Gervais on standup

by Brian McKim & Traci Skene on July 15th, 2008

Ricky Gervais, from an interview in the Vancouver Sun:

Standup comedy is more of a process of evolution. The audience chooses the best bits for you. It’s a process of natural selection. So over a hundred comedy dates, they’ve chosen your best hour. You thought it up and you said it, but they’ve done the difficult part for you. It’s cheating, in a way.

I was always in awe of the good standup comedians. I’m proud of The Office and Extras, because I think it’s harder to do a narrative piece of comedy that’s hopefully not just funny but also has a point to it. But I’m in awe of anyone who can do a good, solid standup comedy routine.