# Karl Pilkington, yea or nay?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/karl-pilkington-yea-or-nay/371013>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [August 31, 2006, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/karl-pilkington-yea-or-nay/371013 "2006-08-31T23:51:44Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Operation\_Ripper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/34f0e0/32.png) [@Operation\_Ripper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Operation_Ripper)\
**Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/karl-pilkington-yea-or-nay/371013/1 "2006-08-31T23:51:44Z")

</div>

Actor, punter, does [KP](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Pilkington) he even exist, is it an act, what’s the straight dope on our generation’s Will Rogers?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\
**Post date:** [September 1, 2006, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/karl-pilkington-yea-or-nay/371013/2 "2006-09-01T06:07:28Z")

</div>

I don’t know how much exposure you’ve had to him, but I’ve listened to all of the XFM shows with Karl, Ricky Gervais, and Steven Merchant. Like three years’ worth. They entertained me at work for many months. Anyway, I feel fairly sure that at heart, you’re hearing the real Karl. I think at times, especially as you get more recent, he deliberately plays himself up a bit, but I don’t think it’s an act or a puton.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Scoundrel\_Swanswater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@Scoundrel\_Swanswater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scoundrel_Swanswater)\
**Post date:** [September 1, 2006, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/karl-pilkington-yea-or-nay/371013/3 "2006-09-01T14:40:16Z")

</div>

On the DVD of Gervais live performance of “animals” there is a short interview between Ricky Gervais and Karl Pilkington, if I am not mistaken.  
The guy is absolutely for real.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\
**Post date:** [September 1, 2006, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/karl-pilkington-yea-or-nay/371013/4 "2006-09-01T16:21:09Z")

</div>

F’real, I’d say. In one of the podcasts Rick reads a news item on Karl that says something like “Pilkington plays the village idot…” and he just goes off about how funny it is that they think it’s in any way an act.

That being said, he is truly one of the funniest men in the world. His whole complaint about “sending” goats to Africa is funnier than 99 percent of the comedies, TV and film, that came out last year.