Ricky Gervais can offend you to death. He knows you'll still laugh. ‘It's a magic trick, it is a formula'

Los Angeles Times

27-05-2025

Ricky Gervais is living his best life right now. Even when he's busy talking about death. On Saturday his new tour, Mortality, arrives at the Hollywood Bowl, where thousands will hear him tackle hilariously macabre commentary about life — and the end of it — through his signature blend of dark humor, empathy and razor-sharp commentary. His last appearance at the Bowl in 2023 with Armageddon earned him a Guinness World Record for the highest-grossing single stand-up performance — so, no pressure.
Gervais is also known for turning awkward pauses and brutal honesty into comedy gold, so it's only fitting that after such a long career full of accolades that he would also finally earn a coveted spot on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Friday. As Hollywood honors the man who's roasted its elite with such precision, to be roasted for eternity by the Hollywood sun sounds fitting.
It's not all about receiving: Giving back matters to Gervais and he's doing that by helping spotlight the next wave of comedic talent through the Spirit of Comedy — a U.K. stand-up contest presented by Dutch Barn Vodka, which he happens to co-own. With a star on the Walk of Fame, a massive show at the Bowl, and a platform for rising comics, Gervais is fully owning his Hollywood moment. But he needs to be home by 6 p.m.
You've spent your career pushing comedy boundaries, has there ever been a moment where you thought, 'Oh yeah, I'm going to have to defend this one?'
Oh no, it all comes and goes. It's cyclic. People get nervous and that's just always been there from day one. People get worried and then I say, well, this is why it's OK. Sometimes it's an executive producer or a broadcaster who just wants some ammunition to defend it. Because sometimes, they don't know whether it's OK or not, they just don't want to get complaints. If I can go 'listen, this is why it's OK,' then they often trust me because I can defend it. It's not me sitting in the room going, 'what's the most offensive thing I could say to get the BBC burned down?' There's always a point to it. Offense often comes from people mistaking the subject of a joke with the actual target, and they're not usually the same.
It sometimes feels like comedians, whose job it is to joke, are being held to a higher standard when it comes to what is 'offensive.'
We're human, so we react to buzzwords and we're cautious of taboo subjects. That's why they're still taboo, because we're cautious of them. I do that on purpose as well, particularly with my stand-up where I talk about contentious issues and taboo subjects because I do want to take the audience to a place they haven't been before. I do want them to reflect on it, worry about it, think about it and then, I've got to misdirect them. It's like I take them by the hand through a scary forest but it's OK because they always laugh. If I were going out there and saying things that were really offensive, and no one was laughing, well, that would be odd. That's what politicians do. Politicians say awful things and they mean it, and no one laughs. Comedians say things they don't mean, everyone laughs and they get the same treatment.
But you have to have free speech, and there's nothing you could say that someone somewhere won't be offended by. It's impossible so you shouldn't even try. I don't go out there and try to ruin the audience's evening, I go out there and I make a joke and it's crafted. We're human though and we take things personally, but you shouldn't because I think comedy is best as an intellectual pursuit.
'Comedy is best as an intellectual pursuit' sums you up because you're not careless. There's a formula to it all.
Exactly. You should go 'well, that's a bad subject and I don't agree with the punchline, but does it work comedically?' It's a magic trick. It is a formula. You can't argue with chemistry. No one goes, well, I know I laughed, but I don't agree with it. Well, it did what it does. That's the joke and I'm not gonna change the joke or meaning. I think the only form of censorship, as an audience, is your right not to listen. You just don't have to watch. You can leave, not buy my stuff, not buy my tickets, and that's absolutely fine.
You can turn your own TV off, but what you can't do is make other people turn their TV off. That's the difference. And then, people will complain about something you're doing in the privacy of your own home, even if they have to go up to their attic and stand on a stepladder and look through binoculars to see it. They will find it. People sometimes seek out the offense and that's actually where people can get addicted to being offended. They like it, it makes them feel alive. The news even picks up Twitter! They say, 'Oh, fans weren't happy!' Three fans weren't happy.
Tweets making headlines is why we can't have nice things. I wanted to ask about the Spirit of Comedy contest, where the winner gets to open for you at OVO Arena Wembley. How did all of this happen?
I know, it's mad! I've never done anything like this before and I've turned down loads of things, but this co-ownership with [the show's sponsor] Dutch Barn Vodka is different. When we met, we first bonded about the company being really ethical. It was sustainable, it was recyclable, they used British apples, they were vegan, they paid their workers really well—they were really trying to be good, and I like that. They said they wanted me to make it famous, make it a global brand, and that I could do the advertising, which really interested me. I do all of my own trailers, I write all my own stuff, so that was exciting creatively. What a great nut to crack.
The business side of it sort of came last, but it all made sense too. The main thing about it was I felt I could sleep at night, and I could still have fun. That's all I really cared about. The contest was actually all Dutch Barn's idea and when they were asked about the contest they said something like, 'Well, we know Ricky's not going to last forever.' Maybe they're finding my replacement? How cruel and ironic would that be?
Well, at least you can go down knowing you broke a record at the Hollywood Bowl.
Yes! It was two years ago, and I just put out a tweet because it broke the record for a single gig. I don't know why I'm doing it again. I did it once, it was frightening, I broke the world record and it was great. Why would I do it again?
Because we love you in L.A. and it's been too long. That's why.
I haven't been avoiding it, it's just a long way so I try to do as much as I can while I'm there. I sort of work out of London now and also, it gets harder with jet lag. I'm 63! Jet lag lasts about a week now! Everything is worse, isn't it? I'm offered really cool things every day, flying around the world and I just think, is it better than me sitting on the couch with my cat and my girlfriend watching Netflix? No. It has nothing to do with anything else other than how valuable your time is and how you wanna spend it.
Is that why you named your tour 'Mortality'? Are you planning?
Sort of. There's a joke in there where I sort of talk about getting old, looking back and all the things that are going wrong which are funny. The reason I started doing one word, sort of academic-style titles, was that I was sarcastically making fun of the pomposity of some comedians who think they're doing lectures. That's where it started when I was pricking that bubble of comedians who think they're changing the world. I've kept up the one-word thing, but also, mortality, it's a scary subject so already the audience is going, is Mortality gonna be funny? Yeah, it's funny! I'm the one dying. Sit back and laugh.
From sitting to kneeling, it's fitting — and a bit ironic — that someone who roasted Hollywood so memorably is now being cemented into its history with a star on the Walk of Fame.
Well, that's funny because the first time they told me I got it I said, 'Oh? Do I have to get down on all fours on the concrete? I'll never get up! I've also got bad skin!' I had all of those thoughts, but I'm doing it the day before the Hollywood Bowl so I can kill two birds with one stone. It's all about getting home on the couch by 6 p.m. This life, you know what I mean?
You started kind of late, but you did earn this comfortable life. And maybe 6 p.m. is the new midnight.
When I grew up, I was good at school, I went to college, then I was a failed pop star, and I never had money. Really, I never had any money. I think I was about 37 years old when I started doing this, and I just grabbed a hold of it. I thought, this is a really lucky second bite of the cherry. You better not screw this one up. So, I did work really hard, but in saying that, what does this sound like? 'I work really hard in a room writing while drinking cappuccino.' Some people are hiding behind a wall getting shot at! My dad was a laborer for 60 years! It's funny to say that, because now, I'm glad I was born poor. It's not something that I talk about much, but I am sort of proud of myself. I didn't have a penny, and no one gave me anything. It might be luck, but I still feel like I beat the system.