00:09I haven't even prepared a speech or anything.
00:15I should firstly apologise for how I'm dressed.
00:19This isn't me trying to be cool or disrespectful to the establishment.
00:24This is me not having a suit that fits anymore.
00:28That's absolutely true.
00:29I tried on about five before I left England and the jackets weren't too bad, but the trousers are just depressing.
00:40Even my shirts were too tight.
00:42I looked disgusting.
00:44You know when a butcher ties up those joints of pork?
00:49It was like that.
00:52This is pretty crazy and I'm from England so I have a strange mix of nothing good ever happens.
00:59And if it does, I don't deserve it or it can't be as good as I thought it was.
01:04I'm also not very good at taking things too seriously.
01:07That's sort of my job.
01:08I'm meant to make fun of stuff, but I'm going to try and be serious for a minute.
01:14Thank you so much for this honour.
01:17It's a genuine thrill to be part of such an exclusive club.
01:21And just looking round earlier at all the other stars, absolute icons.
01:25You know, Michael Jackson, Bill Cosby, Fatty Arbuckle.
01:36Thank you to the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce for this, genuinely, it's an extraordinary honour.
01:41I am humbled to have my name etched on this legendary walk of fame.
01:48A place that celebrates the dreamers and doers of the industry.
01:52I'd love to claim that it was due to my unrivaled genius, but truth be told, it's a cocktail of luck, persistence, and a little bit of pushing against the tide.
02:04Do you know what I mean?
02:05You know, you've got to polarise, I think.
02:10You need to know that if you're doing anything of any worth, as many people hate you as love you.
02:17But the ones that hate you, they shouldn't affect you.
02:20The ones that love you, they buy your house.
02:24You know what I mean?
02:24They're the...
02:25So I'd like to thank them.
02:28And we've had a few weird years of cancel culture.
02:32People telling you what you can and can't laugh at or talk about.
02:36But we pushed back, and we won until the next time.
02:42Apparently, I'm receiving this honour for my extending, groundbreaking contribution to comedy in the televisual arts.
02:49I think that's what they said.
02:50I wasn't concentrating.
02:52I was nervous, because when they first told me I got this, the first thing I thought about was,
02:57do I have to get down on all fours and put my hands in concrete?
03:03And I just thought, I won't get back up, and that will be embarrassing.
03:08But I don't have to do that.
03:09Me standing here now is as embarrassing and awkward as it gets.
03:15There are so many people to thank.
03:17I couldn't do it justice.
03:19There are so many, and there's, you know, I forget someone or put them in the wrong order.
03:26Or worse, thank someone that doesn't deserve it.
03:29So I'm just going to say why I chose my two speakers.
03:36And today, Christopher Guest and Ted Sarandos.
03:41Well, firstly, they're obviously friends, really good friends.
03:44And Chris has been a sort of mentor to me.
03:48He's the biggest single influence on my comedy, I'd say.
03:53Spinal Tap is still my favourite comedy movie of all time.
04:00And I stole the mockumentary format and naturalism for The Office.
04:05And subsequently, for most things I've done since, he is a genius.
04:10Ted has enabled the second half of my career.
04:14I hope it's the second half and not the third quarter or something, because I'm tired.
04:18And I'm hoping this is the end.
04:22In about 2012, I got Ted's email, and I sent him this, right?
04:31I've heard Netflix is the future.
04:33I want to do my next project with you.
04:35He sent back, we'll take it.
04:39And that was Derek.
04:40And as an artist, thank you.
04:44As an artist, you want as many people to see your work as possible, but with as little interference as possible.
04:52And Netflix is a no-brainer.
04:56Afterlife was apparently the most-watched British comedy in the world, and that's due to Netflix's enormous platform and their algorithm and things I don't understand.
05:05And it's also got a dog in it, so boom, TV gold.
05:09I was going to make this speech funnier, but I couldn't be bothered.
05:13Also, I could never be as funny as Groucho Marx's comments at one of these things.
05:21When he was 80 years old, this is what he said.
05:26He said,
05:26I'm going to Iowa for an award.
05:29Then I'm appearing at Carnegie Hall.
05:32It's sold out.
05:33Then I'm sailing to France to be honoured by the French government.
