Stephen Merchant interview: ‘Ricky Gervais is braver than I am... he’s quite happy to give the finger to the world’

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Later, he stumbles into a chandelier when he’s trying to be smooth, while one character calls him a “goggle-eyed plank”, a colourful put-down that joins others directed at Merchant characters of yore. It’s interesting.” open image in gallery Ricky Gervais, Ash Atalla, Martin Freeman, Lucy Davis and Merchant at the Golden Globes in 2004 Merchant seems innately curious. “My stuff with Ricky and also stuff I’ve done separately, we’ve explored, I think, some quite interesting territory.” He doesn’t know why comedy is seen as somehow less-than, but he finds it intriguing to ponder. “However much I read and educate myself about subjects, I’m never going to quite have the insight that people have who’ve lived them, and that’s interesting to me.” open image in gallery Merchant as the serial killer Stephen Port in ‘Four Lives’ Between The Outlaws and his chilling turn earlier this year as serial killer Stephen Port in the BBC docudrama Four Lives, is he striving for more seriousness in his work?