Name: The Best Of Ricky Gervais, Part 1 | David Letterman
Uploaded: 2025-04-29T15:00:44.000Z
Description: Watch the stand-up comedy video 'The Best Of Ricky Gervais, Part 1 | David Letterman' from Letterman on Comedy Buff. Published 2025-04-29. Transcript available.

Watch the stand-up comedy video 'The Best Of Ricky Gervais, Part 1 | David Letterman' from Letterman on Comedy Buff. Published 2025-04-29. Transcript available.

The Best Of Ricky Gervais, Part 1 | David Letterman

What do you know about Ricky Gervais?
Well, he was a musician at one time, yes, and I'm grateful he no longer is.
In a band?
Yeah, apparently he had a band. I don't remember what his instrument was.
Yeah, a guitar. I remember him playing guitar and writing original music for
The Office,
which is where we came to know him, the original British BBC office,
and it was very difficult to find in those days.
You almost had to know somebody who had an illegal box that you could patch
into,
and then if you had somebody, like, hire a high school kid to watch 24 hours a
day
and call you when it showed up, you'd race over to see The Office.
And delightful and delightful. We couldn't wait to have him on the program,
and he never disappointed.
And I don't know how many times he was on the show, but I think each visit was
memorable.
His take on current events or anything he talked about was absolutely fresh to
us Americans,
because what do we know?
Brand new.
But he brought, yeah.
It was brand new to us.
I don't know that he was the first to feature this character in this context,
but he certainly was, for my money, the best.
Yes, indeed.
Do me a favor.
Can you tell us a little bit about your background and what you've done with
yourself here to four,
and how you came up with the idea for the character and the show and so forth?
Wow.
My background, I suppose I just had a normal sort of working class upbringing
in a town just outside London.
My dad was a laborer, my mom was a housewife,
and I got what you'd call a scholarship to go to university.
So, sort of, and it's funny, actually, because I went to university to do
biology,
and I changed after a couple of weeks, because there were nine o'clock lectures.
Yeah.
And so I did philosophy seven hours a week.
So, and my mom was very proud, though, that I got to university.
And when I was there in my third year, I actually got into music,
and I got a record deal and a publishing contract as a singer-songwriter.
And I went home one day, and I broke it to my mom that I wasn't going to follow
the academic route,
and she was disappointed.
And she said, why?
I said, because I want to be a pop star.
She said, pop star is another word for junkie.
And I actually said, well, it's a really good deal.
The record deal is worth about £100,000.
And she didn't drop a beat.
She said, Mick Jagger bought his mom a house in Wales.
It's a mark, yeah.
Did that change your life all of a sudden?
You go from a guy nobody knows to a guy everybody knows and everybody...
Yeah, well, it was strange.
Because I came from nowhere, because I'd done a normal job.
So I suppose the strangest thing was the journalists the first time around
asking me sort of questions.
And I sort of, I did everything because I was flattered and I didn't want to
sort of appear aloof.
And some of them were just banal questions.
What kind of stuff?
Well, there was one I did, and it was like those fluff pieces,
and they asked you, like, my London or what you like.
And it was stuff like, I remember one journalist said,
if your house was on fire and you could only save three things, what would they
be?
And this was towards the end of the evening.
I was just, it was just so...
And I went, my cat, I've got a cat.
I said, my salamander.
I've got a pet salamander.
I was thinking to...
And I went, three?
She went, yeah.
And I said, one of the twins.
Yeah.
And she said, okay.
And then a couple of months later, I had an interview with another journalist,
and she said, what are your twins' names?
And I said, why does that say what you said?
I said, what, you think that I'd save a cat salamander, and then one of the
twins?
So you've got to be so careful.
I learnt that you've got, you know, they just take your word for it.
There was a show on British television.
I like, you know, I watch a lot of TV.
You wouldn't think of it, you'd think I was out running, wouldn't you?
But I do like to lounge and eat cheese and drink beer.
And I like sort of like trash TV, and there's this big show every year,
and it's called Celebrity Stars, and they're doubles.
And you know you've made it when, well, what it is, it's, you know, lookalikes.
People that look like celebrities, and they dress up when they come on,
and they don't do anything, they just say, I'm so-and-so.
Exactly, yeah.
I'm George Clooney or something.
And I got one.
I got one.
Yeah, well, Ricky Clooney's look-alike?
There was a...
Well, it was actually a David Brent look-alike, and he won, and it was
fantastic.
And I thought, oh, right, just a fat guy.
That's all it was.
Just a fat guy.
He had a go.
I think he grew that the day before.
Just a fat guy.
About 200 pounds, about 45.
And when he won, he's so fat that he actually waddled.
He did that fat guy walk.
And the host of the show went, oh, you even walk like Ricky Gervais.
Oh.
So I'm wearing black tonight.
So it's slimming.
It works.
It really does.
Pavarotti wears a lot of black.
And you see him in, like, lemon or turquoise, and he's a chunky little fella.
So it does.
But I know.
I'm not worried about that.
Have you ever dieted or had people suggest diets to you?
No.
Well, I was...
No.
I'll just admit it.
I eat too much.
You know, you eat more than you burn off.
You put on a bit of...
But these people that make excuses, it's okay to have a bit of, you know, have
a bit of,
you know, subcuticle layer.
That's all right.
It's all right.
We're mammals.
We're meant to have that.
But it's these people that say things like, it's glandular.
Oh, yeah.
It's not glandular.
It's greed.
It's big bones.
Yeah, big bones covered in meat and gravy.
Just, that's what did it for me.
This is, and if somebody hadn't told me this was you, I would not have
recognized you.
But this is from an earlier part of your career, when you were actually, like,
a pop band.
Is that what it was?
A failed pop band.
Failed pop band.
Do you mind if I show this?
No.
Yeah.
And tell us who and what we're looking at there.
Look at that.
Yeah.
Well, this guy here.
That's you.
That's me.
Look at that.
How old are you in that photo?
20.
Wow.
Shortly after that photo, I ran into the nearest pie shop and said, right, let
me eat anything
I've been missing for the last.
In fact, I think I ate him.
And who is that guy there?
That's me.
No, the other guy.
That's the guy in the band.
It was just a duo.
Just the two of you?
Yeah.
And are you still in touch?
Do you still get together?
No, he doesn't recognize me.
But you actually had, like, a record contract?
Is that what it was?
Yeah, but it was one of those things where, you know, we were signed and I
think the record
company were a tax loss or something, and they signed 20 acts and they keep the
one that makes
it.
We weren't one of them.
We were one of the 19.
But you must have for a while thought, oh, this is great.
I'm going to be.
The new Beatles, of course.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Now, we have a song.
Do you know the name of the song we have here?
It's called Siona Dancing.
Is that the name of it?
Yeah.
This is right there.
That's actually.
Oh, the single is Bitter Heart.
That's the name of the single.
This isn't a record cover.
This is just my recruitment picture for the Navy.
That's just me relaxing.
Yeah.
All right.
So let's just listen to a little of it.
Do you mind?
It's called Bitter Heart.
Here we go.
Bitter Heart.
Let's just listen to it.
Tell them you're free.
Tell lies of me.
I'm out of range now, so there's nothing more to fear.
Sing along.
I know we're true.
The only thing I want to do
Yeah.
Yeah.
Beyond, yeah.
There's nothing wrong with that.
Oh.
It's kind of that club ghost.
Dance all night and get goofy.
You also got to meet Robert De Niro doing one of these films, right?
Which film is that?
No, it's a film that's coming out, I think, in the summer called Stardust.
And, you know, I was offered this part just a couple of days with De Niro.
Wow.
Unbelievable.
And it's just one scene with him, but the world's greatest actor and Robert De
Niro in the same scene.
And I...
And I took the part.
It's a lovely part, but I took it to meet him and ask him about extras.
And I was, you know, mucking around and, you know, I realised it was like seven
hours of bravado, because at the end of the shoot, I said, I think you're the
best actor in the world.
I've seen you in Goodfellas.
Do you want to be in extras?
And he went, um, I'll call you about that.
I went, ah?
He went, I'll call you about that.
And he did.
Oh, no.
He called unbelievably...
I said, I thought I told you never to call.
Luckily, luckily he laughed.
And, no, and he came along and did a bit in extras.
And he's, I mean, he's amazing.
He's just fantastic, so...
Good for you.
And I was doing the scene, and Steve's in the scene, and I was sort of
directing.
And I came over to Steve, I went, oh, you might want to do this and that.
He went, okay, fine.
I was walking back to the monitor, and Robert De Niro said, how about me?
Am I doing okay?
And I went, sorry?
He went, am I doing okay?
And I went, yeah, you're doing okay.
What do I say?
So sweet.
Do you enjoy cricket?
Yeah, I don't...
It's a bit slow.
It's a bit...
It's like an all-day game, isn't it?
It is.
Yeah, and a lot of standing...
I mean, I'd like to play cricket, because it mostly is standing around, but...
I'd rather play it than watch it.
I always admired the outfits and the equipment.
I thought that was pretty cool stuff.
Yeah, I like the equipment.
It's like padding.
It feels so...
Once when I had to do...
There's a piece of equipment in cricket called a box.
What do you call it?
The protective thing?
What's the purpose?
Yeah.
There may be a different name, depending on the purpose.
Would you call it a box?
I don't know.
I wouldn't call it a box.
What would you call it?
Well, what are you talking about?
Well, you put it over.
What do you think I'm talking about?
I don't know.
You just...
You keep doing this.
And you're telling me you're not here to make friends.
I mean, come on.
What is that?
I know what you're talking about.
But I did it on me, not you.
That would be the dead giveaway.
As long as we just do it on ourselves and not each other, then it's fine.
You've got plenty of practice there.
Now, listen.
What?
It's a cup, I think.
Cup?
Cup, yes.
That's it, yeah.
Not a box.
Well, anyway.
When I was about...
It raises questions anatomically.
What?
Box?
I don't...
Box?
I don't know.
Well, anyway.
All right.
So, you have a...
Mine often comes gift-wrapped.
No, it's...
And, anyway.
So, I started karate, and I was about sort of 25, 26.
And they said, well, you have to go and buy a, you know, a shield.
So, I went along to this department store, and I picked...
I got a cricket one, because I didn't know...
So, I got a cricket one as well.
So, I went along, went on karate that night, put it on, and it was pinching me.
And so, I thought, oh.
So, I felt brilliant.
I thought, this is too small.
So, I went back to the shop, and I was queuing up, and the guy said, can I help
you?
I said, yeah.
I said, I'm not being funny, mate, but...
I bought this yesterday, and it's too small for me.
Right?
And he said, I'm not surprised, it's a child's one.
Now, this piece of video that we have is from 1983.
How old were you in 1983?
22.
22.
And right in the thick of the pop music industry.
Right?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Right in the thick of it.
And what was the name of the group?
It was...
Shauna Dancing.
I'm sorry?
You haven't heard of it?
No.
Oh.
Get with it.
These guys have heard of us.
Yeah.
Yeah, exactly.
And...
Come on, don't stretch it out.
Do you want to see it or not?
Yeah.
Oh, okay.
I'd want to see it to get that over with.
1983, let's take a look.
Immediately after that video was shot, I saw a pizza hut.
I've never looked back.
Never looked back.
But it's interesting because rarely does a person try one aspect of a career
that doesn't work
and then goes on to...
And goes on to great success.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, I think that getting fat was my fortune, really.
Because you couldn't laugh at someone like that because they