Ricky Gervais has suggested that Tom Hanks doesn't find his jokes funny because he feels "above" them.
The actor and comedian reflected upon a clip showing the Oscar-winning star looking fed up with his humour at the Golden Globes while appearing on a new podcast.
Gervais has presented the ceremony several times, and is known for his no holds barred opening monologues targeting the Hollywood stars sat in front of him.
He told Stuff of Legends host Christian O'Connell: “The big meme was Tom Hanks going: ‘Why is he saying that?’ “And people are going, ‘Oh, look, he’s on his high horse.’ But when Leonardo DiCaprio laughed, people loved him for it.
"I think people who laugh at a joke, they get a round of applause because people go, ‘Oh that’s good, they can take it,’ we don’t want people to be above it."
He continued: "We even let people be privileged as long as they say, ‘I know I’m privileged but I’m nothing really,’ we don’t like people to go ‘Oh I deserve it, how dare you talk to me like that.’
Hanks first hinted that he was not a fan of Gervais' comedy at the 2011 ceremony following a joke about Hanks and his Toy Story co-star Tim Allen.
“What can I say about our next two presenters?” he asked. “The first is an actor, producer and director whose movies have grossed over $3.5bn at the box office. He’s won two Academy Awards and three Golden Globes for his powerful and varied performances, starring in such films as Philadelphia, Forrest Gump, Cast Away, Apollo 13 and Saving Private Ryan. The other... is Tim Allen.”
After arriving on stage, Hanks – in an unscripted moment – replied: "We remember when Ricky Gervais was a slightly chubby but very kind comedian – neither of which he is now."
Gervais later said he “regrets” the joke as he doesn't think the pair understood that he would have cracked it regardless of who Hanks was stood beside.
“I could say a lot worse things about them, but I don’t want it to get really nasty and for no reason," he told O'Connell.
In 2020, Hanks could be seen looking unimpressed and fed up with Gervais' jokes during his opening monologue despite everyone else seemingly having a good time.
