What does Ricky Gervais really think of the Golden Globes? - Interview

I'm surprised that some people know that you like to sneer at them. Particularly when you were hosting the Golden Globes. You gave them a hard time. I think I did though. I do know a lot of them. I have worked with a lot of them. I like a lot of them. I respect nearly all of them. But I can't be that guy. I've got to be the guy at home who isn't winning an award. That's the choice as a comedian when you get something like that. Do I pander to the 200 egos in the room or the 200 million people watching around the world? No contest. I'm the fat guy in his pants watching these Hollywood types win awards. There's nothing in it for him. He's not winning an award. An award show is not a spectator sport. So I tried to make it one. And let's get this straight. That wasn't a room full of wounded soldiers. They were the richest, the handsomest, privileged people on the planet. Are they really going to worry about what some fat guy from England says? No. Well, I did actually, yeah. You're right. Why do they worry? Why do they worry? I'm invincible. I don't worry. But no, I think they eventually got it. And by the third time, I think everyone got it. I think, oh, we get it. He's just telling jokes. I think they weren't used to, they weren't ready for a roast. Usually those things are very charming and there's lots of mutual back-cutting, which is fine, but don't televise it. You know, if you want it to be televised, let's make it TV worthy, you know. Yeah, definitely. Oh, no, I didn't. I don't think I made a... Of course, but that's a very, not only a comedic thing to do, but a very British thing to do. We tease our boss, you know. I was firing upwards, really, you know. I teased NBC. They're a network. They can take it. I teased the... I bit the hand that was feeding me. I think people get that. I teased the president of the Hollywood Foreign Press. The most powerful man in that room. It's his show, you know. I'm a jester. I'm teasing the king for everyone's amusement. But, no, I've got a lot of affection. Nothing against awards. They're not to be taken seriously, you know. But they do make a... Yeah, what I meant was, I meant they're not to be taken personally. They are to be taken seriously because they mean a lot, you know. An Oscar changes careers, a Golden Globe. That made people watch The Office. You know, they hadn't seen it before. They hadn't heard of me before. What I mean is, you shouldn't take it personally if you don't win or you're not nominated. You know, it's fun and it's lovely to, you know, be nominated. And it's nice to be in the mix and it's an industry party, but it should be taken like that. You shouldn't think, if you didn't win, that your thing wasn't as good as the person who did it. It's just... It's so subjective. I've been nominated 21 times for an Emmy for, like, five or six different shows, and I've lost 19 of them, you know. I know. It's like they're teasing me. It's like they're really teasing me. I've got a much better track record with the Golden Globes. I think it's... I think it was... It might even be three out of three. Yeah. I think I might... It's a great track record, isn't it? Yeah, yeah. Right, I want four out of four this year. Four out of four. No, it did... The Golden Globes was, you're right, the gateway to America for me. Everything... That week, I went over, won Best Show for The Office, won Best Performer in a Comedy. The next day, The Simpsons, Matt Groening and Al Jean offered me to be in The Simpsons and then write an episode. I then did my first bit of TV drama in America with Alias, cos JJ Abrahams was a big fan of The Office. And I started negotiation with the American remake. And that was in one week. That was... It was... Yeah, no, it was incredible. So thank you. Thank you for the Golden Globes.