Stephen Merchant
Stephen Merchant
Stephen James Merchantis an English writer, director, radio presenter, comedian, and actor. He is best known for his collaborations with Ricky Gervais and Karl Pilkington, as the co-writer and co-director of the popular British sitcom The Office; co-writer and co-star of Extras; and co-host of The Ricky Gervais Show in its radio, podcast, audiobook, and television show forms. The Ricky Gervais Show in radio form won a bronze Sony Award...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionComedian
Date of Birth24 November 1974
CityHanham, England
I guess as you get older you sort of see the mechanics, even with the best comedians. There's admiration for people I admire, but it's not guttural laughter. It's a wry 'Oh, well done, sir.' But I sort of miss that slightly; I miss the raw joy of comedy I used to get.
The reason I keep talking about a wife and saying the word 'wife' on stage is because it seems a funny word to me. The more you say it, the more it seems to detach from that person and become this sort of abstract thing: that you would set out to find a wife, that it would be an objective like buying a new car.
Maybe there's a sort of veneer of optimism about U.S. comedy, whereas perhaps in England, we don't mind ending it on a sourer note.