Ricky Gervais has joked that he could be replaced by a robot on stage one day in the future.
Talking to Sam Harris on the Making Sense podcast, the comedian, 59, even quipped that the piece of machinery could be a ‘better stand-up’.
He joked: ‘Will there be a robot that’s bigger and taller and stronger than me? One that’s made of steel that can see in the dark – and is a better stand-up?
Theory: Ricky Gervais has joked that he could be replaced by a robot on stage one day in the future (pictured om 2019)
‘I’ll go out, I’ll fall over and the crowd will go wild. They’ll go, “Look at him, look at that fat bloke, he’s dying!”
‘And the robot will go, “I can’t compete with that. I’d never thought of that!”‘
Ricky went on to suggest that there could even be ‘paranoid computers’ in the future during the chat.
Funny: Talking to Sam Harris on the Making Sense podcast , the comedian, 59, even quipped that the piece of machinery could be a ‘better stand-up’ (pictured in 2019)
The actor also joked that cavemen were responsible for inventing the idea of a selfie, he explained: ‘From when we were hunter-gatherers, we all had a bit of “I woz ‘ere” in us.’
He added: ‘And now, I think it was in 2014 there were more photos taken in that year than in the rest of history. It’s exponential.’
The star joked that we’re all now ‘narcissists’ thanks to social media, which has helped to enable this personality trait.
It comes after Ricky had previously hit out at the ‘watering down’ of television by executives, who are second guessing what will offend the public.
Speaking out: It comes after Ricky had previously hit out at the ‘watering down’ of television by executives, who are second guessing what will offend the public
The Office creator spoke on Lorraine last Wednesday to discuss his hit Netflix show After Life, which follows a suicidal widower, Tony Johnson, who is destroyed by the death of his wife, leading to his ‘terrible’ navigation through life.
Discussing his risqué work, Ricky said: ‘It’s odd that TV executives second guess what the public say. “Oh we shouldn’t say that, they can’t take that”…. That’s why things are watered down. How do we know?
‘Real life is scarier than fiction. That’s why things are watered down. We are second guessing what people can take…’
The comments come in a long line of comments from fellow comedians, who are becoming increasingly riled with the need to change their work in a nod to ‘woke’ fans, including censorship on historic programmes on streaming sites.
After Life’s first season aired in March 2019 and following huge success returned for a second in April last year. Tony’s journey of grief includes a number of shocking scenes, complete with risqué language and comments.
Speaking of the show, Ricky continued: ‘When you deal with a taboo subject, people see themselves. Even I was worried, this is about a guy who loses his wife to cancer, is suicidal and treats the world terribly as a punishment. People came up to me saying their brother died…
Success: Ricky is the creator of the hit Netflix show After Life, which follows a suicidal widower, Tony Johnson, who is destroyed by the death of his wife, leading to his ‘terrible’ navigation through life
‘You realise everyone is grieving and they like seeing themselves reflected.’
Speaking on how stars can come under fire for the characters they play, Ricky added: ‘I think people sometimes confuse a character an actor plays with them. Sometimes I’m like the character and sometimes I’m not…
‘There’s a bit of you in them. Everything you write is autobiographical because you see the world through your eyes. It doesn’t get good until they’re arguing. If you watch a show where everyone agreed that would be boring, we want conflict.’
Alarmed: Discussing his risqué work, Ricky said: ‘It’s odd that TV executives second guess what the public say. “Oh we shouldn’t say that, they can’t take that”…. That’s why things are watered down. How do we know?’