Quotes by Ricky Gervais

When I was growing up, I didn't like cheese. I had to wean myself onto cheese.

It's funny because I was offered film parts the first week after 'The Office' went out. I was sent a script, and I said, 'Who's the lead?' They said, 'We want you to be.' And I said: 'Well, who's going to go and see that? You want John Cusack.'

To be fair to David Brent, he wants to be famous for doing something, for being a musician, but he's just not good enough.

I don't know why other people are concerned about other people's lives that much.

I was never ambitious. I was never ambitious at school.

If I've only got a career if I bring David Brent back, you can have it.

I think I'm pretty self-aware.

Even I can't talk about myself for an hour.

I like grown-up comedy, where it's about character and attitude and life as opposed to obvious gross-out and jokes.

Oh, let's face it: I hate everything in others.

Humor is to get us over terrible things.

Believe it or not, I work out regularly.

I do the Golden Globes because they say I can say what I want. I wouldn't have that at the Oscars.

Opinions don't affect facts. But facts should affect opinions, and do, if you're rational.

Being on the edge isn't as safe, but the view is better.

They're just having a bad day. Sometimes they don't think, they get caught up. They're just trying to survive.

Know your limitations and be content with them. Too much ambition results in promotion to a job you can't do.

Mondays are fine. It's your life that sucks.

Animal lovers are a special breed of humans, generous of spirit, full of empathy, perhaps a little prone to sentimentality, and with hearts as big as a cloudless sky.

Being an atheist makes someone a clearer thinking, fairer person. They are not doing things to be rewarded in heaven; they're doing things because they're right, because they live by a moral code.

I've got re-addicted to normal people, which is the loveliest thing to write about.

You can be watching the greatest film in the world, and if you hear your neighbor getting into a fight, you're at the window.

I like flying to New York from London. It's like a day off for me. No phone or e-mails. Food, wine, iPod, movies, snoozing.

I'd much rather eat exactly what I want, and then burn it off, than diet.

Luckily, even when people are shouting lies, the truth is undamaged. Science doesn't matter what you believe.

I lift weights. Then I put them down again.

I could always take a joke. I could always be the butt of the joke. I could always hand it out. That was just who I was.

Your reputation is still the most important thing that you've got.

How many times have we seen reality celebrities fall from grace -- often through no fault of their own -- and then go on a show like 'Celebrity Big Brother' and say, 'I want to show the public a different side of me.' And I'm screaming at the telly going, 'This is not therapy. This is voyeurism!'

I think it's important to hold a mirror up to society and yourself.

The great thing about being an artist is, we want our work to be seen.

I think our elderly are forgotten sometimes.

There's nothing wrong with being respected by your peers. There's nothing wrong with trying to do your best. There's nothing wrong with success. There's not even anything wrong with trying to get a raise. There's nothing wrong with that.

What makes 'Derek' a different kind of sitcom -- if it is even a sitcom -- is its sincerity.

That's the buzz for me, the creative process. An idea is never as good as when it's in your head. And then it's just how little you ruin it.

I was David Bowie-thin up to about 28, and then I discovered food.

The only thing that really depresses me is animal cruelty.

I find comedy easy, and I find drama exciting and tantalising.

I don't know what Trump has to do to lose his supporters. It's like a religion. He's a school bully.

As an artist, you want as many people as possible to see your work with no interference. And usually, I've gone onto fringe channels: BBC Two, HBO, Channel 4.

I wanted to be clever, but being funny came first. That's how you know someone is clever. They don't come out and tell you pi to 13 places -- they tell you a joke.

People now live their lives like an open wound to be famous -- they do bad things because they're rewarded for it.

I've avoided doing a network comedy, because I wouldn't get my own way. Even though it would get more viewers, it wouldn't be mine.

You give up a lot being an atheist.

Everything I do is somehow rooted in humanity. It's always about people; it's always about ego. It's always about desperation. It's quite existential. You know, 'Am I leading a good life?' That might be because I'm an atheist, and I think this is all we've got, so you better be nice. And have fun.

I've been lucky enough to be able to choose exactly where I want to live.

I remember asking my mum when I was about 13, 'Why are my brothers and sister so much older than me?' And she just said, 'You were a mistake.' And I laughed.

Remember, when you are dead, you do not know you are dead. It is only painful for others.
The same applies when you are stupid.

Good People Do Things For Other People. That's It. The End.

There are no Hollywood stars speaking out for the elderly. They're forgotten, bewildered, and I don't think it's because people are cruel or don't care. It's because you don't want to think about your own mortality. I think people don't talk about it enough.

I don't like it when I see a racist comedian go up and say, 'What are we gonna do about all these immigrants?' and they get a round the applause. I think, 'Well that's not a joke. That's just your biased opinion.'

I didn't know I was poor, growing up, because everyone was in the same boat. I couldn't have bikes. It never really bothered me, but I could have any book. I loved school; I loved learning. Yeah, I never cared for possessions. I still don't, really.

Americans are brought up to believe they can grow up to be the president of the United States. Brits are told, It won't happen to you.

We didn't evolve; God made us. So I just want to explain to you exactly how that happened... Some of the things you'll hear do sound a little bit far-fetched. I admit that. Then I found out that the other name for The Bible is The Gospel, so it is all true. Luckily, the clue is in the title.

The only reason I work out is so I can eat more cheese.

Let's be honest here: Twitter, for me, is 90 per cent a marketing tool.

You have to be 100% behind someone, before you can stab them in the back.

I see my real job now as -- never mind 'The Office,' 'Extras,' film career, Emmys -- I want everyone in the world to know who Karl Pilkington is.

Here lies Ricky Gervais: He had a laugh then found a lump.

I don't see myself as part of an acting fraternity or a comedy fraternity.

The simple fact is, offense is taken, not given.

I think sometimes you get given a good pile of goodwill, and it's whether you use it up in the first six months or spread it out over a career.

We shouldn't even need the word 'atheism'. If people didn't invent ridiculous imaginary gods, rational people wouldn't have to deny them.

Stupidity without malice isn't horrible; some people can't help it.

I don't think humans are meant to be looked at when we're buying pants.

If I do eat meat, it's got to be ethical. I want to know that it lived a great life before it was killed humanely.

The next time someone is critical of you, just take a moment to consider their life. Then smile to yourself.

Just because you're offended, doesn't mean you're right.

My greatest hero is Nelson Mandela. What a man. Incarcerated for 25 years, he was released in 1990 and he hasn't reoffended. I think he's going straight, which shows you prison does work.

My physique is down to 20 years of eating cheese.

My ideal meal would probably be the cheesiest pasta or pizza, followed by something creamy and chocolaty. I mean, just the worst things, really.

I think the social faux par is probably what most people fear... more people fear public speaking than death and that's because we don't want to make a fool of ourselves. It's fundamental.

Proper stupidity is fascinating.

I was very protective of my privacy. I didn't want people to write bad things about me that weren't true, because that's just not fair. Fifty percent of everything written about me is wrong.

You try to make characters you care about, and I think realism helps. Even though this is a high concept, the characters have got to be real.

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.

If I was a research scientist, I'd want people to say, 'You know what, he's a great research scientist, that Ricky Gervais. He's really good, really good.' You know, I'd go to award ceremonies for research scientists and go, 'Yeah, I really worked hard, yeah.' It's brilliant.

I'm not a film snob at all. I much prefer a really good Hollywood blockbuster than a thought-provoking art house movie because entertainment is sort of where it's at.

I don't do karaoke. I don't dance, even at weddings. I'm the grumpy one sitting down drinking wine.

America champions the underdog. We champion the underdog until he's not the underdog anymore, and he annoys us.

The best way to avoid criticism is never do anything ever. Or, do what you love, have a great life and let others spend their time criticising.

Animals are not here for us to do as we please with. We are not their superiors, we are their equals. We are their family. Be kind to them.

I've got the attention span of a child.

Comedy and drama are different sides of the same coin. And the thing about comedy and drama is about likability. It's about character first. It's about story. And for me, it's about empathy, and I think the realer someone is, the further you can go either way with them.

I always chose all my friends on whether they were funny. What's a better way to pass the time than laughing or smiling?

If you walked around like David Bowie in 1973 in Reading, you'd get beaten up. The 1970s in a small town was more like the 1950s.. and that's the truth. The backdrop was probably Victorian.

Body language is more powerful than words.

Piracy doesn't kill music, boy bands do.

I'm a scientist at heart, so I know how important the truth is. However inconvenient, however unattractive, however embarrassing, however shocking, the truth is the truth, and wanting it not to be true doesn't change things.

When I see a headline 'Guess who's going out with who?' I don't guess, and I don't click.

I didn't like noisy cinemas when I wasn't famous.

No one wants to see cool people doing brilliantly. I want to see the struggle. That's the fun bit.

Just looking at all the faces here reminds me of some of the great work that was done this year ... by cosmetic surgeons.

It's better to create something that others criticise than to create nothing and criticise others. Go create, have fun!

Avoid employing unlucky people -- throw half of the pile of CVs in the bin without reading them.

I think doing something creative is the most important thing to me, and I think it's probably just good for the soul for anyone, whatever it is. You don't have to be a film director -- you can do gardening or something -- but I think everyone needs to create something.

When I go to work, I don't want to make depressing, gritty, urban stories that are depressing to watch. I want to give people something to enjoy. When people think I'm a control freak and an ogre -- which I am -- it's only because I want my work to be accessible and Everyman, in a way.