Remember that film ‘Sliding Doors,’ when John Hannah woos Gwyneth Paltrow by reciting Monty Python sketches? I can tell you now that doesn’t work, so that film’s wrong. Stephen Merchant Read Quote
A lot of stand-up comedians are actually very insecure, and they come on slightly battling the audience. They want to be the superior person in the room, sneering at the world. That can be very funny. But to me, what’s more interesting is that the world is on my shoulders, and it’s pushing me down. Stephen Merchant Read Quote
I’ve always been a fan of physical comedy. It kind of hits you in a different way; it bypasses the intellect and hits you in the gut. Stephen Merchant Read Quote
My teeth are all right, but they are not American teeth, and my hair is not thick and luscious. Los Angeles is dense with beautiful people, and most of the men who are aspiring actors are 5ft 5in, so I tower above them. Stephen Merchant Read Quote
Things don’t get better when you become well known or go on TV. I’m just being rejected by a better class of women. Stephen Merchant Read Quote
You hear some people saying, ‘I’m alive on stage; it’s where I feel most complete…’ I don’t understand that at all; I find that weird and depressing. I don’t dislike the audience; it’s just when I’m up there, they’re in the darkness. There’s just a sound of laughing or not. They’re not ‘people,’ they’re this big organism. Stephen Merchant Read Quote
I’m always jealous of Johnny Depp’s sense of style, but if I tried to get away with a floppy hat and waistcoat, I’d look like a homeless person. Stephen Merchant Read Quote
There’s this way pop culture has been rammed down our throats that people think that if they were just in the right place at the right time, they’d be married to Heidi Klum. Stephen Merchant Read Quote
I very rarely laugh. I remember I used to have a joy at comedy. I remember going to see Sean Lock for the first time live, just in some comedy club when I was 18, and again, just guttural, pure laughter. I didn’t know what he was doing; I couldn’t see the tricks. Stephen Merchant Read Quote
When I started to mention to people who know about such things, ‘I’m doing this game, ‘Portal 2’, they got very excited, suddenly. More excited than anything I’ve ever done before, weirdly. Gamers are incredibly enthusiastic about the stuff they love. Stephen Merchant Read Quote
