Richard Ayoade
Richard Ayoade
Richard Ellef Ayoadeis an English actor, comedian, writer, director and television presenter. He is best known as Maurice Moss in The IT Crowd – for which he won the 2014 BAFTA for Best Male Comedy Performance – and as Dean Learner in Garth Marenghi's Darkplace. He has directed films including Submarine, The Double, starring Jesse Eisenberg, and various music videos for bands including Arctic Monkeys, Vampire Weekend, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Kasabian...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionComedian
Date of Birth12 June 1977
CityLondon, England
No. I really don't think I'm cool. I'm not.
As in, I think Badlands is one of the funniest films of all time: Every day I wish I was carried off to a magical land, but that never happened is one of the funniest lines in any film.
I think there's nothing worse than telling actors what to do in front of everyone, because then on the next take, everyone's waiting to see if you do that ... Everyone watches. It's just the worst thing.
I think people have the capacity to be many different things and many seemingly contradictory behaviors.
I try to write every day. Sometimes the things come out well, and sometimes they don't. When they come out well you think, Wow, I must be really great; and when they come out poorly, you think you must be terrible, but the truth is that's how any process works.
I've only ever really been in shows of friends, so I don't know exactly what happened. I think I'm incredibly cheap to hire. That can buy some traction. I'm as cheap as it's possible for an actor to be legally.
Louis Malle is maybe one of my favorite directors, but I love Tarantino.
I find performing very difficult. It's difficult to be a good actor. I get very nervous, even though it sounds disingenuous, because you could legitimately go, 'Well, why do it?'
As in, I think 'Badlands' is one of the funniest films of all time: 'Every day I wish I was carried off to a magical land, but that never happened' is one of the funniest lines in any film.
I was directing before I started doing 'The IT Crowd.' It wasn't something that led on after acting I guess. I was sort of doing this stuff before acting.
I suppose I sort of like effects that have some organic elements rather than ones that are entirely generated by a computer. Just because, no matter how complex the algorithm is, it's still an algorithm.
I actually prefer night shoots to days. I prefer being up. It's easier for me. I'm more of a night person.
My parents didn't go to university and weren't brought up in England. They hadn't heard of any other universities other than 'Cambridge' or 'Oxford.'
I don't really know what my personality is anyway. I don't really have one.