I’m back again with the third and final of my favorite comedians. I do plan on writing an honorable mentions article with the comedians that I think deserve some attention, but didn’t quite make it in the top three. This week I will be talking about Ricky Gervais.
Ricky Gervais was born in 1961 in Reading, England. He grew up with three older siblings. His father worked as a day laborer and his mother was a stay-at-home mom. She was known for her wit and helped make humor an integral part of Gervais’ childhood. Teasing was the norm in his household. Gervais told The Sunday Times newspaper, “The whole point of my family was taking the mickey out of the one sitting next to you.”
Gervais excelled at school and went on to study at University College London where he earned a degree in philosophy. He worked for the university for many years after graduating. He also pursued a career in music as the lead singer of a new-wave rock group called Seona Dancing. The band had one minor hit in the Philippines with the 1985 single “More to Lose.”
He went to work for Xfm in 1997 which was a London radio station. He hired Stephen Merchant while working there. They became very good friends and collaborated on many projects later on. He left Xfm after it was bought by a different company and landed some comedy work, including writing and appearing in sketches for the BBC TV shows Bruiser and The 11 O’Clock Show. He got his own talk show called Meet Ricky Gervais. It didn’t last very long, but during it Gervais started working with Merchant on the idea that would lead to his first smash hit.
They developed the idea for a sitcom called The Office, in which Gervais starred as David Brent. The series examined the interactions between Brent and his colleagues using a style that has become very popular today: mockumentary. The show earned high praise from critics and fans alike, but in 2003, after only two seasons, Gervais and Merchant decided to pull the plug on it because, “It won’t get any better. The quality will go down. I don’t want to let people down.”
After the success of that show Gervais gained quite a fan base in the United States as well as the UK. He started receiving a lot of film and television offers. He turned down roles in both Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and The Da Vinci Code. He explained afterward that he had talked to Ron Howard, the director of The Da Vinci Code, and told him, “I’m very flattered, but I’m a comedian…This is a very serious film. People will laugh and go, ‘That’s the guy from The Office.’”
Gervais won the Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series for his work on The Office. He launched two new TV projects the next year: Extras and an American version of The Office starring Steve Carell. He won two Emmys: one for Outstanding Comedy Series for The Office in 2006 and one for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for Extras in 2007. He eventually ended Extras for the same reason he ended the original The Office. After that he did a stand-up comedy tour and starred in a couple movies.
In 2008 he starred in Ghost Town where he played a dentist that could see dead people and in 2009 he wrote, co-directed, and starred in The Invention of Lying. In 2012 he created the Netflix original show Derek. In it he stars as Derek Noakes, an offbeat nursing home worker who sees the good in everything. He got two Emmy nominations for his portrayal of Derek in 2014 and 2015. He also played the villain in the latest Muppet movies, Muppets Most Wanted.
Besides his work onscreen, Gervais is also an author of several children’s books including Flanimals. He also does a lot of charity work. He has a passion for animals. He told Entertainment Weekly, “The first thing I wanted to be was a marine biologist. Then I wanted to be a vet.” His passion for animals can be seen in Derek and if you follow him on Twitter or Facebook.
And now onto why I like him so much.
Reason Number One: Like Louis C.K. he is not afraid to say unpopular things. For instance, he is an atheist so a lot of things he says are not popular with the majority of people. He openly makes fun of organized religion in his comedy. He gets very hateful tweets on a daily basis and he just continues on right through the hate. He will oftentimes respond to people telling them to just unfollow him if they don’t like what he is saying…sometimes with more colorful language than that, but you get the point.
Reason Number Two: He is, at least to me, very clearly a good person. Super religious people like to say atheists are going to hell no matter what, but if they really looked at what gets you a ticket to heaven they would see that it is living a good life and helping people. He talks about being kind and treating others well all the time. He does a lot of charity work. He is passionate about treating everyone and everything with kindness. Those are the traits of a person on a fast track to heaven in my opinion. This is one of the best quotes from his show Derek:
Reason Number Three: I enjoy British humor. It’s very dry and not for everyone, but I love it. He also tends to go on and on about one topic for a long time which some people might get sick of. He has a bit in one of his stand-up specials where he literally reads the bible, specifically Genesis, and comments on it as he reads it. It is one of my favorite stand-up bits ever and it lasts a very long time.
I think Ricky Gervais is a very funny, very genuinely good person and that is why I like him so much. It doesn’t hurt that I am a huge fan of British humor as well. If you haven’t seen any of his work I suggest checking out his stand-up first because that will give you a glimpse of how his mind works. I also highly recommend Derek on Netflix. It is hilarious and on several occasions touching/heart breaking. It made me tear up multiple times. It really shows how good of an actor Gervais can be. Please check it out and anything else he is in because it will make you laugh.
That wraps up my favorite comedians series. Look for the honorable mentions article soon and thanks for reading.
All facts came from http://www.biography.com/people/ricky-gervais-1362...
