Quotes from Ricky Gervais

Karl Pilkington has the roundest head, I think, in the world. It's not technically a deformity, but I've never seen anything quite that spherical.

Everyday life is interesting enough, whether it be in an office or being ignored on the set of something supposedly more glamorous.

Growing up, the most important thing, after taking care of your family and getting a decent job of work, was having a laugh. That was the point to life.

I was very protective of my privacy. I didn't want people to write bad things about me that weren't true, because that's just not fair. Fifty percent of everything written about me is wrong.

I'd never tried as hard with anything as I did with 'The Office,' and it was one of the things I'm proud of. I wasn't trying to be famous or a comedian, but this opportunity came along when I was 38 or 39. It came late, and I couldn't have been prouder of it.

The second series is always my favourite as a writer/director; you can hit the ground running... so that's fun.

Why buy a book when you can join a library.

You now have the least amount of time you've ever had, to do everything you've ever wanted to do. Enjoy your life. You only get one

Since there is absolutely no logical reason to assume there is an afterlife, I decided to make the life I have now as much fun as possible.

That's the amazing thing about life. You can just rub it out, like a blackboard, and start again.

Fame is an upshot of what I do. If you're a successful comedian or actor, then you're a famous one. But it's not the driving force. It's a by-product.

I think our elderly are forgotten sometimes.

I'm influenced by those '40s, '50s, and '60s films: things like 'The Apartment' - I was a big fan of Billy Wilder.

I don't believe in ghosts or ESP or elves... or God. But I am spiritual in the sense that I get a lump in my throat when I listen to Vaughan Williams.

You can be watching the greatest film in the world, and if you hear your neighbor getting into a fight, you're at the window.

I don't do karaoke. I don't dance, even at weddings. I'm the grumpy one sitting down drinking wine.

I like flying to New York from London. It's like a day off for me. No phone or e-mails. Food, wine, iPod, movies, snoozing.

Free speech is one of the most important things to me, but I think it gets confusing when it comes to offense. Because for one, just because you have the right to say anything, it doesn't mean you have to.

Your reputation is still the most important thing that you've got.

Life is so interesting... just every day life. I remember someone once saying: "Drama is real life with the boring bits taken out."

I love 'The Godfather' and 'Casablanca' - great stories, acted well, made well.

I am not a wolf in sheep's clothing, I'm a wolf in wolf's clothing.

How many times have we seen reality celebrities fall from grace - often through no fault of their own - and then go on a show like 'Celebrity Big Brother' and say, 'I want to show the public a different side of me.' And I'm screaming at the telly going, 'This is not therapy. This is voyeurism!'

The world is not entirely comic and it's not entirely dramatic. You have a laugh and then someone finds a lump and you deal with that. Because that is what life is like.