Ricky Gervais | Full Q&A | Oxford Union

[Music] [Music] I I think that's a louder cheer than Bernie Sanders got wooden who's here two weeks ago so so well done thanks thanks for coming along today my pleasure I'll ask a few questions and then hopefully you've got some entertaining and witty questions to ask as well so we'll get some from the audience too so I mentioned in my introduction that you're on tour at the moment and you've been spending a lot of time this year on it and that's after seven years from your previous stand-up tour what brought you back um well it I never went away it's just that it kept getting pushed back and I think the difference was I always considered stand-up as my sort of second or third job and I thought myself as a writer director and and TV shows and films sort of came first you can't you can't put a tour and then change your mind because tickets have been sold so you have to know you're not doing something for a long time and I kept doing more things and went and when you do it all yourself if you write and direct it you know three hours of TV which is what I do for a series that takes me a year you know so the office extras Derek Idiot Abroad which all two series and a special is three years work and you can't really interrupt that so it was just that I just got second place but now I don't know why but um it's number one on my list now I could I could give up TV and film to just do stand-up because I love it more than ever I don't know why I realized what a privilege it is it sort of the last bastion of self-censorship outside the novel you know what you say is what they hear there's no and interfering it's a good time it's a really good time for stand-up and I think that um I think I've probably acquired old people's rights I'm at that age where I can say what I want like you nan used to you know so yeah I've I'm absolutely loving it more than I ever did so you just said now stand ups great because there's nobody interfering and you're an obviously renowned for speaking what you think you're probably one of the most controversial comics out there do you feel in the industry today there's a real movement to be more sensitive and hold back and being afraid of offending firstly if someone says you're controversial they're only right by definition because they've said it I you know I think um you know Darwin was controversial when he came up with it you know how do the species you know I think I think people lump you in with shock comedians who try and hurt people's feelings or say things that they're you know they're like trolls and I'm not I'm always I'm always sort of doing it for a reason I you know and I've always said just cause you're offended doesn't mean you're right some people are offended by a quality so I'm never trying to offend but in this new tour it is it is about freedom of speech an offense culture and and all that but I've never considered myself I don't know I think I got that reputation from the Golden Globes maybe where I gently ribbed some of them richest most privileged beautiful people in the world and they can get but I mean if I can justify every joke I can justify and I think I think some people get offended when they mistake the subject of the joke with the actual target particularly when you're dealing with taboo subjects and I do deal with taboo subjects for a reason because I want to take the audience to that place they hadn't been before you know I want that people know that a joke about a bad thing isn't the same as the bad thing it's not even necessarily condoning the bad thing it could be aunty the bad thing it could be veiled in irony or satirical or whatever but I think I think people have to you know look look at what a joke is the real target is so I'd only say I'm controversial because I talk about controversial subjects I don't think that the content is it's funny because comedians always get asked is there anything you wouldn't joke about but journalists don't get asked is there anything you wouldn't write about and all we're doing is discussing a subject but very quickly and hopefully with a punchline so it just depends on the joke comedy comes from a good or a bad place so what looks like cruelty or you know controversy sometimes it's it's trumped-up so you know on the topic of things that journalists wouldn't wouldn't wouldn't write about and what comics would and wouldn't make fun about do you think people can effectively satirize a joke about what's going on in politics today look in the UK or the u.s. you've you know you've said a few things about the general election you've said a few things about Trump do you think that's something that people should make fun of or is it too station you can you know you can make fun of everything but you've got you you you've got um know that people have the right to be annoyed and offend didn't come back at you and make fun of you so it's not it's not whether you're allowed to it's people want to find some sort of justification but morality isn't absolute and it's in it's relative and and an offense is subjective so you know affected about feeling so you know with particular Merak or it's come down to sort of two tribes now that you're either with him or you're against him and then I try and keep politics out of comedy because I think comedy is an intellectual pursuit and as soon as you start relying on the audience agreeing with you you're suddenly rallying and I think it loses something comedic Lee you know on both sides you know I've seen I won't name it what I've seen it is a northern comic and he came out and he just said what are we gonna do about all these [ __ ] immigrants and he got a round of applause and I just thought that's not a joke thus well I wasn't offended by I was just offended that it wasn't a joke that was the offensive bit for me it was you know you've gotta hit that so it you've got to be careful with politics that you're not just you're not just spewing your side and and I think it's very important as well in comedy if I'm going to go after anything and the I'm the butt of the joke sometimes you know and and that's fun for me that we in all my work whether it's the office or or stand up I'm usually satirizing ego and Prejudice and all those things and I often play the guy that gets it wrong fact when I started off I won a thing called the eleven o'clock show was a satirical news show I played a sort of an out-of-touch sort of right-wing bigoted boor okay you know with with heavy satire people got it and this year I'd already started writing this and because there was such a such an angry divide you know it's just suddenly on Twitter half the people had Magga in there you know and the victory of the flag and her holding a gun and and the other half were crying and I just thought and now if I do that and I sort of come down on the wrong side ironically I don't want any anyone in the room for one second to think that I'm actually like that because I didn't realize that people like that really did exist and we're proud of it and it's so funny now in the last couple of years that people think they've won something like after brexit people were out with placards saying we won go home and I was thinking what did you win you had one vote and what did what did you what do you mean you won it's such a scissor there is a strange shift in mentality there's a there's a there's a vitriol to politics it's like they're validated where they you know but I do I do try and keep out of okay comedy yeah and one thing you're good for and you you alluded to now is you're not afraid of dividing opinion you're not afraid of you know some people saying I disagree with you and some people say I agree with you is that the same thing that's become more the case as you've gone on your career and you've been more successful well again it's the if if everyone's agreeing with you you're in an echo chamber you you've just chosen you've just chosen your people to speak to so that I did a tweet the other the other week that just said this tweet is controversial and I did a poll and it came out fifty-fifty it's you know controversy is just someone saying someone that someone else doesn't agree with but I don't know really um I I'm never scared to talk about any subject but I I have to be confident that I've got something to say and what I say is fair even if that as I say veiled in irony by being unfair or stupid or so it's it's it's all a discussion it's just it's just a discussion really and I mean the important thing for me is that everyone's everyone no one has to laugh I in fact I embrace the gasps as much as the laughs because that means they were listening you know I think it's an offense is good offense makes people think it makes them think it makes them come up with another argument you've got to come up with an argument because I'm just tired of people saying I'm offended I want to say it so what that just means you're just telling me your feelings I've got a pain in my knee what do we do about it now I'm on the topic of your Twitter as looking on your Twitter page earlier I think you've got um you know over 12 12 and a half million followers spit better than the union's I think poultry 27,000 that we're on at the moment but um and through your Twitter page you talk about animal rights you talk about other issues that are important to you is that an effective medium for change is that how it is actually I know it is I mean just practically speaking years ago it would take you months and maybe years to get a hundred thousand signatures standing outside Tesco's you know for a petition and that's the magic number because that's when it gets heard in Parliament and voted on and I've been part of five six different campaigns that have got that far so it is good it does it's good to mobilize people because um there's a lot of people don't let a lot of people browse it I mean a lot of it's nonsense you know a lot of idiots on Twitter but there's a lot of idiots on the high street you've still got to go there you know so and I and my new show I do blame Twitter for the beginning of the demise of somewhat tongue-in-cheek of humanity I say I've lived through the best 50 years a humanity you know and now it's going the other way but and Twitter was the one that sort of started popularity being more important than being right you know and people have picked up symptoms of that in all walks of life because it's all about likes retweets blocked someone doesn't agree with you so you get you create your own echo chamber same as Facebook and and also started this this ridiculous myth you know we in my opinion is worth as much as your opinion now people say things like my opinion is worth as much as your facts I think was just not true it's just you know so that is a worry that is a worry in this post true theory that the more you say a lie you know the more people will take it as the truth it doesn't make it true so what do you think should happen I mean you can't ban stupid people out there are wrong people from talking know you know your course you can't and I quote I like stupid people because they make me seem clever they they bring the average down so far that they put me in like the top few percent so I wouldn't have a thing said against I mean stupidity ignorance is is the biggest danger to you money you know it really is I mean that's a very broad thing to say and but um I mean there are some incredibly stupid people in the world but as I say I'm a big fan I'm a big I'm a big fan of their numbers in their what they do to the average so I'm staying on this talk about the topic of social media you've just said it's a great opportunity to organize people get people together and probably one good byproduct of your fame is that you're able to promote causes that you care about yeah is that something you feel all celebrities to occupy that sort of following should do no I do I do I know I I never expect anyone to care as much as I do about anything and that and I don't expect then to be surprised when I don't care about their thing you know everyone everyone's everyone's different I've always done this people say you know I've always cared about animal court you just you know I suppose I had less of an audience when I was 20 or 25 no I'd do it because I can't I can't bear it I you know I I don't know why I you know it's always it's always made it's the one thing that's always sort of made my blood boil and even to the point of depression that you know that I just don't get animal cruelty I don't get it I don't get any cruelty but at least people can speak so no it's just a you know they said how I've always been I've always I've always loved nature and animals I've always fight was a privilege to have a wild animal you know or domestic but I just think it's a when I'm at home we've got a rule that the cat is asleep on our lap the other one has to get the drinks we can't disturb it I just don't want to disturb this is so lovely and peaceful and yeah and I do I do I suppose are probably over emotional over over animals so we personify them and but yeah but I've always I've always felt the way I probably I probably care more about the individual quality of an animal than animal husbandry or or or wildlife conservation in a way I just think if there's last two leopards don't put them in a cage and try and save the species let them go and okay that's the species gone but you know I worry about the the rights of the individual animal great well um so moving on to a different topic I mentioned in my introduction you know the office is being remade I think six or seven times now we met year local Remax yeah I think the last one just happened it's not out yet I think it's a finished version but the you know when you first came up with the script and the idea that was over you know 15 years ago do you think it's a show that would be commissioned today do you think humors in the same place would be commissioned then if if I had made my own little demo of it because if you think about it it doesn't jump off the page you know middle-aged man says a joke that no one laughs at looks at the camera touch his tie it's I think I think comedies you know to be performed you know so I had to show them what I meant and it way and it was a it was a slightly different show because it was about it was about because it was steeped in realism it was a fake documentary so I had to be real so did the the dialogue so did the you know characterization and the way we speak was a lot of its nonverbal we stopped halfway through a sense we go um um we use our hands we we look around we don't look at the person we look at our feet when we're lying so it had to be seen because on the page you couldn't tell what sort of person David Brent was it's how he acts and why he acts you know he if that had been a straightforward sitcom that wasn't effect documentary it's been nothing but when you realize he's showing off because he thinks he's going to be discovered well it brings it to life now he's a now he's a man baby narcissist but but an early prototype not nothing nothing on Trump you know he's he's he put David Brent to shame so that and that's what the the movie life on the road it's all looked into is how the world's changed in those 15 years and you know he's an early sort of reality star and by today's standards he's he's hasn't got the power nowadays because it's since then we've had things like The Apprentice where people get on it by saying I would destroy anyone who stands in my way and people go in Big Brother and they they promise that they're they're behaved badly and I just think there's this it's an odd thing now that there's no difference between Fame and infamy people do bad things to be famous and they get rewarded for it there's people that do nothing to be famous they just they just live their life like an open wound and they're rewarded for it I mean a think that's reward you know and people some people use it as therapy how often have you seen like a a celebrity who's fallen from grace often through no fault of their own but they go into Celebrity Big Brother and they say I want to show the public a different side of me I'm thinking why do you care they want you to fight again you're that you know this isn't this isn't good for you so when it's yes it's it's it's all it's all come together that that reality that that bravado that machismo the bragging about how ruthless you are in business and it's very hard do you think we have a warped sense of reality now given the abundance of all these different reality programs that are out there and people who are who are allegedly ordinary people gay on TV and saying ridiculous things in this circulating all over the Internet and all across well it's not even reality anymore isn't it because it's so contrived you know that they've now they condense it now they contrived situations there's there's no real there's no real reality shows anymore if it's bit pure it's it it's aimed to appeal to our sort of voyeuristic tendencies and we're all well guilty you know from you know X Factor when they in the preliminary rounds they weird out the mentally ill to be sniggered out by you know millionaires we're a part of that are people having proper nervous breakdowns in Big Brother we're all part of that and you know that's what drama is when it's when it's real it's conflict we don't want to watch 12 people sitting around having a nice conversation we want a fist fight if we're gonna you know that's so it does appeal it sort of appeals to the the worst of our instincts I think earlier we touched the idea of you know ego and Prejudice you said this is something you interested in exploring your toenails called humanity and I think that probably sums up lots of your different work but for film and TV looking at people's stories their lives and their egos turning to yourself rather than any character you've written or played do you feel fulfilled with what you're doing today is there some other big challenge or big project you'd like to take on and give you more fulfillment I don't know I've never I've just always got up in the morning and wanted to fill the day with as much fun as possible you know I suppose that's everything I've done is sort of slightly existential as well and from the office it's about you know people becoming 14 are they doing the right thing Derek it was about people at the end of their life what what can they pass on even my children but flanimals was about the sort of futility of life and nature and ironic deaths and I don't know why that is really I think it's funny I think it's funny life I think is it's it's amusing because we take everything so seriously we care about everything passionately we have fights Wars worry about little things and then we die and the North effer and there's nothing it was pointless pointless we would turn we would tend to the stars so I've always thought I want to fill my days with fun and if the end was tomorrow we'd be happy oh well hopefully not but no no but um you know as I often sign off on Facebook I've to my and Twitter I sign off I hope you die in your sleep and that's the nicest thing I can say to anyone I hope you die in a state if someone said find you if if we all died in our sleep I wouldn't care about anything do you know oh there'd be nothing to worry about because that's what we worry about we don't worry about not existing we worry about oh my god am I gonna be I'm not gonna be squashed by a safe and be on this street and am I gonna fall on a spike is it gonna be a long lingering death am I going to be eaten by wolves well I suppose said no you're gonna die in your sleep drunk I'll go bring it on well I'm on that uplifting note let's get a few questions from the audience if you'd like to ask a question and please raise your hand if you're selected wait for the microphone to reach you before asking your question is any one particular you'd like to pick oh sorry was that one where well I did somebody but oh no I know I don't want this is oh this is horrible I don't want to well I'll find some of this right the person over there towards the front third row can you see the karl Pilkington radio shows coming back any time the thing is with that is a people gasping and I do miss it and I and I even now and again listen to some of the old ones though everyone hear that question it's Karl Pilkington's our podcast coming back and I don't think it would work I think I think Karl became my little public experiment it was like a cross between stiff Elsa unscripted it was unscripted and that was that is that is that is real it was it was unscripted but it was it where he was like my little experiment I like a cross between I don't know have you seen the film lawnmower man it was like okay um cracking reference to anyone who has but I always thought that car was like I'd found I found him a ten thousand year old caveman and shaved it thawed it out put clothes on it and then tried to teach it sort of art and philosophy and science and I think because he had a good brain I kept telling my said you've got a good brain you've got a brain you just don't use it right and you know he just he just he just found he found things that interested him which was furious and often apocryphal or nonsense just things on the internet you know baby baby born half monkey half as well it's not true Karl it's not true you go look at him I go it's just a hairy kid he's a hairy kid he's a hair is a hundred percent human he's got a lot of hair says here he's half monkey it doesn't matter what it says their car it's not half monkey so but I think he I think he became sort of a little bit more worldly wise it's that chemistry that you guys captured in that show it's hard to replicate that kind of chemistry oh you couldn't you couldn't contrive it it was it I discovered him he opened his little slackjaw once and he said something and I just I just my ears went up like that and I just thought this guy's interesting it's like I found him under a rock so I I don't think it would be the same I don't think he's that he's sort of retired now it doesn't matter how many times I very listen to it it's still it's still gotten its its I I listen to about people send me tweets of like clips and I'd completely forgotten about them but um it's like the first time he heard about something that I might introduce a concept to him and it's the first time here and I can hear his brain working it's like a silence where you know it's a things to me like like childlike it it's a things why they said he said what's the most amazing fact ever oh cool what do you mean he went they said tell me something that'll blow me mind I said I said well the night room infinite is pretty amazing I said okay is well I said there was many even numbers as even an odd numbers put together he went no I told him I told him the theory that the you know the model of infinity and the infinite amount of chimps working on typewriters would write the computer Shakespeare he wouldn't have thought he'd said if they read Shakespeare I went that's nothing I said that's the that's nothing to do with it right Eve god I just don't think they'd do that I don't know they know take out cognitive reason that there's no choice they've chosen monkeys to take out choice in the reasons they're just hitting away like that and he just couldn't get it he couldn't get that it was a yeah but so I I think he's learned his lesson and I think he's sort of content I just don't think it would work now well Thank You Ricky thank you let's have another question from let's go to the hand over there and the the bright blue t-shirt hi Ricky thanks so much for coming I wanted to ask as a kind of aspiring comedian myself you've had a really interesting background I remember in an interview or a video with Chris Rock Seinfeld and Louie CK talking about how you had a bizarre route into comedy because you wrote this may be the best sitcom ever and then years later did stand-up what advice would you have to aspiring comedians secondly very quickly would you ever are you going to work with Stephen Merchant again because I really miss all those projects you did with him I thought they were amazing and finally do you do you ever read the Facebook comments and if so you tempted to reply to them right okay okay what was the first one that's not good right yeah um right I'd say well no it's funny because I've sort of quite that's true when I am so I got into comedy I was already a comedian before I sort of decided I'd become comedian he just sort of happened I went on the radio show and I and I was meant to be the head of speech I have a normal job I worked in an office for ten years which is what I based the office on and then I got a job in a radio station and I was meant to go in and and sort of be writing little things for the DJ's and because I'm so lazy I thought I'll just do this myself so I went in I popped up I did funny things and you know and then the bosses said listen you're you're rubbish at your real job so just do that and and it grew and I became like the the comedy turn on XFM got discovered by Channel four and all that so by the time I did stand-up I did think oh I should do that and I went along and my first four stand-up shows I sort of wrote over I wrote them like I was doing you know like an Edinburgh show or almost like a TV lecture and then I went out and I did it and it was fine this one I've cracked it I did it differently III feel that I think I walked out with a few things on the back of my hand I didn't use multimedia I didn't use you know any structure and I just talked and I feel that I'm a stand-up for the first time I feel that this tour I can say I'm a stand-up and the first four tours I was in the ballpark so I'd say and here's another revelation that shouldn't be a revelation it should be obvious stage time is everything you can you can write and write and write and it can be pretty funny and they can laugh but if you do the stage time you it's it's actually doing it I I can't think of an analogy there's nothing like it other than okay you could you could learn about making pots on a pot as well in theory you could learn if you can watch YouTube is you could be an expert and until you put your hands on it you know these are you know I think that's it you've got it's stage time and our stage time is worth 50 hours writing if you if you haven't done it yet it's stage time it's just doing it doing it you know and if you can do it if you could do it every night um you know you might be you might be getting and it depends what you mean by good do you mean good you're good and it works every night to 15 people or do you mean I'm good because I'm making money now and I'm famous and everyone loves me I mean the latter yeah well then there's a whole lot of luck as well then my okay is my advice work hard and be lucky but I just think I think you have a passion for it you've got have a voice you got to find your voice how old do you 23 see 23 right you're young handsome what do you want to be a comedian for [ __ ] you great ok another question then please let's go to the as a hand directly behind on the second row with the glasses hi with the adaption of the British office for American audiences do you think that the humor was also adapted and what do you think the difference is if you think there is a difference at all between British and American humor ok I've thought about this a lot ok um doesn't mean I'm right but I I've got a good answer um well there's there's no real difference in humor right humor you know everyone's different within their own what they find funny but humor is just about the same it's it's it's it's what we all have and what we all use I think we mean when we say humor we mean comedy is American comedy different - because we're all the same we're you know with outside cultural reference you know I think and and and before I got onto the office even just doing stand-up people think it must be so what do you change to do go to America I don't change anything I don't change I don't change tap to force it or pavement decide what they know what I'm talking about you know I don't talk about last night's big brother winner I don't you know but when you're deed I try and deal in sort of Universal subjects and outside you know language barriers the people and people are the same there's dumb people and they're smart people that's the big difference that's the only difference in dumb and smart right now I'm but the difference between American comedy and English comedy I think was highlighted in the difference between the English and the American office and that is in Britain we we like the underdog we love the underdog we we we have a until they're not the underdog anymore then we don't like them anymore but we celebrate we celebrate and we laugh and almost embrace failure whereas Americans that they're there it's a myth that Americans don't get already this doesn't that's ridiculous it total myth right but they don't use it all the time like we do to British guys meet they go or nice haircut they can't they can't they can't say oh you look good mate okay they go what's up with you what what what that it would blow our minds we're as Americans that they're not Americans aren't afraid of sincerity you know and I think that that's the difference because David Brent was so sort of bad at his job an awful when it was so sort of depressing that American audience couldn't they couldn't they wouldn't have quite taken that I think so we had to make Steve Carell a little bit nice and more positive possibly better at his job a little bit better looking but not too much because that is the truth and and and it comes down to expectations and optimism and and all that because Americans are brought up and you know better than me but I feel that Americans are brought up to believe they can be the next president United States British people have told it won't happen to you so don't bother and I think that that is a it's raining you know so I think I think that is the big difference that's the only thing like an eye can see and and then when we're talking about the industry it's very different the amount of right is the amount of money that that makes a big difference with what gets on television and stuff but but but that's not that's not to do with what you asked I don't think but I think I think pretty people are pretty much the same wherever you go if you if you're not being shot at and your firstborn isn't dying of dysentery you know we worry about the same things we worry about what's happening what's happening in our world you know you I've seen it all the time if you if you you're watching the television and the news was a country it just sunk right you'd go all Mike you didn't get any milk you know you we bring it back you always bring it back to you and people of us that that's the same anywhere great thank you let's go to the hand at the very back on the end of row hi Ricky just wanna say I'm a massive fan of all of your work but also in particular extras that's definitely my favorite thank you I just want to know if you obviously I'm not expecting it's going to make a resurgence or anything like that but if it were to or or if you know at the time one of the celebrities had said no is there any celebrity or particular type of celebrity that you'd have liked to have caricatured that you didn't get the opportunity to or even maybe in the modern climate is there anyone new that you would like to caricature as well it'd be difficult now because everyone does it now every everyone when you know TV is now reduced to what two minute clip gets on YouTube for hits the next day everyone's done it you know you there's I mean when the president United States is getting into Twitter fights with reality stars you know society is crumbled so I you know we used to take what's we used to take really dignified people and break them down like you know Shakespearean actors or you know but now who's left you know I mean we don't mother trays are doing carpool karaoke if she was alive now so I don't I don't know if extras would I don't know what I don't know what extras would have to do to satirize what's happening do you not I mean it would be it was like a quaint time then it was like people would go oh look David Bowie pretending to be well that that what the real presidents doing you know so III just I don't think it would have legs I don't know I don't know what who you'd have to who's left you know Obama did you know comedians getting coffee and cars with Jerry Seinfeld you know yeah I think that was of its time and it's only ten years old look what's happened in ten years what's next so when although I do miss it I did I really enjoy it but I enjoyed I mean I did enjoy you know working with my heroes and having fun with those people and deconstructing Fame but the thing I enjoyed most about it is the is like Andy and Maggie's relationship I like the real characters that they were and that's why I made it extras and not actors because I think had to be people on the bottom rung watching looking at this mad world and I think you always have to do that with comedy I think you I think you have to there has to be a hill to climb so I am I I just don't I don't think there's any place to go now with celebrities and also they're so in on it now they realize now it's like oh if I do that then people will think I'm not really like that that there was so that there to everyone's to willing to do anything to be on telly for a minute that's the problem we have you know I just think people are told oh this will get 50 million YouTube hits I don't know who's saying no anymore I don't know who's saying no who are these people that you know that David Bao is great because it was the only thing he ever he ever did was the last thing he did you know that that now that's special but now you know people go on American chat shows and to show a clip they pay ping they play ping pong you know in masks or throw custard pies at each other it's like okay why are we watching there's no interviews anymore don't know why they're called chat shows anymore there's no chat it's just a game so well maybe I should bring it back just to be angry I think we've got time for two more questions so let's go to the hand in the middle over there the white t-shirt I'll answer faster than we can get everyone who wants to ask question okay um because you haven't been Umbra Hollister per I sort of feel we need to ask would you rather date a man who was a six-foot penis or would you rather date a man who instead of a penis had another tiny man the six-foot penis right he is basically a six-foot penis but he can talk you'd sort of free to interpret what sort of questions that I'm asking you you could you can't you can't come up with a question and then back out you haven't thought it through so it's a six foot he's a six foot penis who what walks along on testicles presumably right if not in now he's only get away with anything here right so so it hasn't got a face so he has got a face and so you could have like a little face on the helmet right right and he's got clothing and just his hound wit coming out of his suit and tie okay right yeah and and the other the other guy is he's a normal person except that instead of having a penis he has a little man and there's this little man at his own little man do I have to worry about him as well what he wants to eat and drink well like sure lead one at least like converse with him or know it well not in the restaurant that is still that is still his penis it just happens to look like a little man so okay so I think I'm why am I going out with men anyway we could reverse it it's a six foot Volvo [Music] stick to the man I want stick to the original question okay right a six-foot penis remember I was saying the world's changed did you ask Arafat this I'd listen I I can't be seen walking down the street with a six-foot penis so I'm gonna go that and no one needs to know that my new boyfriend for some reason has got another little boyfriend in his trousers okay let's move on Oh how was the ultimate union Wow yes Eric thank for your talk today I was just gonna mention that I was quite me as that you said you don't bring politics into your comedy when you did a stand-up show entitled politics yeah I was gonna say you're in Oxford at the moment in case you didn't know and now by the question an Oxford and Cambridge have produced some really you know like really good comedians and growing out concerns Stephen Fry and a whole host of others you went to UCL yourself I wonder do you think you need to be clever to be funny is there a certain amount of intelligence required for comedy well I don't know would the answer's no you don't need to be intelligent to be funny because there's lots of types of funny isn't there so but if you're talking about you know a stand-up comedian having something to say and making people think as well then I think you certainly have to be analytical and I think you have to have an angle so you're later to have to thought something out and I think you have to have a certain amount of fairness as well I think the I'm very I try and make my jokes I try and make the targets fair III don't joke about things that people can't help I joke about people's behavior often or and that's just that's just personal and I also think that it is it it is a bonus if you can make people think as well as laughs because a lot laughs easy I could fall over and you'd laugh right thanks a lot in fact one of you would film it for YouTube I imagine him or and 250 pounds for so I I think that um comedy is best probably is is clever but then there's something very nice and visceral and you know it is funny to see someone fall over you know I mean that I'm sort of metaphorically but you know IIIi love Lauren Hardy and what was nice about them was the the sort of relationship that was so precarious and there we were laughing their situation to pretension of one and the the guy who didn't care but the guy didn't care the pretentious guy who thought that he was cleverer than the other one he always ended up down you know face down in the duck pond so I think if you analyze most comedy there's there's there's something clever in it there's another layer as opposed to it just looking at YouTube clips of people falling down cellars which are hilarious by the way well I was just gonna say the reason I asked that question because you were talking about karl Pilkington and like I don't know if you would say that he's a clever man but he was certainly incredibly funny he was incredibly funny but it was attitude that was funny and if you took it by himself there was still the relationship it still needed a couple of pretentious media types thinking they were winning but they were losing because he didn't care what we thought so there was still a little bit of a dynamic going on not just if karl Pilkington went on the radio and said all right world is what I think monkeys in that people go wise I spoke to her but because he was goaded by a couple of pseudo-intellectual media types thinking that they were embarrassing in it there became there became a texture to it and people wanted him to win people loved him winning winning was maybe making me laugh or being proved right first something that you know so there's still there was still something going on it wasn't just it wasn't just a man saying stupid things so yeah does that make sense yeah I think so thank you very much okay let's take one final super quick bonus question so these two when I choose one sorry yeah wait for the microphone okay I don't want the responsibility thank you I was wondering about your relationship with Stephen Merchant and how the creative process changes when you're working with a partner versus well um very quickly with any collaboration I've worked with Steve I've worked with Matt Robinson I've worked with David Koepp and I always had one rule which is let me get my own way or I'm sulking and one veto and it's out so what you don't do is you don't you never come in with two different scripts and and and then fight for you you work on something and if one of you doesn't like something it doesn't go in because you don't want to be left with anything that one of you doesn't like so often you might throw out you might throw out 90% of the stuff right but the bit that's left you both love but other than that there's loads of ways to collaborate you know team right in you know I think the best idea wins I think that's that's what it comes down to but if you're if you're any sort of an outer then you sort of you sort of want to do it your way all the time so there's there's always a compromise with with one other person there to other people and two heads are better than one but I always think that the trouble I have with collaboration is it doesn't feel like you know with team writing there's less fun in it for me I like the day but I don't like doing things that won't come but I won't come didn't completely come up with all love it's a difficult thing to say and I do it because it's fun coming up with stuff so if I was in a room and I was you know a tractor host and I had all these writers and they came up with everything for me I wouldn't enjoy that because the bit that's missing was the fun of me coming up with stuff does that make sense that's the buzz for me having an idea that's my adrenaline rush and then and then trying to not ruin it so just walking into a room and getting the script and then read nor OQ at that but that means nothing to me and it could be great and some people love it and it could be lucrative but I feel that even it into a certain degree I don't love as much as coming up with the with the stuff so I just think it depends on what sort of person you are I think I'm an egomaniac great well unfortunately that's all we've got time for but thank you so much for coming along today it's a great way for every end there to thank you and if you could please remain seated while Ricky leaves the room but join me in thanking Ricky for coming along today you

Channel: OxfordUnion

Views: 2,257,006

Keywords: Oxford, Union, Oxford Union, Oxford Union Society, debate, debating, The Oxford Union, Oxford University

Id: xwED4v5G3HA

Length: 53min 16sec (3196 seconds)

Published: Tue Aug 29 2017

Reddit Comments

[u/NONONATAL]

This is a gem, thanks for sharing. Love Gervais. I've long suspected he's an antinatalist and that that's one of the reasons he doesn't want kids (the futility of life- the scene when he talks to his mom about dying in "the invention of lying"- he must be wise enough to know he'd just be subjecting his future kids to that) and that the only reason he doesn't talk about it is because he knows it's not worth the suffering it would cause him with the hate he'd get and he'd know how most people would be too dumb to get it, though I may be wrong. Love him anyway. Gervais and Stanhope are my favorite comedians. It's funny because Gervais comes across as jovial and quaint but there is the same cynicism in his work as there is in Stanhope's. Maybe he's played it this way for likeabilty and that would be consistent with not wanting the drama of admitting to antinatalism. Love that him and his partner haven't got married either.