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Ricky Gervais is an English comedian, author, actor, director, producer, screenwriter and former pop musician. He achieved mainstream fame with his television series The Office and the subsequent series Extras,[…]

The comedian picks New York over London but likes having the best of both worlds.

Question: What's better, London or New York?Gervais:    New York come from behind to do something to me.  You know, there’s things that give you a funny feeling.  It gives you a little feeling, a lovely feeling all over.  And New York does that to me.  Just the skyline when I’m just approaching.  New York’s remarkable.  There’s a pride about it.  London is the same.  And London has been my favorite city for, you know, 40 years and I still love it.  And I think I probably always live in London, maybe.  But I, you know, I’m lucky I have the best of both worlds.  I come between the 2.  But the fascinating about New York is… I mean, everything’s iconic about it to me.  As I say, my sort of Mecca is… is the entertainment industry in America.  So I’m in New York and I’m going… That’s where Tootsie goes into… That’s where Donkey and… You know, that’s where the Muppets… And I love that.  I love that feeling.  But it’s more… I’ve never been so welcomed as a foreigner.  And I think that’s… It’s almost what it was built on… I don’t… How does that… How was that tangible?  How can I city be that?  I mean, obviously, it’s the people.  And the other thing about New Yorkers is that… There’s thing around the people are proud to where they were born.  And it’s sort of weird, really.  You have no choice in that.  But New Yorkers are proud of where they live.  And it makes more sense ‘cause they chose it.  And I’m sort of proud of New York.  It feels right.  It feels good.  It feels… It feels like it’s a good place.  I mean, morally good.  Which is weird ‘cause it’s sort of… it’s built on finance and hard-nosed business in that but from that, has come a sort of… It’s a philanthropic feeling about New York.  I don’t know.  And so, about the buildings and the… I love it.  I love it.  I can’t put my finger on it, I don’t know why.  It feels… It feels good. 


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