Did You Know Ricky Gervais Is in GTA 4? Here’s Where You Can Find Him
GTA 4 was released sixteen years ago, in 2008, but to date, a lot of people are unaware about a secret comedy show and a comedian.
- GTA 4 is one of the record-breaking GTA games ever released.
- Players have been grinding the game for more than a decade, but they still probably have missed an easter egg.
- A popular standup comedian, Ricky Gervais, is in the game that a lot of players probably haven't even noticed.
Ricky Gervais and Grand Theft Auto, the combination doesn’t feel familiar, right? To everyone’s surprise that has actually happened as Rockstar has collaborated with this widely renowned standup comedian in GTA 4. But if you have missed it, here’s what you know about him and his GTA 4 appearance.
Celebrity collaborations are pretty common in games. Developers generally bring Hollywood actors, singers, and comedians either as voice actors or as cameo characters to make the game interesting for players. A similar cameo was done by Ricky Gervais and most interestingly it was in GTA 4 that a lot of players missed because they probably never thought of finding him there.
Before, diving into this comedian’s in-game appearance, let’s start with his identity and career to know why his appearance was an unexpected addition to Grand Theft Auto.
Who Is Ricky Gervais: Identity and Popularity
If you are a fan of standup comedy, it is hard that you haven’t ever come across the name Ricky Gervais. This 63-year-old American actor is mostly renowned for his comedy. Though this comedian initially started his career as a musician, soon he shifted his career toward comedy. When he was at the beginning of his career, he registered himself with a band named Seona Dancing.
This band did find some success in the Philippines, especially when one of its songs, More to Lose, went viral. However, this pop career didn’t last long. Not long after that, between 1998 and 2000, he appeared in a satirical late-night British comedy series, The 11 O’Clock Show.
While these have paved the way for his comedy to flourish, he earned his fame for the 2005 sitcom The Office, which was a BBC television mock documentary series. In the meantime, he has already initiated his standup comedy career, and in his lifetime (up to 2024), he has performed five multi-national stand-up comedy tours.
Notably, in 2010, this comedian was included in the Time 100 list of the World’s Most Influential People. In between, Rockstar has collaborated with this massively popular comedian for one GTA game.
Ricky Gervais and GTA 4: What Was the Role?
It’s been sixteen years since the sixth major installment of the GTA series was released. Throughout these years, millions of gamers have dived into the game and ground it thoroughly, but interestingly, one thing they have missed every time they played the game, until recently, when it came to light.
Players are shocked to find that this popular comedian appeared as himself in Rockstar’s 2008 record-breaking installment and delivered a complete stand-up comedy performance. The sequence wasn’t too much trouble to find but wasn’t part of any mission; therefore, most players have missed it.
If you haven’t yet figured out where to look, just take a break from the main story and missions. Now, visit the Liberty City Comedy Club’s “Split Sides.” This is where you will watch an entire stand-up performance by Gervais.
At that stage, players will notice another comedian, and that’s Katt Williams, and both of them are ready to give GTA fans a nice break from the intense quests and chases.
The Comedian Once Opened up About His GTA Experience
Cameos aren’t very surprising. Similarly, Gervais’ appearance in GTA 4 is also not very shocking, except for the part that many players have missed this cameo initially. However, Grand Theft Auto isn’t a lighthearted series; instead, it is a grim gaming series, full of criminal activities and heists. Therefore, the appearance of two renowned stand-up comedians attracted the interest of gamers from the very beginning.
The very year when GTA 4 was released, the 63-year-old American actor appeared for some exclusive interviews and shared his experiences about working with Rockstar, especially talking about “fat people” in a series like GTA.
The first thing that he opened up about is the reason behind his selecting overweight people as the subject of the in-game standup comedy. He expressed that it is a universal theme accepted in every corner of the earth. He clearly stated, “It had to be sort of, like, quite universal, because it’s played all around the world. So, no parochial cultural references.”
In fact, the in-game stand-up show has another subject that Gervais talked about, and that’s cancer and AIDS. Indeed, these two are a little weird as a subject of stand-up comedy, but again, the reason behind choosing these two topics is probably the same: these are universally acclaimed topics that are equally relevant to people from every corner of the earth.
The presentation is so well done that even talking about a disease like cancer on a standup comedy show won’t really offend you.
Don’t worry, if you have missed his performance on your first GTA 4 playthrough, launch the game for the second time and make your way to Liberty City Comedy Club to give it a watch.
