Ricky Gervais: “I don’t think I could sit around doing nothing”
The comedian and actor reflects on success, long-term love and the drive that keeps him touring despite decades at the top.
Ray Burmiston
The comedian and actor reflects on success, long-term love and the drive that keeps him touring despite decades at the top.
Ricky Gervais is describing himself. “He’s a fat, middle-aged slob who’s overconfident, but not as cocky as he thinks he is. He thinks he’s the smartest, but deep down, he’s not. He’s like the classic bloke in the pub who thinks he knows everything about the world.” Stop! Rewind.
Technically, Ricky’s not talking about himself but a slightly tubby stray cat called Gus, the lead character in Ricky’s latest Netflix animated sitcom Alley Cats, about a bunch of foul-mouthed but ultimately lovable feral felines.
“All my characters are a bit me,” he grins. “[David] Brent [of The Office], Gus – he’s an exaggerated me if I lived in a disused basement with loads of mates.”
Of course, Ricky, 65, lives nowhere of the sort. He grew up in a Reading council house, but now he’s talking over Zoom from his home in upmarket Hampstead, which has a spa and tennis court (he also has a country pad in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, and two New York apartments).
In the background, wooden shelves display a selection of his seven Baftas, two Emmys, five Golden Globes and in his trademark black T-shirt, Ricky looks jovial and relaxed. The son of a labourer father and mother who did various odd jobs while bringing up five children, Ricky went on to create mega hits such as Extras and After Life, while millions have flocked to his global arena stand-up tours.
He’s about to embark on his latest called Legend, consisting of 25 UK dates although many more shows are still to be announced, both here and in Europe and the US.
Initially, Ricky claims he doesn’t find touring too gruelling: “My dad worked on a building site until he was 70.”
He continues: “That’s hard work. I just stand there talking.” Yet then he admits, “I still moan and wake up the next morning feeling like I’ve been run over. The adrenaline takes it out of you. It’s like driving really fast for an hour in heavy traffic – easy until you make a mistake – so you mustn’t.”
He has more than enough money not to do any of this. “I know I should be pottering around my garden shed, but I don’t think I could sit around doing nothing. You work so you have a reason to sit on the couch and watch telly every night.”
He’s an avid Traitors fan, but despite Celebrity Traitors producers saying he’d be top of their wishlist, he won’t be participating in any upcoming series.
“It’s not that it’s beneath me. I’d love to play Traitors, but I don’t want to be filmed playing. What good can come of that? I like watching MMA [Mixed Martial Arts], I don’t want to do it. I don’t want to be doing something I’m not in control of. I don’t want to be away from home playing a game with strangers.”
After all, Ricky’s an avowed homebody who hates being parted from his partner, bestselling novelist Jane Fallon, who he met at University College London when they were both 21.
“We do everything together– go for a walk every day, eat every meal, watch telly on the couch.”
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