My Life As A Loudmouth (Long Before Donald Trump)

A sharp-tongued Brit made his fortune playing ‘delusional, middle-aged men who say stupid things,’ but even Ricky Gervais acknowledges the Republican front runner has his bloviating characters beat as he sounds off on the political landscape (‘You get what you deserve’), PC culture (‘It’s almost like joking about a terrible thing is worse than seriously believing a terrible thing’) and why he thinks the jokes he writes are funny — even if you don’t.

- Lacey Rose

RICKY GERVAIS TRULY DOES NOT care if he’s offended you. “That’s on you,” he’ll say with his trademark cackle. Same goes for critics. Since the breakout success of The Office and its fatuous, boss-from-hell hero David Brent, Gervais’ work has been all over the critical map — adored, despised, put on a pedestal and torn to shreds. Jokes in his stand-up routine about the disabled have drawn harsh rebukes; so have the barbs he’s thrown at Jennifer Lawrence and Caitlyn Jenner during his four turns as host of the Golden Globes. (Asked if he’d return for a fifth time, he says, “If not next year, then one day, sure.”)

But the actor, writer, producer, director and comedian is fine with all that. “I’m not the person who thinks, ‘Now I’m famous. I shouldn’t say anything,’ ” says Gervais, 54.

He is more than happy, he insists, to rile up social media in exchange for the freedom to do as he pleases.

Which is exactly what he gets from Netflix, the home of Gervais’ latest film, Special Correspondents, which dropped April 29. His relationship with the streaming service began several years ago, when Gervais emailed Netflix’s chief content officer Ted Sarandos. “Hi,” the note read, “I believe Netflix is the future. I want to do my next show for you.”