Top 55 Richard Herring Quotes

Comedy thrives on immediacy and I got fed up waiting months to find out if a radio sketch show was being commissioned.

As a comedian you have to remind yourself that it happens; every now and again you can just have a bad gig where things go beyond your control.

There is a rhythm to a good joke, a certain pacing.

I’m investigating where our boundaries lie by sometimes overstepping those boundaries.

I had always been troubled by the liberal paradox of wanting everyone to be treated the same, while at the same time respecting their cultural differences.

Rick And Morty’ is the most consistently brilliant, densely plotted and enjoyable television show I have ever seen. It’s childish, yet super-clever, without ever being clever-clever.

I certainly don’t get any pleasure from watching someone else dancing. That’s weird. Why would anyone pay money to watch an adult dance? Just moving around in a rhythmical fashion. It’s the worst medium for artistic expression.

The gay community has a strength and identity that has been lost by dispossessed, guilt-ridden, straight men.

I love the vibe of Italy, drinking coffee and wine, and eating pasta and pizza there.

It’s easy to pass judgement on someone else’s racism, but what about your own?

When I was a kid I mainly listened to comedy albums.

If you are a stand-up you can hone your material over successive performances, based on the audience response. Changing a single word or altering the pace or emphasis can make a previously failed witticism work.

I’ve always liked science fiction as a way of commenting on ourselves and it’s wrong that it is seen as less valid than other art forms.

I love it when people try to manufacture an injustice out of a position of clear superiority.

It is rare for a joke to emerge fully formed and it is worth grafting away until it is absolutely right. Though perversely too much work, too much thought, can destroy a gag completely.

For me genius is ‘1% inspiration and 99% procrastination.’

As I remember it, we pitched ‘Fist of Fun’ as a sort of adult version of the kids’ show ‘Why Don’t You?’ We wanted to overload it with information, really pile it on.

Sometimes with relationships where you work in the same job, it becomes all about the job.

When everyone was listening to pop music I was listening to Monty Python records.

You can joke about anything. It just depends on your angle and the way you go about it.

I like running.

You realise that, with ‘Rick and Morty,’ each episode is so deep and dense it is extraordinary. It slightly annoys me that it’s so good; it’s almost unbeatable as a TV show.

You have to be quite aware that if you are really looking for something funny it is probably not going to happen.

I’d loved ‘Monty Python’ and ‘The Young Ones,’ so making something like that for our own generation would have been amazing.

It’s a weird thing, having a double act – I think Stew puts more energy into his solo stuff than I do, and tries to establish his independence more.

Tim Minchin and Daniel Kitson are the two people that when I see them, I think I could never be that funny or that clever.

I am reasonably nice-looking and have quite an expressive face, which is good for comedy.

I would like to be strapped to a giant rocket and fired into the heart of the sun.

There are a lot of great disabled comedians.

If something’s true you should be able discuss it or ask whether it’s true. It helps me as a comedian. But it doesn’t necessarily help my personal life.

Coming from a comprehensive school in Somerset, entertainment didn’t seem like something that was open to you.

My Less Than Secret Life’ by Jonathan Ames was a revelation, as shocking as it is funny.

Sometimes my jokes are meant to be tasteless.

What I question about the afterlife is how many people just accept it and don’t question it, because I think living for an eternity would be much worse than dying.

I love pulling faces at little kids on the London tube to see if I can make them laugh, and I usually do.

My dad is a retired headmaster and my mum is an ex-teacher. I was taught by both of them.

My granddad was very funny and I really loved making people laugh. I used to do puppet shows and I really liked seeing people’s reactions.

I really like ‘Community.’ I like the way they’re allowed to have a week when they go crazy and use stop-frame animation or a different pastiche. There’s an episode with a fake clip show.

I watched the whole of ‘How I Met Your Mother.’ I wanted to see how they could stretch it out for so long and if it was any good, but it just seems like a sitcom from the 90s.

I had a very happy upbringing; I love funny people and love to make them laugh.

I was religious probably until I was about eight but I always questioned stuff very early on.

I went to a homoeopath once, but she just told me that I was allergic to everything that I liked.

In my 20s and 30s, I vociferously wanted to be single. I rarely got into long-term relationships and enjoyed going out with different people.

I did WeightWatchers for a while with my then girlfriend. It worked a bit, but it’s all about losing weight rather than fat, which isn’t always helpful.

I’ve long been obsessed with the fantastical and sometimes unbelievable story of the life and death of Rasputin.

I’ve got the whole of ‘Seinfeld’ on DVD and I keep on watching the first four series and then stopping.

I was just obsessed with Rik Mayall and I copied being him at school for years.

I have never been a massive fan of music.

There aren’t many opportunities to be a comedian on TV anymore, it’s a lot of panel shows. You don’t get much stand-up.

The funniest book I’ve ever had read to me is ‘I, Partridge.’ It’s a brilliantly written book, but it’s the greatest audiobook there has ever been.

I often go for ages without getting my hair cut, so every now and then I’ll look like a tramp and have to go to a hairdresser.

I love ruins and museums but, if I’ve been working hard, I enjoy a beach holiday.

I was into Simon & Garfunkel before my friends got into punk and laughed at me for liking Paul Simon.

Laughter is this amazing and healing thing.

I’ve said on one of my shows that I’d like to marry the character Amy Pond, not the actress who plays her.