Ricky Gervais has revealed how being made redundant at age 37 paved the way for his comedy career. The 64-year-old comedian marked the 27th anniversary of his redundancy on Tuesday, sharing a throwback photo on Instagram and explaining how he used the severance pay to pursue stand-up.
Gervais wrote: “It’s now 27 years since I was made redundant and given a few grand. I decided that if I was careful, I could live off the money for 6 months trying to become a comedian before I had to get another job. I was 37.” He added the quip: “Worth a punt.”
Before finding fame, Gervais worked as an assistant events manager at the University of London Union and later at radio station Xfm, where he was made redundant in 1998 after Capital Radio group took over. He went on to co-write the hit series The Office with Stephen Merchant in 2001, and has since starred in Extras and After Life.
Gervais has also achieved success in stand-up, breaking records in May 2023 by earning £1.41 million from a single gig in Los Angeles as part of his Armageddon tour. He is set to star in a new animated Netflix comedy.
Reflecting on his early life, Gervais told The Guardian that he was “always creative” but lacked drive. “I never tried hard at anything. I was born smart on a very working-class estate,” he said, adding that he later realised “the work itself is the reward.”
