The comedian dials up the drama in the Netflix series Derek, which he created, wrote, produced, directed, and stars in.

Ricky Gervais in “Derek”

Set in a British home for the elderly, Derek centers on the daily lives of the residents, employees, and volunteers – most notably, the simple, sweet (and to some, controversial) title character, played by Gervais. Filmed in the same mockumentary style as The Office, Derek – though it has plenty of humorous moments – marks a more dramatic turn for the comedy actor. Can he pull it off? See for yourself; all seven episodes are currently streaming on Netflix.

British humor is often characterized as difficult for American audiences to fully grasp. Derek may be more of a drama, but it still has that trademark wit; what makes it inherently relatable to all audiences?
I think people don’t know it, but they want sincerity.  I think they do, deep down, and I’ve noticed it on Twitter as well. I can do snarky jokes, I can do weird stuff and it gets lots of retweets, but if I do a sincere tweet that’s down the knife, it connects with 10 times the amount of people. I think people are quietly tired with that veil of irony that inhabits everything. You know, if I live in a student house, every poster is ironic. You want to say, put up a poster of something you actually like. What do you actually like? I like that you sometimes grow out of that. I think because people are worried that what they like is cool, they worry about saying what they like. You see that in every walk of life. You ask someone their top 10 albums and they don’t want to put Backstreet Boys and Sting, they try to think of really obscure underground music, and I think that sooner or later people relate more with honesty than anything else. And I did sort of consciously want to leave behind the veil of irony, and I think that’s what makes it slightly different to my previous work and slightly different to most comedy is that sincerity. We’re not laughing at the characters, we’re not laughing at the blind spot, we’re laughing with them. We’re rooting for them from the outset because they’re doing a good job. Whatever faults someone’s got, whatever mistakes they made, if they’re doing it to help someone, they’re forgiven. It’s all about motives. And it just seemed right.

Read my entire interview with Ricky Gervais at Maxim.com

The actor and comedian talks Klondike Bars, The Soup, and Community. He’s also open to sexual reassignment surgery. Don’t worry about it.

Joel McHale

You’ve been hosting E!’s The Soup (formerly Talk Soup) since 2004. What is it like being on both sides of the aisle, as both a celebrity gossip commentator, and a sitcom star? 
I’m the male version of Chelsea Handler. She does the same. I would liken it to a comedian that also acts. I see The Soup as kind of like a long late-night monologue that has a lot of clips in it. I took The Soup because—or rather, they offered it to me and I accepted—not just because of money, but because of the Greg Kinnear pedigree, where he transitioned from Talk Soup into acting, though at this point I’m not transitioning, I’m doing both (thank God). And when people see me on Community, I think they see that I can do both. I don’t think they’re like, “I don’t get it! He’s supposed to be telling me about the Kardashians! He’s not Jeff Winger!” But now, with the movie I’m doing now, it’s no joke. It’s not a comedy.

You’re talking about Beware The Night, with Erica Bana?
Yes, it’s heavy, dark, and violent. And really, it has some not-so-pleasant themes. Obviously Eric Bana brings serious cachet to the movie, and Edgar Ramirez is in it, and Olivia Munn.

Do you ever find that celebrities that you encounter off-screen are afraid that they’ll become targets on The Soup?
No, I mean no celebrity’s ever come up to me and said “How fucking dare you!” I mean, I would justify that by saying, well, don’t drive backwards on the highway while high and then I won’t make fun of you. I’m pretty sure Bruce Jenner’s not a fan of mine, and that’s fine. But The Soup doesn’t break stories – it’s the same thing as a late-night monologue. It’s not like “News flash!” People think that because we’re on E! that’s what happens. It’s just like with Chelsea [Handler] – she doesn’t break stories, she’s just commenting on them.

Read my entire interview with Joel McHale at Maxim.com.