Gervais likes playing awkward characters

TORONTO, Sept. 19 (UPI) -- British actor Ricky Gervais says he likes playing socially awkward characters who find themselves in uncomfortable situations because people relate to them.

Asked by reporters at the recent Toronto International Film Festival why he seems drawn to playing guys who end up in embarrassing situations, Gervais replied, "I think that everyone identifies with that, more than any other theme.

"When we're in a safe environment where we're not starving and our children aren't being shot at, what's the worst thing that happens to you? It's a bit of bad service, isn't it? Or a social faux pas. The most mortifying thing to everyone is being embarrassed socially. I think public speaking is a bigger fear than death. ... I think everyone identifies with it. I think in comedy and drama, I've decided, the most important thing is empathy and everyone knows what it's like to be embarrassed," said the star of "Ghost Town," "Extras" and the original British version of "The Office."

Gervais swears that he doesn't generally feel self-conscious in real life.

"I don't get embarrassed for me," he said. "But I get embarrassed for other people. If someone makes a bad joke, I just want to take it back. I want to walk away. I don't how to deal with it. I sweat. ... I don't feel it (for myself,) but I do for other people."