RopeofSilicon.com was cordially invited to a conference call with none other than Sir Ricky Gervais (let’s just knight him early). Ricky Gervais is set to guest star on “The Simpsons” March 26th. Ricky first met creator Matt Groening after winning a Golden Globe for “The Office“. The two have planned to get together ever since. In the upcoming episode Gervais plays a character who takes in Marge in a wife swapping parody. He also sings a song in the episode, which fans of his work should enjoy.
Much more interesting was the news that Gervais turned down Ron Howard for an undisclosed part in The Da Vinci Code. “I met with Ron Howard who wanted me to have a little part and I said, ‘I’ll ruin your film.’ British comedians I’ve seen pop up in a really good Hollywood films just ruined it for me.”
He also dished on his podcast going to a pay format. Ricky Gervais holds the record for the most downloaded podcast in history with his recent 12 episode run. “It costs us to host it so we have to charge a dollar, but we’re going to do a lot for that. It was either charge a bit or not do it.” Other good news in the land of Ricky was that “Extras” has been renewed for a second season.
He then mentioned working with Christopher Guest (on For Your Consideration), “There are some things you don’t turn down. I’m cherry picking jobs with my heroes like Christopher Guest.” Ricky was also effusive in his praise of American television, “I think American television is the best in the world. I knew ‘The Office’ wouldn’t be ruined, but American shows would be ruined by British television. We’re not as good as you. You beat us on everything, on drama, you’ve got ’24’, you’ve got the ‘Sopranos’, for comedy you’ve got ‘Seinfeld’, ‘Arrested Development’, ‘The Simpsons.’ We’ve got ‘Monty Python’ and ‘Fawlty Towers’, I can’t think of anything that competes with American television in the last 40 years. As Randy Jackson would say, American television is The Bomb.” Come to think of it Ricky is right, American shows aren’t so bad (except for all the crime ones).
The only disappointment was how much time was wasted with some unfortunate questions. Here are few examples (no peeking at the answers below):
- Was it surreal to do “The Simpsons”?
- Wouldn’t Marge be sick of Homer by now?
- What was going through your head when Matt Groening called you?
- What was the chemistry like?
- What was the experience like to put words into the character’s mouths?
- Who is your favorite “Simpsons” character?
Sadly, we never got to some more of the juicy bits. He was begging to talk about his other projects, why can’t my *1 work?!?!? I as chomping at the bit to know about his part in Night at the Museum, what about an “Extras” DVD, or hey, why not hear more about For Your Consideration? By the way, for the official record the answers to the above questions were Yes, No, Wow, Great, Great, and Homer.
Beyond all that, you can check out an early pic of Gervais’ character Charlie below and click on it for an even LARGER version. The episode is described as a “Trading Spouses”-type show, in which Homer (L) is forced to take in a controlling wife, while Marge moves in with a beaten-down husband, Charlie (Ricky Gervais, R), and his perfect son. The episode is called “Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife” and it airs later this month on Sunday, March 26 (8:00-8:30 PM ET/PT) on FOX.
