Ricky Gervais: 'Tupac gets me through jogging'
Ricky Gervais turns to Tupac’s greatest hits when he jogs.
The British comedian is a household name both sides of the pond thanks to his TV, movie and Golden Globe hosting credits. While he’s never fully succumbed to a Hollywood makeover, 55-year-old Ricky does like to keep in shape. And when it comes to his favorite fitness tunes, hip-hop is his genre of choice.
“Well, this embarrassing, but mainly gangsta rap. I’m running down Hampstead High Street listening to Tupac,” he laughed to Britain’s Metro newspaper. “The other day, I asked my girlfriend, ‘Is it OK for a 55-year-old comedian to be power jogging up Hampstead Heath to the Rocky theme tune?’ She called me an idiot.”
Ricky is back on the big screen this week with his new film David Brent: Life on the Road, which hits U.K. cinemas on Friday (19Aug16). The 96- minute feature sees Ricky reincarnate his most famous alter ego David Brent, a middle-aged salesman chasing his dream to be a famous singer.
Set 15 years after Brent first graced screens in U.K. mockumentary The Office, fans hoping to see other Office favorites, like Martin Freeman, Mackenzie Crook and Lucy Davis, will be left disappointed.
“I didn’t want to return to Wernham Hogg (fictional office from the show). I didn’t want the same people at the same desks, 15 years later. That would be a bit sad,” Ricky explained.
Instead David is now a tampon sales rep who decides to cash in his pension to fund a tour around U.K. town Slough with hopes of being signed to a record label. And this time he’s much more open with his dreams, with Ricky explaining he took inspiration from stars that now live their life “like an open wound”.
“Since the office, we’ve had The Apprentice, where people say, ‘I will destroy anyone who stands in my way,’” he sighed. “We have a possible U.S. president saying, ‘I would like to punch (that protester) in the face’. (Donald) Trump is more David Brent than John F. Kennedy – he is not a politician, he is an entertainer. He used his money to become famous.”
Content published on this page is provided by, and copyrighted by the World Entertainment News Network (WENN). No unauthorized reproduction or re-publication in any medium whatsoever is permitted without prior written permission from WENN.
