Karl Pilkington On 'An Idiot Abroad,' Endangered Animals & Ricky Gervais
Karl Pilkington is the star of “An Idiot Abroad,” but to be fair, the show’s title is a bit of a stretch. To be more accurate, the BBC and Science Channel, where it debuts in America on Saturday, could call it “An Honest Guy Who Gets Sent On Outrageous Vacations By His Mischievous Friend.”
At once Ricky Gervais’ best friend and punching bag, Pilkington has become something of a cult star in England. He first appeared on Gervais’s radio show in 2001, invited into the studio when Gervais and partner Stephen Merchant couldn’t help but laugh at his very curious points of view and silly interjections. From there, he’s gone on to publish four books, frequent talk shows in the UK and now stars in the second series of “Idiot,” which features him being dispatched to go through ridiculous in far off regions like islands off New Zealand, the plains of Mongolia, dwarf villages in China and huts in Africa.
Pilkington spoke to The Huffington Post over the phone on Friday, giving his unique insight into traveling, his relationship with Gervais and nature.
You didn’t seem to enjoy the first season, so why did you come back for more torture?
Money, innit? I’ve got a lot of bills to pay… I’ve been in a program called “An Idiot Abroad,” so job offers aren’t exactly flying in — not the sort of things I’d want to do. Because they go, “Well, he must be an idiot.” But I’m not an idiot. At the end of the day, I’ve learned a lot. On Series One, I really didn’t like it… That took some getting used to, I tried to get out of it. The trip to India, I was calling up people in London and saying, ILook, I’m sick of this, I want it to end.” But I signed a contract and couldn’t get out of it. But when it was all over, I looked back on it and I looked at the photographs and things like that and I said, actually, it was a good experience to go through.
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