Ricky Gervais says weight loss is his idea

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LONDON, April 3 (UPI) -- Ricky Gervais says he is slimming down and shaping up for his own benefit and not because of pressure to look good for Hollywood.

The 48-year-old Briton confirmed he had lost three stone (42 pounds) with the help a new gym he had installed at his home near London rather than through the kind of crash diets he has railed against in the past.

"The Hollywood pressure is that you do have to be of a certain standard or a certain type," Gervais told The Daily Telegraph. "I see everyone doing it, even good character actors. I think, 'Why are you starving yourself?' "

Gervais said he ramped up his exercise program because he wanted to be in better condition and not so he could impress movie moguls on the other side of the pond.

Gervais has a new movie called "Cemetery Junction" opening later this month.