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HBO
So Ricky, how did you become one of the biggest stars in England? And what's it like to be a celebrity?
Ricky
I, uh, shot to fame with the hit sitcom "The Office" [the show that originally aired on the BBC]. The word celebrity makes me feel slightly sick though. I don't know, it's the association with the word, because we don't have real celebrities in England, we have people who sell their stories to the press, or marry someone who's famous, and then get an agent. Or go on reality game shows. And you have people like Tom Cruise and Clint Eastwood. It's more of a dirty word in England, a celebrity. So I stay in a lot.
HBO
"The Office" won a bunch of awards, including a couple of Golden Globes. What was it like coming to Hollywood for the first time?
Ricky
The first time I came to Hollywood was for the Golden Globes. We were walking up the red carpet and everyone was shouting, not at me, they were shouting at the people they'd heard of. But then we won the Golden Globe, and apparently Clint Eastwood turned to someone at his table and went, "Who the f*** are they?" which was good. [SNICKERS] Now he knows who I am. [LAUGHS]
HBO
Were you nervous about following up "The Office" with "Extras"?
Ricky
I wasn't really nervous about following up "The Office," because "Extras" isn't like "The Office". We purposely kept away from it being like "The Office." I'm not the comedy lead, as such, and we've gotten all these "A-list" stars to take the heat off me a little bit. So, no I'm not nervous at all. Also I've got very low standards, so I don't really care much. I'm just doing this to get voiceover work. These chips are fantastic. I could eat them all day. Bad for your heart though. Look after your heart. Do you need a nappy? That's cause you're old. Somethin' like that.
HBO
How did you end up in the entertainment world?
Ricky
Well, I went to college to study biology, but when I got there, there were 9 a.m. lectures and it was a 40-hour week. So I changed to philosophy, which was seven hours a week. Then what did I do? I was a foul musician, and then I got a job in an office.
HBO
So what kind of humor do you like? Do you have any comedy heroes?
Ricky
Laurel and Hardy. They make me laugh. Larry David makes me laugh. Christopher Guest. What else makes me laugh? Fat faces make me laugh. Short legs. Jerry Seinfeld. Garry Shandling, he makes me laugh. "Arrested Development," "The Simpsons," Homer makes me laugh. Some of my friends make me laugh. Really terrible things make me laugh. I think there's something somewhat wrong with me. I mean really, really bad things make me laugh. [LAUGHS]
HBO
If you could characterize your own humor, what would you boil it down to?
Ricky
I dunno, I suppose it's a comedy of embarrassment, combined with ego and desperation. I suppose it's from being English. I think we're quite uptight, and the worst thing in the world is a social faux pas -- being embarrassed. And I can sort of hand it out but I can't take it. If I watch something on television, a reality game show, and someone's being pretentious or flirting or talking about themselves in the third person, it's embarrassing. So I know what I don't like, and I try and put that into comedy.
I think all awkwardness is funny. And I think if you're not embarrassed, then it's not embarrassing for anyone else. But if someone's embarrassed, that's embarrassing. I feel for them. If someone goes to the toilet and they come out and there's a big wet part, but no one says anything, then they discover it, how embarrassing is that? What if you come out and say, "Look, I pissed myself," right? It's not embarrassing. Good advice. Good advice. [SIGHS]
HBO
You're a fan of Larry David's show. Do you see any similarities in your approach to humor?
Ricky
There are a lot of similarities. I think he likes that awkwardness and saying the wrong thing. It's different cause Brent [the lead in "The Office"] tried to do the right thing and got caught up, whereas Larry David's character, he's more proactive in that. He's more someone who won't back down, and he knows he shouldn't say it, but he has to.
But it's very similar, the awkwardness and the study of human behavior. He's a lot more ad-libbed than mine, but there's certainly similarities. He's a good-looking fellow as well.
HBO
Last question: How did you feel when you found out that HBO wanted to bring "Extras" to America?
Ricky
I was very excited, because all my favorite shows are on HBO, and I'm not just saying that because they got me free food and drink. No, it's great. Stuff like "The Sopranos" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm," it's an honor to be stable-mates with that sort of talent.
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Video
Watch the promos and trailers for Extras.
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