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Stephen Merchant not sure if he’ll ever work with Ricky Gervais again: ‘We had our moment’-Gabriel Tate-Entertainment – Metro
He’s also hinted at season three of The Outlaws.
The star chats about the future (Picture: Getty Images / Metro.co.uk)
The Office co-creator Stephen Merchant, 47, on midlife crises, Ricky Gervais and series two of The Outlaws.
The Outlaws is back for a second series. The first was the BBC’s biggest comedy launch last year…
I haven’t read reviews since the first series of The Office but the response on social media was really lovely. People seemed to engage with the themes and embrace the mix of tones and characters, the humanity and optimism about people and the common ground we can find.
I was surprised by how positive they were but maybe I’m lucky in that I don’t get a lot of s*** thrown at me on Twitter.
Where do we find The Outlaws?
We’re not shying away from the headaches of the first series, we’re just turning the heat up because Claes Bang’s drug boss is coming to Bristol to get the money that the gang inadvertently stole from him.
They think they’ve solved their problems when they’re about to get much worse. The fun of the series is to keep turning the screw.
Has your character, Greg the lawyer, moved on?
A bit. He’s never taken charge of his life but over the course of the show he has found some backbone. He’s one of those people who has woken up at 45, going, ‘Where am I going?’
We explored those themes in The Office and it’s a constant fear I have, the road I might have taken.
Now you’re in the midlife crisis zone, do you ever take stock?
People coming up in the industry will tell me they watched The Office with their parents.
It’s weird to think of yourself as an elder statesman but I hope I can bring my experience to bear and wrangle this new talent because I’m as competent as anyone else at doing this job now.
There’s something pleasing about that, like knowing how to build a shed – it may not be the best you’ve seen but I can do it.
Stephen plays the directionless Greg in The Outlaws (Picture: BBC / Big Talk / Four Eyes)
After working alongside Ricky Gervais in The Office, Steven is unsure whether they will collaborate again (Picture: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
Do you follow British comedy?
That is a failing of mine: I don’t want to see brilliant young people being brilliant because I remember when I was young and brilliant.
I’m happy to work with them but the idea of watching something, going, ‘My God, this is good and they’re only 22…’ I’d worry about being the bitter old man.
How did you get Banksy to do bespoke art for The Outlaws?
It was very mysterious and involved going through intermediaries but he was up for it and for it being destroyed. We covered it up from the cast and crew, then on the morning of filming
I asked Christopher Walken: ‘Would you paint over this Banksy?’ He was up for it. We did it really quickly but there was anxiety because you’ve only got one chance to destroy a Banksy on screen.
Do you still pinch yourself that Walken is involved?
Of course. We wanted a slightly exotic old-time conman character, charming and mischievous but also scary and shady. Once his name was mentioned, it was a no-brainer.
I visited his house in Connecticut and we spent a couple of hours eating omelettes and chewing it over. My assumption was that actors of his vintage might phone it in but he was totally invested.
There’s a thrill to Chris finding his unique way of saying your lines.
Actor Christopher Walken is a movie legend Stephen felt very lucky to work with in The Outlaws (Picture: Chris Farina / Corbis via Getty Images)
This is the Banksy that was painted over by Christopher Walken in the final episode of The Outlaws (Picture: Big Talk / Four Eyes / PA)
Would you work with Ricky Gervais again?
I don’t know. It’s interesting because we had our moment as a unit without outside influence.
My sitcom Hello Ladies was very much born of my own experience and there wasn’t really a place for him there. So who knows?
In another 20 years, you could do your Last Of The Summer Wine.
That would be great! I was always a Last Of The Summer Wine fan.
You and your partner, Episodes star Mircea Monroe, divide your time between Los Angeles and London. What was your first experience of LA?
I came over as a roving reporter to interview porn stars for a two-part Sky show called Porn Crackers because they needed to pad out all these bloopers and outtakes from porn films.
It gave me a very odd taste for the city.
What ambitions do you have?
You never feel entirely satisfied, do you? I sometimes think of myself as jack of all trades and master of none, because I never picked a lane.
I want to make my arthouse movie and do a stand-up set that blows everyone away but mostly I don’t want to fall off the radar so much that I don’t make it into Bafta’s In Memoriam section.
More: Sixty Seconds
What’s next?
We’ve talked over some outlines for a potential series three of The Outlaws, and I’m also thinking of going back to stand-up but it’s just about finding the nerve. You’ve got to go and hang around backstage and get a bit anxious.
Well, maybe just don’t do that? Just stay in and watch Succession. Otherwise there’s a lot of admin to get through. I’ve been going around the house with Allen keys, tightening handles on drawers.
Series two of The Outlaws is on BBC1 at 9pm on Sundays and is available as a box set on BBC iPlayer.
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