Ricky Gervais Is Returning to Stand-Up, But How Does He Write His Act? (Video)

ricky gervais stand up comedy jimmy fallon

Ricky Gervais is returning to stand-up comedy after six year absence

Comedian, actor and writer Ricky Gervais has not done stand-up comedy for six years. Well, unless you don’t count the Golden Globes, as Gervais himself told Jimmy Fallon last night, during an appearance on The Tonight Show.

“The Globes is basically me insulting people for three hours”.

The subject came up as Gervais announced last week he would be returning to stand-up comedy next month after quite a long absence, and will obviously have a new act he will be debuting.

Fallon asked him, “So how do you test your jokes?”, as obviously Gervais is going to be writing an entire stand-up act.

“I don’t know really,” Gervais responded. “I don’t really sit down and write stand-up like that, like you do a film or a TV show. You have some ideas, and also you get them when you’re relaxing.

I’m watching TV and I have an idea, or I’m on a plane and the phone doesn’t ring. Or I’m out running and I have an idea”.

“You run?”, asked Fallon, sounding quite surprised which, of course, sent Gervais into peels of laughter.

“It’s from my jail days,” he replied.

But how does Gervais choose the ideas he uses? “I think of a routine and I come back and tell my girlfriend it, and she says “Please don’t do that in public”, so I know it must be okay”.

If you really want to know how Ricky Gervais learned to write, though, there’s a fabulous video where he talks about how he “makes the ordinary extraordinary”, and what event happened to make him know he wanted to be a writer when he was just a child.

Meanwhile, watch Gervais on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon in the video below. As usual, he is self-effacing, quick on the draw and very very funny.

 

About Michelle Topham

I'm a Brit-American journalist, former radio DJ at 97X WOXY, and Founder/CEO of Leo Sigh. I'm also obsessed with music, anime, manga, and K-dramas. Help!