here we go.

[Ricky Gervais]

Pretty girl on the hood of a Cadillac yeah, yeah she's broken down on Freeway 9 I take a look and get her engine started Leave a purring and a roll on by. Bye bye. Free love on the free love freeway Love is free, the freeway's long I got some hot love on the hot love highway Going home Cause my baby's gone she's gone.

[Will Arnett]

Ricky Gervais, everybody.

[Jason Bateman]

Wow, that was awesome.

[Will Arnett]

Incredible. Ricky Gervais. Thank you, Ricky. The beautiful mate.

[Jason Bateman]

Ricky, you're gorgeous.

[Will Arnett]

Hey, listen, it's getting late. You're gonna have to get those, those prop awards back to the prop house. Okay, buddy?

[Jason Bateman]

Whoa, look at that. Ipa dead. Love you, Ricky.

[Will Arnett]

Thanks, buddy. Bye.

[Jason Bateman]

Bye, Paul. Thank you.

[Ricky Gervais]

Fun.

[Jason Bateman]

Oh, what a man.

[Will Arnett]

How great was that?

[Sean Hayes]

Well, I love that you guys knew him. I, I've never met him. I'm such.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah, no, and I was serious about the, the influence he, he had over me over the show. Over. I just, I think he's it.

[Sean Hayes]

Have you guys ever seen him debate religion with Stephen Colbert?

[Jason Bateman]

No, I would.

[Will Arnett]

I mean, I've seen him debate religion with lots of people. He does it online. He does it in person.

[Sean Hayes]

Really interesting.

[Jason Bateman]

Wait, does Co. Co is Catholic and Ricky saying he's an atheist.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah.

[Jason Bateman]

Really?

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah, it's really fascinating.

[Will Arnett]

He's incredible.

[Sean Hayes]

Anyway, I'm a huge fan of his. I think he is. Has a brilliant mind.

[Will Arnett]

He's an incredible guy. He's so funny and he's such a sweet. Which is funny because like Jason, you were saying, you know, some of his characters, he can be very confident. Even though he can be self evacing. He can also be very confident. But he, and he is confident. He's just a smart guy. He's a very level headed and sweet, sweet, sweet guy and super smart. Which is why it was good to have him on our show because he was able to help us.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah, I Love that thing at the beginning when he's like, wow, are you guys just idiots? Yeah, it's called Smartlets.

[Jason Bateman]

We go ahead and give you a big hint right at the top.

[Will Arnett]

I mean, the, the bar is low and, and it's, and it's, it's advertised.

[Jason Bateman]

You know, it's like, I want to meet Jane. I want to hang out over. I have met, but I want, I've met her, but I want to hang out with her. I, I'm, I'm fascinated to see what.

[Will Arnett]

We'Ll include you guys. I'll include you in the dinner.

[Jason Bateman]

Yes, please.

[Sean Hayes]

I would love you.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah.

[Sean Hayes]

The one thing he didn't say though, as he was signing off was.

[Will Arnett]

Smart.

[Jason Bateman]

Nice.

[Will Arnett]

Smart.

[Ricky Gervais]

Last.

[Jason Bateman]

Hello, friends. Jason here. We are so excited that Smartless has officially joined the SiriusXM family. We can't wait to announce new surprise guests who we know that you'll love. And if you want to be the first to hear new episodes ad free and a whole week early, subscribe to SiriusXM podcasts plus on Apple Podcasts to start your free trial today.

[Ricky Gervais]

Imagine what's possible when learning doesn't get.

[Will Arnett]

In the way of life at Capella University. Our Flexpath learning format lets you learn on your own schedule.

[Ricky Gervais]

A different future is closer than you.

[Will Arnett]

Think with Capella University. Learn more at Capella.

[Ricky Gervais]

Edu. For a limited time, you can get KFC chicken with the sweet heat of hot honey.

[Sean Hayes]

And after one bite, you'll wonder, how.

[Ricky Gervais]

Do bees make hot honey so hot? Are they special bees?

[Sean Hayes]

Does KFC have dragon bees? Fire breathing dragon bees that create spicy honey?

[Ricky Gervais]

No, silly, there's no such thing. KFC just partnered with Mike's Hot Honey to drizzle all over their crispy chicken. But dragon bees would be so cool. Try it now for only $7 or.

[Sean Hayes]

Share a box with friends for 25. Prices and participation vary.

[Ricky Gervais]

While supplies last, taxes, tips and fees extra.