Ricky Gervais could have been the first comedian to do stand-up in space, but he turned down the chance because he’s a scaredy-cat. At least, that’s what he said.
Gervais was on Jimmy Fallon’s show late last week to promote the Netflix comedy After Life when he made the revelation. It happened during the Wheel of Opinions segment, which you can see in full below, with Fallon feeding him random topics on which he could express an opinion.
Last on that list was Space Exploration, which is when Gervais told the anecdote about being offered a gig to entertain space tourists on “one of those 15-minute flights.” He didn’t go into specifics, and, truth be told, there’s a good chance he was exaggerating some details, but assuming he was truthful, he passed on the chance to become the first comedian to perform in space.
“It was like a group of billionaires and they offered me the chance to be the first comedian to do a stand-up show in space,” he reveals. “I went, ‘No. I’m not going to risk it.’ These people have paid $300,000 to go into space and have a look around. And then they go, ‘Here’s Ricky Gervais doing ten minutes.’ They could watch me on YouTube. And now they’ve blown three hundred thousand? Look out the window!”
The main reason for turning down the offer, according to the comedian, is the fact that he’s too scared for it. He called the offer “mad” and said he was in the habit of looking twice when he crossed the street. Going to space was clearly never an option he even considered.
The other reason for which he turned down what would have been a historic chance was his belief that the idea of space tourism is essentially stupid.
“There is nothing you can see up there that you cannot see from here,” he explains. “It’s like me getting out of my chair and walking over there and saying I can see the chair from there – but you were in the chair.”
Where Gervais doesn’t see the point of space tourism, Tom Cruise plans to make the most of it and, in the process, become the first actor to shoot a movie on the ISS. He’s heading out on board the Axion Mission in October 2021, with director Doug Liman and, presumably, a female co-star. That is if the Russians don’t get ahead.
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News