512 Quotes by Ricky Gervais

You see reality TV and it’s not reality TV. It’s contrived and everything is plotted and scripted nearly. Documentaries are the same and just as bad.

I no longer needed a reason for my existence, just a reason to live. And imagination, free will, love, humor, fun, music, sports, beer, and pizza are all good enough reasons for living. But living an honest life – for that you need the truth.

I think the job of a comedian is to make people laugh, but also challenge them to laugh at things they didn’t know they could until now.

There’s nothing as perfect as the initial idea. And the only reason I write and direct is to protect the writing, because that’s what’s most precious.

There’s a difference between a job and a career – if you’re the boss you don’t stop at six o’clock, you have to worry about everything all the time.

If you can’t joke about the most horrendous things in the world, what’s the point of jokes? What’s the point in having humor? Humor is to get us over terrible things.

The most important thing in comedy – apart from empathy, which I think is important even if disguised – is surprise. I like surprising people with the fact that something’s even a joke at all.

I love how people walk around with crucifixes, skullcaps, pointy hats, funny beards and then say ‘you should keep your atheism to yourself.’

I think the best advice I’d say to any actor when you do comedy is play it straight.