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Ricky Gervais talks about the joy of being an 'actor for hire'

Gervais played stuffy museum manager McPhee in the "Night at the Museum" trilogy, which was directed by Shawn Levy, and co-starred Ben Stiller and the late Robin Williams.

By Karen Butler
English comedian and actor Ricky Gervais attends the European Premiere of 'Night At The Museum: Secret Of The Tomb' at Empire Leicester Square in London on December 15, 2014. UPI/Paul Treadway
English comedian and actor Ricky Gervais attends the European Premiere of 'Night At The Museum: Secret Of The Tomb' at Empire Leicester Square in London on December 15, 2014. UPI/Paul Treadway | License Photo

NEW YORK, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- British actor and filmmaker Ricky Gervais says it was a joy to pop in and play for a bit with really funny people on the three Night at the Museum movies after writing, directing, producing and starring in his own TV shows Derek, Extras and The Office.

Gervais played stuffy museum manager McPhee in the Night trilogy, which was directed by Shawn Levy and co-starred Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan and the late Robin Williams.

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"You relinquish yourself and you have fun. I treat it like a day off, really," Gervais told UPI in New York recently.

"Shawn's lovely and it's always been fun. I did it initially as a favor to Ben, returning the favor that he was in Extras. I'm just a cameo in it," added the current Golden Globe nominee. "It was just fun for me. ... I fly over for a couple of days and have fun. It's just nice to be a part of it, even though it is a small part of it. I'm not usually an actor for hire, but when I do, I do fun things. For this one, I just have to try to be as silly as possible. Silly and I love that grown man trying to be taken seriously, but he says stupid things. It's just a lovely dynamic."

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Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb is in theaters now. Gervais' Derek Christmas special was scheduled to air in the United Kingdom Monday night.

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