Freeman's Office role 'inspired by Laurel and Hardy'

Martin Freeman has said comedians such as Laurel and Hardy had a big influence on his breakthrough role in The Office.

The actor, who hosted the gala evening at the Slapstick Festival in Bristol on Friday, said: "Part of my stuff really was just doing bad impressions of Oliver Hardy.

"That exasperated look to camera is just me doing an Oliver Hardy impersonation."

"It's a very big skill in our current culture to make people laugh with no words," he added ahead of the gala event, held at Bristol Beacon.

Freeman said he had "really loved" working on The Office, where he played Tim, adding: "I'm still very proud of that show.

"In fact, a lot of the stuff that I really loved growing up was sort of around on The Office set as well," he said.

"A lot of us bonded over things like Spinal Tap, The Simpsons, Laurel and Hardy - quite disparate sorts of comedy."

Freeman's roles since The Office, which ran from 2001 to 2003, have included Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit trilogy and Dr Watson in the BBC's Sherlock series, as well as the protagonist Lester Nygaard in the darkly comic series Fargo.

He said he enjoyed taking on serious parts but added: "I've always loved laughing and occasionally making people laugh, if you can. There is nothing like a room full of people laughing."

Slapstick Festival, which includes shows and talks featuring Stephen K Amos, Robin Ince and Rick Wakeman on Saturday, finishes on Sunday with a special show about 1970s sitcom The Goodies and then Adam Hills and Ben Elton talking about the latter's roles in shows such as Blackadder and The Young Ones.

Follow BBC Bristol on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.