Stephen Merchant

Neal Brennan interviews Stephen Merchant (‘The Office,’ ‘Extras,’ ‘An Idiot Abroad,’ ‘Life’s Too Short,’ ‘Hello, Ladies’ and more) about the things that make him feel lonely, isolated, and like something's wrong - and how he is persevering despite these blocks.  ---------------------------------------------------------- 00:00 Intro 1:33 Origin story 3:07 Ricky Gervais 7:49 Origins of the Office 10:56 Ambition in the UK vs. US 14:22 The Office First Season 17:11 Success 18:24 Christmas Specials 21:35 Sponsor: Mando 23:55 Sponsor: BetterHelp 25:52 American version of The Office 28:08 Secret sauce of his relationship with Ricky 34:42 American adaptation 39:12 Current roles and goals 48:08 Sponsor: Harrys 49:56 Tall 58:30 Comedy persona vs. who he really is 1:05:30 Ambition 1:07:00 Relationships 1:09:06 How Success Impacted Him 1:15:40 Stephen Imparts Wisdom ---------------------------------------------------------- Follow Neal Brennan: https://www.instagram.com/nealbrennan https://twitter.com/nealbrennan https://www.tiktok.com/@mrnealbrennan Watch Neal Brennan: Crazy Good on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81728557 Watch Neal Brennan: Blocks on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81036234 Theme music by Electric Guest (unreleased). Edited by Will Hagle ([email protected])  Sponsors: Control Body Odor ANYWHERE with @shop.mando and get 20% off + free shipping  with promo code [NEAL] at https://www.shopmando.com !#mandopod This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at https://www.betterhelp.com/neal and get on your way to being your best self. Get the shaving products that always deliver. Visit https://www.harrys.com/NEAL for a $5 Trial Set. Sponsor Blocks: https://public.liveread.io/media-kit/blocks ---------------------------------------------------------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices