Ricky Gervais talks about the joy of being an ‘actor for hire’

NEW YORK, Dec. 22 (UPI) — British actor and filmmaker Ricky Gervais says it was a joy to pop in and play for a bit with really funny people on the three {i:Night at the Museum} movies after writing, directing, producing and starring in his own TV shows {i:Derek}, {i:Extras} and {i:The Office}.

Gervais played stuffy museum manager McPhee in the {i:Night} trilogy, which was directed by Shawn Levy and co-starred Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan and the late Robin Williams.

“You relinquish yourself and you have fun. I treat it like a day off, really,” Gervais told UPI in New York recently.

“Shawn’s lovely and it’s always been fun. I did it initially as a favor to Ben, returning the favor that he was in {i:Extras}. I’m just a cameo in it,” added the current Golden Globe nominee. “It was just fun for me. … I fly over for a couple of days and have fun. It’s just nice to be a part of it, even though it is a small part of it. I’m not usually an actor for hire, but when I do, I do fun things. For this one, I just have to try to be as silly as possible. Silly and I love that grown man trying to be taken seriously, but he says stupid things. It’s just a lovely dynamic.”

{i:Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb} is in theaters now. Gervais’ {i:Derek} Christmas special was scheduled to air in the United Kingdom Monday night.

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.