I think humor is incredibly positive, I think it is life advancing. There’s medical research to show that it improves your antibodies. It’s all about sense and perspective.
My compulsion to always be working has become less strong and my current business is purely down to this enormous alimony. If I wasn’t doing this I’d be making documentaries about wildlife and other subjects that interest me.
When you’ve been doing comedy for forty years, you really do know most of the jokes. And even if you don’t know a specific joke, you can pretty much guess what it’s going to be.
I can’t tell you how scary it can be walking onto a movie and suddenly joining this family, it’s like going to somebody else’s Christmas dinner, everyone knows everyone, and you’re there and you’re not quite sure what you’re supposed to be doing.
Technology frightens me to death. It’s designed by engineers to impress other engineers. And they always come with instruction booklets that are written by engineers for other engineers – which is why almost no technology ever works.
How to defend yourself against a banana.
Too many people confuse being serious with being solemn.
God was treated like this powerful, erratic, rather punitive father who has to be pacified and praised. You know, flattered.
I think we’re all born with a sense of humor. Creativity is another thing though.
I can never do better than Fawlty Towers whatever I do. Now I very much want to teach young talent some rules of the game.
I’m struck by how laughter connects you with people. It’s almost impossible to maintain any kind of distance or any sense of social hierarchy when you’re just howling with laughter. Laughter is a force for democracy.
Come to me. I want to plow you like a Calgary driveway at Christmas.
Sci-fi has never really been my bag. But I do believe in a lot of weird things these days, such as synchronicity. Quantum physics suggests it’s possible, so why not?
We all die at the end, but does that nullify everything? Would most people rather say, “I wish I hadn’t been born?” Once you’re born you’ll have to die, now is that funny or sad?
For me, the great problem growing up in England was that I had a very narrow concept of what God can be, and it was damn close to an old man with a beard.
It’s a plastic surgeon you need, not a doctor.
But then acting is all about faking. We’re all very good at faking things that we have no competence with.
I find it rather easy to portray a businessman. Being bland, rather cruel and incompetent comes naturally to me.
England is a fairly envious little country and it’s embodied in the press. They don’t like anyone being more distinguished than they are.
Nothing will stop you being creative more effectively as the fear of making a mistake.