There is so much cross-pollination between the U.S. and Britain in terms of comedians. British TV comedies work well in the U.S. American stand-ups make it big in Britain.

I'm not really much of an actor, so when I started on 'The Daily Show', I was just trying to adopt the faux authority of a newsperson.

Australia turns out to be a sensational place, albeit one of the most comfortably racist places I've ever been in. They've really settled into their intolerance like an old resentful slipper.

In improv, the whole thing is that it is a relationship between the two people, as a back and forth. In standup, you don't really want to be listening to what somebody is saying; you want to project your jokes into their face. And that's really not a good instinct with a 'Daily Show' field piece, where it's supposed to be an interview.

As any Brit will understand, things get a little easier when you don't have to be number one any more. Really, the fall of an empire is not as bad as everyone thinks. It's like retirement. People fear retirement, but it can turn out be rather pleasant.

I'm British; pessimism is my wheelhouse.

I would much rather America was a more stable, wonderful place. You know, I love it.

Americans just don't understand dry wit.

There is no greater anesthetic than sport.

We in Britain stopped evolving gastronomically with the advent of the pie. Everything beyond that seemed like a brave, frightening new world. We knew the French were up to something across the Channel, but we didn't want anything to do with it.

When you've married someone who's been at war, there is nothing you can do that compares to that level of selflessness and bravery.

The moment I accept that there's an artistic, redeeming quality in puns, I have a horrible feeling I'll get hooked.

I have occasionally - if ever I do interviews that are difficult or nerve-wracking - I take my wife's dog tags and have them in my pocket because it's a very quick way to realize that what I'm doing is not that important. It's not really worth getting stressed about because it's not, you know, war.

It's a great time to be doing political satire when the world is on a knife edge.

Politicians don't really bring up religion in England.

There is an inherent hope and positive drive to New Yorkers.

I would hate to meet myself at 15.

I feel non-stop Brit shame!

In improv, the whole thing is that it is a relationship between the two people, as a back and forth. In standup, you don't really want to be listening to what somebody is saying; you want to project your jokes into their face.

People, I guess, generally come to see me do stand-up with a working knowledge of my broad sense of humor on 'The Daily Show'... I don't think anyone would mistake me as an actual anchor.

When you're dealing with serious subjects, there is a pressure to be absolutely sure that you know what you're doing.

It really helps a comedian to be an outsider.

Every empire has to get sucked down the drain. As a British person, I know how it feels.

Campaign ads are the backbone of American democracy if American democracy suffered a gigantic spinal injury.

I can't relax. I find vacations problematic.

Sometimes it's good to remember how bad food can be, so you can enjoy the concept of flavour to the fullest.

There's never any time I think I'm a real journalist, because I don't have any of the qualifications or the intentions for that.

You can write jokes at any point of the day. Jokes are not that hard to write, or they shouldn't be when it is literally your job.

I really love stand-up. I'm more than happy to do it for nothing. I've come to America to do it for nothing. It's the American Dream: Work for free.

I know I'd be an absolutely horrendous politician.

The only thing I'm nervous about is talking to guests like human beings, because all of my interviews so far have been attacking people. I have a genuine concern about sitting across from an actor whose movies I obviously haven't seen.

I've made so many people angry that they kind of blur into one unpleasant memory of people staring at you with somewhere between passive aggression and active aggression.

Having a human conversation is not something I've had any training in either as a comedian or as, you know, a human being.

If you work on a comedy show, your basic form of communication is teasing. That's generally how we speak to each other: you communicate the information between the lines of insulting sentences.

Most stand-ups, once they have done it, think of it as their default job. I'm pretty sure Jon Stewart still feels that way now. You are a stand-up first; other things come and go.

Congress never loses its capacity to disappoint you.

I realize how desperate it sounds for me, as a comedian, to ask you to laugh at my jokes.

Armando Iannucci is one of my heroes. As I was growing up, he was probably the most influential comic voice that I had.

A Southern accent is not a club in my bag.

I'm British, so obviously I repress any powerful emotions of any kind in relation to anything.

You don't really know when stand-up material is TV ready; it's just at what point you're willing to let it go and not work on it anymore. I'm not sure there is a point at which you think: 'And that is finished.'

The disconnect between America and its military is shocking.

If I wanted to take a more activist or journalistic slant in work, I should probably just go be an activist or a journalist. But I'm happy being a comedian.

Stand-up, for me, is really more of an addiction, so you have to feed the beast whenever you can.

The British press are a group of unremitting scumbags. And sometimes they use that scumbaggery to good ends, and often not.

I've always been interested in socially political, or overtly political, comedy. And I guess I've always liked to channel some kind of personal element to that.

Veterans' issues are quite close to my heart. I find it quite hard to talk about, actually.

When you're doing stand-up, you want to stand onstage and, to the extent that you can, uncomplicatedly entertain.

Southern people are bigger-hearted and kinder than I had any right to expect.

I'm always interested in audience interaction. Not so much aggressive audience interaction - I'm genuinely interested in how people see things.