He's a star of stage and screen, has three BAFTAs, two Golden Globes and an Emmy but there’s one title Stephen Merchant has set his sights on and that’s becoming a national treasure.
With 25 years of showbiz experience under his belt, the Bristol born star believes he’s a “Jack of all trades, master of none”, and that’s perhaps why he claims he’s never “picked a lane” when it comes to his career.
Starting out as a stand up comic, he’s turned his hand to writing and directing as well as acting on stage, the small screen and in Hollywood.
And his hit series, The Office, which he co-created with Ricky Gervais, earned him international recognition.
It seems it’s all part of a cheeky plan to make sure he goes down in history as being one of Britain’s showbiz legends.
“My dream is to become a national treasure because my big anxiety is that I don’t make it into the in memoriam film at the BAFTAs when I’m dead,” he admits with a twinkle in his eye.
“If I don’t make that, I’m just going to be absolutely gutted from beyond the grave.
“Everything I’m doing is to try and make sure I’m in people’s thoughts for that in memoriam section.”
So what does the 47-year-old still have on his bucket list he feels he needs to tick off to help him secure that spot?
“I feel like I’m Jack of all trades, master of none,” Stephen laughs.
“I never picked a lane, so I’d like to direct a European art house film and win an Oscar, but also direct a Marvel movie and a thriller.
“I’d also like to do more standup so people are like, 'He is one of the greatest stand ups of all time. And then I just started dabbling in more serious acting.
“I did the play The Serial Killer and I’d like to do more dramatic acting so people are like,
"My God, we thought he was just a gangly comedian. Oh my God, the depth of this. I want to do it all!”
He may not have reached the dizzy heights of national treasure status just yet, but it’s safe to say that thanks to standing six foot, seven inches tall, he’s hard to miss.
Growing up Stephen quickly shot past his school friends and admits he suffered with anxiety about being the tallest kid in school.
But now he sees it as a super power and he isn’t afraid to use it to his advantage when it comes to cracking a few jokes at his own expense on screen.
“I find that people are endlessly fascinated by my height in a way that obviously for me, it’s quite normal and a bit boring,” he says.
“I’m in LA at the moment and you always forget when you do see other real actors around. Oh yeah, most of them are very short. Maybe that’s the reason. There aren’t actually that many of us in entertainment. It’s me, Vince Vaughn and Jeff Goldblum.
“I would say six foot four is the absolute optimum height. Very masculine, tall, you feel in charge, but you can still get shoes and beds to fit.
“When you get to six foot seven, now you’re just a freak and it’s a nightmare on a plane. I was in the pub not long ago and I ordered a drink and a bloke sat at the bar went, that’s a tall order and everyone laughed.
“I get that constantly. People see it as an accomplishment, I think, so they feel like they can make jokes about it.
“I feel like it’s one of my comedy superpowers, really, being very tall, gangly and awkward, so why not play into that and magnify it for comic effect?”
And he certainly didn’t waste an opportunity in his BBC series, The Outlaws, which he co- wrote with Elgin James and also stars in.
Set in Bristol, the series follows Stephen’s alter ego Greg Dillard, a lawyer who’s caught in a compromising position with a prostitute in a car park and has to carry out community service alongside a collection of chaotic characters including Frank, played by Oscar winner Christopher Walken.
In the debut episode Greg meets the other criminals for the first time and to cut the tension he says: 'Hi I’m Greg, I’m six foot seven inches tall, and no, I’m not in proportion - if I was I would be eight foot three!”
That cheeky sense of humour and stellar cast is why the series, which aired last year, became an instant hit giving the Beeb its biggest comedy launch of 2021.
And bosses quickly gave the green light for a second series.
Stephen says part of it’s success might also be down to the fact that people can relate to the characters.
“I did get a few messages from people saying, "I’ve done a bit of community service. It’s surprising how many people have actually done it. I was in a gym once and I was working out with a trainer and he said he’d done a bit of community service. I was suddenly a bit concerned.
“Immediately went to check my wallet, but more people than you think have done it, including celebrities, which is why we included a celebrity character.”
That’s Lady Gabby - played by Poldark actress Eleanor Tomlinson - a fashion queen who’s suffered a fall from grace and is loosely based on Naomi Campbell.
“I always think it’s funny that celebs like Boy George and Paris Hilton did it, and Naomi Campbell, who’s a big inspiration for Lady Gabby,” explains Stephen.
“There’s a great article she wrote about her time doing community service in New York when she says something like, 'I spoke to one gentleman and he never been on a plane and I didn’t have the heart to tell him I’d been on three private planes that week alone'.
“I just thought it was such a lovely idea to have someone who lives in rarefied air and has never been with the hoypoloi before.”
In the second outing, which starts next month, the outlaws find themselves once again on the wrong side of the law as they attempt to launder money for a local gangster with hilarious consequences.
And it seems the gang had just as much fun filming because as he’s got older Stephen’s adopted the same naughty streak of his close pal, Ricky Gervais.
"In The Office Ricky didn’t like doing scenes multiple times because he felt spontaneity was going, he would try and ad lib or make new jokes. His great fun on set was to try and make the other actors laugh and I used to get very frustrated as someone behind the camera because I was conscious that the clock was ticking.
“But now I fall into the same trap where I’m similarly slightly bored of doing the same lines. If I can make the other people laugh, then that’s a great pleasure.
“Now I understand Ricky’s thinking and, obviously, when I’m not directing the other directors are cursing me as I was cursing him!”
That sense of mischief came in handy for the series one finale when Stephen had an original creation by street artist Banksy destroyed, much to the horror of viewers.
He’d managed to get word to the illusive artist that they’d love one of his designs to feature in the show.
And he was overjoyed when they arrived on set one morning to discover Banksy had hopped the fence during the night to paint a mural of Christopher Walken’s character Frank.
The art was then destroyed in the closing scenes, causing a storm online.
“There was quite a lot of outrage,” laughs Stephen. “People then accused us like, “How have the BBC destroyed a Banksy?”
“But I have to try and impress on people that it did only exist in order to be destroyed.
“There was never a situation where I was going to chip it out of the wall and take it off to Sotheby’s. That was never an option!”
But the stunt did spark even more speculation, owing, in a large part, to his height.
He adds: “People were like, 'Is Stephen Banksy?'
“If you want to think I’m Banksy, I’ll leave that to your imaginations.
“Some of his art is on high walls. I’m tall. I could reach high places.
“That’s up to you to speculate!”
The Outlaws returns to BBC One next month.
