Ricky Gervais: 'I'm proud of Ghost Town'

Ricky Gervais has landed his first lead role in the Hollywood romantic comedy Ghost Town. In it he plays a man who dies but is miraculously revived to discover he has the ability to see ghosts. The Office star tells Newsbeat all about his latest spooky affair.

Ricky Gervais sees spirits in his new movie Ghost Town

How are you feeling about this premiere?

It's not a premiere, it's a VIP screening where you invite a few distinguished members of the press and mates. I've seen it five times so I couldn't be less excited.

Do you gauge other people's reaction when you're watching it with them?

I've never really worried about what people think about it. I know what I think about it and I'm really proud of it.

I felt the same about The Office and I felt the same about Extras and I feel the same about my stand up.

What are your thoughts on how it did in America?

Great. The day it came out I read 120 reviews and they're all brilliant and I was thinking there's going to be one bad one and that's the one the British press are going to pick up on.

Obviously it's exciting for me to be working in America but there is something nice about bringing a Hollywood movie back to where I live.

I don't think Americans care much about the British market but of course I do. I'm a Brit, I live here and I want it to do well.

You've got the lead role in this movie. Did you have the biggest trailer?

I think we had the same sized trailers. Mine was big enough for me but I didn't spend a lot of time in it because I was hanging out learning stuff and directing my own film which I've just finished.

It stars me, Jennifer Garner, Jonah Hill, Rob Lowe, Christopher Guest and Tina Fey. It's the comedy cast of the decade and it's out next year. It's called This Side Of The Truth.

What was that like ordering around such an amazing cast?

I've never really worried about what people think about my films Ricky Gervais

Do you know what? It doesn't feel any different. I knew what I was doing. I'm doing the same thing I did with The Office and Extras.

I'm directing really great actors and I'm directing them to say the lines I wrote. So I know where I am.

If I had to suddenly direct The Matrix 4, I would probably be in trouble but I know where I am doing my own thing.

In terms of making it in America, is there some kind of secret?

I've never tried to make it in America. They've got The Office I made it, they've got Extras I made it, I did my stand up. It just seems to have happened.

My advice would be do your own thing, don't try and do things to further your own career, just do it so you're happy with the product.

If it makes it, it's a bonus but I'd rather be proud of something really and the rest comes. I never went to America to try and break America.

I think it happened when I was lying on my couch at home. They took what I made.

Have you bought a house over there?

In New York yeah. I'm not knocked out by LA but I absolutely love New York, it's my favourite city in the world.

Ricky Gervais and the cast of Ghost Town

This was filmed there, that was one of the draws for me. It's like a love letter to the city.

It looks so beautiful on screen and we were shooting it around Halloween and it looks great. I moved This Side Of The Truth to the east coast as well.

That way executives can't come down to the set and bother me. I've just finished writing my next film which I'm filming next summer with Stephen Merchant called The Men At The Pru which we're casting in December.

Any stars you're looking at?

We want unknowns because it's about a group of 20 somethings in 1972.

I'm taking a small role in it, I'm not the lead. We want to find the new Daniel Day Lewis.

It's nice to play with the A listers but if anything it's slightly more exciting starting from scratch like we did with The Office and Extras.

I believe there was no kissing?

There was a kiss at the end. I thought, 'Well I don't like that in a Hollywood movie when they kiss and live happily ever after'.

This is different, these are flawed characters that are stumbling through life and it's very sweet.

Why not a British film?

Of the hundred films I've been offered about half of them are British and a lot of them are rubbish but that's not because they're British, that's because half the American ones I've been offered are rubbish.

But I took those films for very specific reasons. Chris Guest is my comedy hero, he's a big influence on The Office, Spinal Tap.

I did Night At The Museum to return the favour to Ben Stiller (for appearing in Extras). I did do a British film anyway, Stardust.

What's your views on the credit crunch?

I took all my money out of the bank today, buried it and bought a gun.

How do you feel about the Presidential election?

I am so excited and I'm in New York for the elections on 4 November.