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" I realize how desperate it sounds for me, as a comedian, to ask you to laugh at my jokes. "
John Oliver
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" I'm British; pessimism is my wheelhouse. "
John Oliver
British
Pessimism
" Stand-up comedy seems like a terrifying thing. Objectively. Before anyone has done it, it seems like one of the most frightening things you could conceive, and there's just no shortcut - you just have to do it. "
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You
Like
Done
" As any Brit will understand, things get a little easier when you don't have to be number one any more. Really, the fall of an empire is not as bad as everyone thinks. It's like retirement. People fear retirement, but it can turn out be rather pleasant. "
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Fall
Retirement
You
" It's exciting to have a role in anything that's Claymation, just because you're always intrigued by what a clay wizard version of yourself would be. "
John Oliver
Always
You
Yourself
" There is so much cross-pollination between the U.S. and Britain in terms of comedians. British TV comedies work well in the U.S. American stand-ups make it big in Britain. "
John Oliver
Comedians
American
Well
" I do one accent - my own. I can make it louder or quieter. That is the sum total of my vocal range. I thought I could do an American accent until I tried it in front of an American - the expression of horror is still burnt onto my retinas. "
John Oliver
American
I Can
Horror
" Being a Mets fan is like lending someone a lot of money and you just know that you'll never get paid back. "
John Oliver
You
Someone
Back
" I find it hard in my general life to think further than the week ahead. "
John Oliver
Find
Life
Hard
" There's never any time I think I'm a real journalist, because I don't have any of the qualifications or the intentions for that. "
John Oliver
Intentions
Never
Real
" Here in America, people come out to see what they've known you to do. In England, it's like everyone comes out to tell you exactly how well they think you're doing. "
John Oliver
Think
America
Doing
" The moment I accept that there's an artistic, redeeming quality in puns, I have a horrible feeling I'll get hooked. "
John Oliver
Quality
Moment
Accept
" Veterans' issues are quite close to my heart. I find it quite hard to talk about, actually. "
John Oliver
Talk
Close
Find
" Americans just don't understand dry wit. "
John Oliver
Wit
Understand
Just
" Armando Iannucci is one of my heroes. As I was growing up, he was probably the most influential comic voice that I had. "
John Oliver
Growing Up
Voice
Heroes
" I watch one news channel until my soul can't take it anymore. It's the background of my life. "
John Oliver
Life
Take
Soul
" There are some people who watch NASCAR for the highly skilled driving - but most people watch it for the crashes. "
John Oliver
People
Driving
Some People
" I have exactly as much rhythm as you think I have. "
John Oliver
Think
Rhythm
Much
" I would hate to meet myself at 15. "
John Oliver
Would
Hate
Meet
" People in Britain see Richard Quest as a kind of an offensive cartoon character. "
John Oliver
Character
Kind
See
" The only thing I'm nervous about is talking to guests like human beings, because all of my interviews so far have been attacking people. I have a genuine concern about sitting across from an actor whose movies I obviously haven't seen. "
John Oliver
Sitting
Talking
Movies
" I did sketch comedy, but I never did improv. So I've just tried to learn as I go. "
John Oliver
Go
Just
Sketch
" I really love stand-up. I'm more than happy to do it for nothing. I've come to America to do it for nothing. It's the American Dream: Work for free. "
John Oliver
Free
American Dream
Love
" We in Britain stopped evolving gastronomically with the advent of the pie. Everything beyond that seemed like a brave, frightening new world. We knew the French were up to something across the Channel, but we didn't want anything to do with it. "
John Oliver
Everything
New
World
" People are friendlier in New York than London. "
John Oliver
New York
Than
People
" It really helps a comedian to be an outsider. "
John Oliver
Helps
Outsider
Comedian
" I've made so many people angry that they kind of blur into one unpleasant memory of people staring at you with somewhere between passive aggression and active aggression. "
John Oliver
Kind
Angry
You
" Stand-up, for me, is really more of an addiction, so you have to feed the beast whenever you can. "
John Oliver
Beast
You
More
" Attending a Sarah Palin rally was simultaneously one of the strangest and most chilling events of my life. "
John Oliver
Life
Most
My Life
" I feel non-stop Brit shame! "
John Oliver
I Feel
Non-Stop
Feel
" You don't really know when stand-up material is TV ready; it's just at what point you're willing to let it go and not work on it anymore. I'm not sure there is a point at which you think: 'And that is finished.' "
John Oliver
Go
Know
Ready