Ricky Gervais Can’t Wait for Humanity to Be Wiped Out

-Our first guest tonight is an Emmy Award-winning comedian and actor you know from shows like "The Office," "Extras" and "After Life." His latest comedy special, “Supernature,” begins streaming on Netflix on May 24. We'll see. -People question me on Twitter when they discover that I am an atheist. They say, "Well, you don't believe in God at all?" I say no". "You pray?" I say no". They say, "Why don't you pray just in case there is a God?" And I say, "Why don't you put garlic on your door in case there's Dracula," right? I don't have a problem with praying, you know?

I know many good Christians, Muslims and Jews. And if any of my family is very sick, they always say, "Oh, I'll pray for them." And I always say, "Oh, thank you very much," because it's a nice gesture. If they said, "Oh, we canceled chemo too," I'm like, "Don't do that. Don't do that." Try... Fill your boots, son, but come on... Let's do prayer and chemo, okay? Because that is the same result as just chemotherapy. So let's definitely save that one, okay? -Please welcome our good friend Ricky Gervais back to the program. ♪♪ Welcome back, Ricky. -Oh! -It's always a pleasure to have you here in person, although it seems like you enjoyed it.

We talked several times over Zoom and I always thought it was a coincidence that you found your way right in front of all your awards. -They are not all. Well, I didn't prepare them. I just... that was my... -Oh, I don't know. These Emmys look very prepared. I mean, they're very complimentary. -It's not even all the BAFTAs. There are three more there. -So seven BAFTAs. Have you ever won a Golden Globe? I mean, obviously, you organized it with great respect. -I won two. They're on this side of the room. -So you can see them. When you Zoom with me, you can see the Globes.

So, we talked a little bit behind the scenes about how, you know, the pandemic, in a way, allowed us to be a little lazier with ourselves. Did you get lazy? -Yes, it was better for me to be at home, so that no one came home. I didn't even have to lie to get my way out of things. -Yeah. -You know what I mean? Like baptisms, funerals and weddings. They were all cancelled. -Yeah. -So it was like... I was like, "Oh, and I was looking forward to that," you know. But it has ruined me. Now I don't want to do anything. -Yeah. -I never want to do anything again. -But that's why I'm so impressed that you not only have this special, but that you're on tour again.

But "Supernature", why did you give it that name? -The title comes for two reasons, really. One, I sort of discredit the supernatural. I don't believe in anything supernatural. So I go through all that. And besides, I say that nature is pretty great, you know? I mean, we don't need... I don't need unicorns and fairies and stuff. And I say, we have the octopus, you know, things like that, and the platypus is a monotreme, right? When people first discovered the platypus, they thought it was a hoax, right? They did it. And that's true. And it produces eggs and milk.

You could make your own custard. -Yeah. -It's not like that, but it could. -Could. -So, I get into why I love nature and why I hate people. That is the main theme. Yes. -You have always been not only an atheist, but somewhat proudly atheist. That clip is a wonderful example of that. And as the clip details, people continue to come to you about this and thinking that you are on the wrong side of this position. -Well, I mean, Twitter is... I mean, yeah, there are a billion people on Twitter. And you know, it's like looking at all the bathroom walls in the world at once, isn't it?

You shouldn't take it seriously. So with all those people there, you know someone is going to say something stupid. I mean, I look for them. I mean, I like... I guess that's the great thing about Twitter. About 20 years ago, an observational comedian would have to go to homes and prisons to meet the people who talk to you on Twitter. Then I can do it from the safety of my mansion in Hampstead. I can talk to the worst people in the world and deliver comedy. - Then yes. So your observational comedy comes from a place that you find very comforting.

You have managed to observe through your phone. -Exactly. Yes, exactly. -Yeah. -I can talk to the craziest people on Earth. -You talk about health. We were talking backstage. For all intents and purposes, one feels that people our age are living on borrowed time. -I think we are not destined to live that long. -Yeah. -I am 60 years old. It's not natural. When we were hunter-gatherers, there were, I don't know, 25, if we were lucky. Then we would get scratched and die. You know what I mean? But now we just stay alive. They replace everything. You know, they can't do the head transplant yet, but that, you know... -You would... -I would, yes.

Because you are... I only care about that. I really don't care about this garbage. -Well. -This just helps me do things. Then one day, someone's head will be crushed, but his body will be fine. My body will be crushed or just fall apart. They'd keep me alive in a jar or something. And then you would pay a lot of money. -Yeah. -Good? I have some cash now. I would say, "I will have that body" and then I would put my head on the new body. Statistically I will have a bigger penis. Then... It won't be mine. -Yeah.

How long do you think? Be honest. How long would it take? -Sorry Sorry. -Let me tell you that that is an illusion. I don't know who you think is being crushed by a bus. But how long do you think it would take to get used to a different penis? -I wouldn't be comfortable. -Yeah. -Although it wouldn't be my hand either. -That's a good point. That would be the most complicated part. -Then I would just close my eyes. It would just catch all the feels, right? -So, I think we're over that. I think if that... Hopefully, if that's the last...

If that's the last hurdle for science, I hope you see this. -Exactly, yes. -You make an effort to explain the irony in your special. I mean, I feel like the British are very proud of the fact that, in my opinion, they have the best sense of irony. Did you feel the need to explain irony specifically to Americans or just comedy audiences? -No no no no. And I do it as a joke. That's the joke I'm explaining and I keep getting it wrong. So I explain, I say, I come out and say something horrible and then I say, "That was irony.

There will be a little bit of that throughout the show. See if you can spot it." That's when I say something that I really don't intend for comedic effect, and you, as the audience, laugh at "the wrong thing," because you don't know what the right thing is. So I do it as a joke to challenge them, and then I keep saying terrible things and hope they understand. -And it seems funny, because in a strange way, like... Not in a strange way, very on purpose. But then you involve them in what the game will be. -And I challenge them. -Yes, and you keep catching them off guard. -Exactly.

And I've dared them to be offended or told them it's a joke. And I think that's the most important thing now that people, you know, it's always been the same. People have always been offended by comedians or what they say, but we didn't often hear about it. You know, we didn't use to have Twitter. To write a complaint 20 years ago, you'd say, "Dear BBC, I... Oh, it doesn't bother me," you know? But now someone tweets something and the papers pick it up and say, "People are angry. ZX143 said this." And it becomes a thing, and it's not.

You should ignore it. You should just ignore it. -I think it's very good advice, because I think... Especially when there is some art in the joke... Like, for example, look... Because you do it at the beginning of the special. You set it up as, "Here's the game," to a certain point, and every time, there's never laziness in the joke, because the joke is always: there's a construction to it. -And I explain to you that, you know, a joke is not a window to the comedian's true soul, you know? It's a joke. I'll pretend to take a look.

I'll pretend to be right-wing. I'll pretend to be leftist. I'll pretend to be smart. I'll pretend to be stupid. Whatever makes the joke... You know, it's all about the joke. And I think people often get offended when they confuse the subject of a joke with the actual point. And if you look at it, you know that often the target is me. It's my stupidity or I'm wrong about something or... And I think that's where it comes from, because... And I deal with taboo topics on purpose, because I want to take the audience to a place they haven't been before.

But I also think they are good for shredding. Are good. There is tension and in the end everything is always fine. And I think that's what... they're taboo just because people want them to be. People say, "Oh, that's controversial" because they want you to shut up. That's why they say... You know, they want you to shut up. So don't shut up. -Your next special is called "Armageddon". -Yeah. -And, now, that seems very consistent with your way of thinking. -Yeah. Yes. -What do you propose to do here? -Again it is me reflecting on how

humanity

will be annihilated.

And I can't

wait

. -Yeah. -Do you think you'll be here to see it? -I'll see some of that. I will see the beginning. -Yeah. -You know, but I think... You know, I think that young people today will have a very different middle age than mine. And it is my fault, my generation and the generation of all the Boomers with fossil fuels and global warming. So in 29 or 40 years, they'll be in their apartments with masks on, crying, like they do now at jokes. -Now I will say this. I'm very glad to know that, because we were talking about health and you... because you don't give up.

You are out. You are walking. You're very... You try to be ambulatory most of the time. -This is how you talk about someone sitting in a chair in a home. -Take a walk- Look, Ricky went for a walk. -Yeah. Listen, I don't care. I... Like I say, as long as I can keep talking and drinking, I don't care if I end up in a bucket. -Yeah. -A nurse just pushes me into a bucket with my own urine and feces, with a drip and that... -What if they say, "We have bad news? We don't have a body for you." We have a lovely bucket." -That would be nice. -Just your head in a bucket. -And then when it gets too much, I'll just take the pill.

Hopefully, that's what I'm

wait

ing for. -I walk into CVS and say, " Give me the pill," and they say, "Are you sure?" I'll say, "Of course I'm sure. Look at me." -They say, "Here's one and here's one for free." Hey, thanks for being here. Congratulations again on the special. -Cheers. Thank you. -Ricky Gervais. "Supernature" starts streaming on Netflix on September 24 May.