1. “I am lucky to be in a profession that is not age dependent.”
2. “If you do something very successful, you will then be defined by it.”
3. “I like to do movies that provoke rather than reinforce conservative values.”
4. “The great thing is that the funny side of getting old is fuel for my comedy.”
5. “People regurgitate the same old cliches and it becomes like a photocopy of a photocopy of something that’s vaguely interesting.”
6. “Big comedy is good, I like things that are big, but good comedy has to truthful I think and has to reflect some sort of reality.”
7. “I want my work to be judged, not me.”
8. “The truth is somewhere in the middle of funny and serious.”
9. “The important thing is not to be defined by what others think of you.”
10. “If you chase something too desperately, it eludes you.”
11. “If things don’t come easy to you, you have to pull a rabit out of a hat.”
12. “I think if you try to look or something to show off as an actor, vanity can get the better of you.”
13. “There is a strong ethical dimension to the best comedy Not only does it avoid reinforcing prejudices, it actively challenges them.”
14. “Hacking into a victim of crime’s phone is a sort of poetically elegant manifestation of a modus operandi the tabloids have.”
15. “What terrifies me is that I might somehow endorse that view so people think they don’t have to read books anymore.”
16. “I don’t want to go around making everyone else agree with me. I don’t feel the need to do that.”
17. “I have never wanted to be famous, as such – fame is a by-product.”
18. “Even great people are always slightly disappointing, which is generally what makes them interesting.”
19. “I’m an entertainer. I don’t go round saying I’m a paragon of virtue, so that is clearly not in the public interest.”
20. “The best feeling in the world is performing in front of a live audience who like what you’re doing. I can understand why people become dictators just because of the thrill they get making the speeches.”
21. “I don’t think there’s anything outside what comedy can address.”
22. “The one thing that gives you faith is the fact that people can be apart physically but they can still have an emotional connection.”
23. “I’ve always been drawn to discomfort and that limbo of unease you get between comedy and tragedy.”
24. “Comedy is unique in the sense that laughter is a palpable noise that everyone makes.”
25. “I find impressions slightly annoying, really.”
26. “Death is but a moment, cowardice is a lifetime of affliction.”
27. “No one has a monopoly on wisdom, and even for people who aren’t religious, you can learn things from religious people.”
28. “The trick is always to write in pairs because if at least two people find it funny, you’ve immediately halved the odds of it not being funny.”
29. “I always think that, even when people behave badly, if you like something deep inside them, then there is a tiny bit of nobility – they wish they could be good.”
30. “When I see friends from school I think they’ve all grown old and I’ve stayed the same.”
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