Ricky Gervais : Empath, Narcissist or Something Else? Part 2

Ricky Gervais, Empath, Narcissist, or Something Else, Part 2. Hello, I'm HG Tudor. We commence our examination of Ricky Gervais. Ricky Dean Gervais was born on the 25th of June, 1961, in Reading, Berkshire, England. And he's a renowned comedian, actor, writer, and filmmaker, whose early life laid the foundation for his distinctive comedic style and worldview. Now, the fact that he is an actor and has undertaken stand-up comedy means that he is comfortable with making an appearance, appearing before an audience. He has hosted the Golden Globes on numerous occasions and has done so in a very memorable way, often rather provocatively. The fact that he is able to get on the stage and appear in front of a camera, to the extent that he does, clearly supports the presence of the narcissistic traits of showmanship and potentially vanity. For without them, he wouldn't be able to do that. This doesn't make him a narcissist, but it demonstrates that those particular narcissistic traits are likely to be found in Gervais, and in strong quantities. He was born at Battle Hospital in Reading, and is the youngest of four children, to Laurence Raymond Gerry Gervais and Eva Sophia May House. His father, Laurence, was born in 1919 in Ontario, Canada, to a family of French-Canadian and Iroquois descent. He grew up on a farm in Payne Court, near Chatham, Ontario, before emigrating to the United Kingdom during World War II. In England, Laurence worked as a labourer and hod carrier, physically demanding jobs that supported his family. His mother, Eva, born in 1925, was English and worked as a homemaker. The couple met during a blackout in wartime England, settled in Whitley, a suburb of Reading, and had four children. Ricky was born eleven years after his nearest sibling, a fact that led to his mother candidly telling him at age eleven that he was a mistake. Now, pausing there, is that simple honesty on her part, or might this be viewed as a rather unnecessary thing to say to a child, and potentially might be redolent of the absence of emotional empathy? This revelation, while potentially impactful, apparently didn't overshadow the warmth and humour that characterise Gervais' family life. Gervais has often spoken about his appreciation for his family's extreme sense of humour, which included laughing, even during difficult moments, such as his mother's funeral. Gervais grew up in Whitley, Reading, on a council estate, a working-class neighbourhood that reflected the family's modest financial circumstances. No gilded lifestyle for this individual. Despite the lack of wealth, Gervais has described his childhood as happy, emphasising the love and humour that permeated his home. The family's sense of humour was a defining feature of his upbringing, with each member contributing their unique brand of wit. His mother, Eva, was known for her natural comedic timing and honesty, often making people laugh without knowing it. His father, Laurence, was quieter, but equally funny, using dry sarcasm and subtle gestures, like rolling his eyes and leaving the room to elicit laughter. Gervais was the youngest of four siblings, with a significant age gap that made him feel like an accident. The age difference meant that by the time Ricky was born, his siblings were already teenagers or young adults, influencing his childhood dynamics. Despite this, he maintained close relationships with them, particularly with his brother Bob, who played a significant role in shaping his philosophical outlook. So far, a modest upbringing doesn't appear to be one that has particular hardships, and the suggestion is that it was a supportive and warm environment, which doesn't provide us with evidence of a lack of control that is invariably found for the purposes of the creation of a narcissist. Might this, however, be a revision of history that is advanced by a clever narcissist wanting to portray themselves as coming from humble backgrounds to demonstrate just how brilliant they are by becoming wealthy, successful and famous? Ricky attended Whitley Park Infants and Junior Schools for his early education, where he began to develop his love for learning. His secondary education was at Ashmead Comprehensive School, where he continued to nurture his intellectual interests. From a younger age, he showed a fascination with science, receiving a microscope set at around 10 or 11 years of age, and later trading one of his brother-in-law's records for chemicals at age 13. After completing secondary school, Ricky took a gap year, working as a gardener at the University of Reading. This experience gave him a taste of university life and may well have influenced his decision to pursue higher education. In 1980, he enrolled at University College London, with the initial intention of studying biology. However, finding the workload too heavy, he switched to philosophy after just two weeks. Might this just be a natural response, or might this show a lack of accountability for a failure to see the course through? The decision was practical, philosophy had a lighter workload, but it also aligned with his natural inclination towards questioning and critical thinking. He graduated from UCL in 1983, with a lower second class honours degree in philosophy. This academic foundation provided him with the tools to analyse and critique societal norms, a skill which would later become central to his comedic style. Gervais' relationship with his mother, Eva, has been described as particularly close. Known for her wit and honesty, her comedic style has left a lasting impression on Gervais, something he has repeatedly mentioned. He has credited her with influencing his own approach to humour, describing her as someone who could be funny without trying. Her bluntness, such as when she told him he was a mistake, was delivered with a matter-of-factness that Ricky later mirrored in his own comedy. Her death in 2000 at age 74 from lung cancer was a profound loss for the family. His father, Lawrence, was a quieter presence but equally influential. Described as sarcastic and understated, his humour was subtle. Gervais has shared anecdotes about his father's ability to make people laugh with minimal effort, although through his reactions rather than words. He passed away in 2002, leaving behind a legacy of hard work and quiet strength that Gervais has admired. There doesn't appear to be anything particularly telling in the relationship that he had with his parents that would support either a lack of control of the environment or the presence of either of them being a narcissist. Of course, this doesn't preclude the possibility that narcissism could come from someone further back in the lineage and could be created by a particular event occurring which contributes to a lack of control of the environment outside of the family, so we must keep that in mind. But so far, the examination of the familial dynamic between Gervais and his parents is one that appears unremarkable and indeed appears to be one whereby the biggest influence they had on him was in relation to the creation of his comedic abilities. What about the relationship with siblings? There is, or was, an older brother, Larry, who died in 2019. He was a schoolteacher. Sister Marsha, who's a teacher for special needs children, and Bob, who we've mentioned earlier, a brother who's a painter and decorator. Gervais has described Bob as the life and soul of the family, someone who could light up a room with his antics. It was Bob who, when Gervais was about eight years old, encouraged him to question the existence of God, sparking a curiosity that led Gervais to atheism for over 40 years. This early philosophical inquiry was a defining moment, setting the stage for Ricky Gervais' later studies in philosophy and his penchant for challenging societal norms through the application of his comedy. Larry and Marsha, being older, were in effect more like second parents to Ricky Gervais. It's thought that Larry, as a schoolteacher, instilled a respect for education and intellectual curiosity with Ricky Gervais and the fact that his sister's work with special needs children may well have been responsible for potential emotional empathy being encouraged and developed with Gervais. Gervais has stated that there's been a number of influences in his childhood. The household was a breeding ground for comedy, and each family member contributed to a culture of laughing and teasing, which Gervais absorbed and later channeled into his professional career. Is this just good-natured banter? Or, perhaps, was this an environment where one had to become quick-witted in order to survive as a consequence of repeated onslaught of being teased? And perhaps that might suggest the formation of some kind of lack-of-control environment. Could it also be that, subjected to older siblings who were not really peers, that Gervais found himself isolated? That he didn't find that he had a natural mate in the sense of brother or sister that he was particularly close to? That in effect, if it was the case that his siblings were more likely to be ones that acted like parents towards him, might it be said that in actual fact that Gervais found himself as the only child of this family, in effect, and this afforded him a special status? And with that, that possibly might have led to a cultivation of an entitled approach. It's certainly the case that there's no evidence to demonstrate that there has been fractious relationships between Gervais and his parents, nor his siblings, which either points to stable and healthy relationships, or an individual that has managed to keep such matters private, and therefore were not able to glean much information from that other than to denote the absence of tension and friction. We're going to turn to more relationships in part three, to make an assessment as to what it is that is the driving force behind Ricky Gervais. Join me there.