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" Comedy is unique in the sense that laughter is a palpable noise that everyone makes. "

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" Me, myself, personally, I like to keep myself private. I have never said I am a paragon of virtue, a model of morality. I simply do what I do. "

" I did not become successful in my work through embracing or engaging in celebrity culture. I never signed away my privacy in exchange for success. "

" What I don't like is dance music or hip hop or any of that sort of thing. "

" People regurgitate the same old cliches and it becomes like a photocopy of a photocopy of something that's vaguely interesting. "

" When you see a crowd of people jumping up and down at a pop concert, all gloriously in the moment, I don't think you'll ever see a comedian there. They'll all be standing at the sides, looking at how it all fits together. "

" If you are a great dramatic actor then you often don't know if people are enjoying your stuff at all because they are sitting there in silence. But with comedy it's a simple premise. If it's funny, people laugh. If it's not, they don't. "

" Going to a grammar school, you mixed with all sorts of different types and I used to listen to how they talked. When I did my imitations, I could sound like someone really rough, or I could sound like a cabinet minister. "

" When I was a student I was very, very ambitious, completely immersed in my comedy career. I never had that period of reckless hedonism that you should get out of your system in your youth. "

" I've always been drawn to discomfort and that limbo of unease you get between comedy and tragedy. Making people laugh one moment and the next making them feel really uncomfortable. "

" I always find it easier to portray myself as being unlikeable and idiotic; to actually play a character that is likeable and engages the audience is far more difficult. It's a more subtle kind of challenge. "

" As soon as I see period costume, I turn off. It's like hearing drama on Radio 4. "

" But with comedy it's a simple premise. If it's funny, people laugh. If it's not, they don't. "

" If you start to disrespect the character you're playing, or play it too much for laughs, that can work for a sketch, it will sell some gags, but it's all technique. It's like watching a juggler - you can be impressed by it, but it's not going to touch you in any way. "

" There is a strong ethical dimension to the best comedy. Not only does it avoid reinforcing prejudices, it actively challenges them. "

" Most of all I don't want to be bored. That's why I'd rather do something that has some sort of ambition, that risks failing, rather than make safer, more comfortable choices. "

" The tabloids operate in an amoral parallel universe where the bottom line is selling newspapers. "

" If you chase something too desperately, it eludes you. "

" London audiences are tricky, too. They don't laugh as much as the Northern audiences because, and I hate to say this, they are a bit cleverer normally, and they are picking up on all the little details and listening more carefully. "

" I have never wanted to be famous, as such - fame is a by-product. "

" I find impressionists slightly annoying, really. "

" When I see friends from school I think they've all grown old and I've stayed the same. "