Ricky Gervais says he cries tears of joy every day
The actor and writer is back with a new series of his dark comedy After Life.
Ricky Gervais has claimed he cries tears of joy every day.
The actor and writer is back with a second series of his dark Netflix comedy After Life, which tells the story of a widower who contemplates suicide following the death of his wife.
The series has been acclaimed for its portrayal of grief and loss, with many viewers saying it reduced them to tears.
Gervais, known for his often cynical approach to comedy, said he weeps daily – but not through sadness.
“It’s probably once a day but not the sort of crying you think,” he said. “I think I cried yesterday at deaf babies hearing for the first time.
“The day before that was a dog who was rescued and he was a wreck and now he’s the happiest dog in the world. So I cry at least once a day at joy.
“I can’t remember the last time I broke down because life was too tough or something terrible happened. It would have been the death of a family member or friend. So my tears are always ‘isn’t humanity wonderful sometimes?'”
In After Life, Gervais plays Tony Johnson, a journalist plunged into almost unbearable grief following the death of his wife Lisa.
His friends and colleagues at the small-town newspaper where he works rally around to help him, often with humorous results.
Gervais is best known for his work on hugely successful sitcom The Office, as well as for creating Extras.
Both of those shows ran for two series but Gervais said he would be willing to do a third instalment of After Life – if there is enough of an appetite for one.
“For the first time ever ever, I would do a third series of this,” he said. “I love the characters too much, I love my character, I love the world, I love the town, I love the dog.
“But, I wouldn’t do one unless it was a really loud encore. So this has got to go down a storm next week and Netflix have got to call me and say ‘you’ve got to do a third series because this has gone down a storm’. If that happens I definitely would.”
However, Gervais admitted having “reservations” over a third series, saying it gets “harder and harder” as each season goes on.
After Life series two is available on Netflix from Friday.
