Richard Osman has become a household name in the UK, but his success across the pond has meant he can move around without being stopped by fans of his work
Richard Osman has revealed one nation that proves a “joy to visit” for a rather surprising reason. The 54-year-old has established himself as a familiar face across Britain through his roles on television programmes including Pointless and Richard Osman’s House of Games.
However, it’s his literary career that has catapulted Richard to global stardom. His The Thursday Murder Club book series has proved a smash hit on either side of the pond, earning recognition as a New York Times bestseller.
The Netflix adaptation, featuring stars like Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan, is due to launch later this month, reports the Express. Yet Richard reveals his authorial triumph in America has allowed him to wander about completely unrecognised.
During his The Rest is Entertainment podcast, he describes how this makes the US a “joy” to explore. He shared: “Most people don’t pay much attention to what authors look like. If I’m in America, it’s just a joy because I don’t get stopped on the street, all that sort of stuff.
“If you’re stopped at customs and they say you’re an author and who you are, people have heard of you, and have read the books, so it’s like you’re John Grisham but for America. You can have a whole holiday where you do exactly what you want, where you want.”
Richard elaborated that while avid readers of authors like John Grisham might recognise him from book jackets, the general public likely wouldn’t.
The telly host delved into his experiences in the US after a listener queried about the “best job” in showbiz, suggesting band members with famous frontmen, such as Coldplay, can “live out their best rock and roll life” yet can “probably pop to Tesco without getting hassled”.
However, Richard pointed out that some folks enter the entertainment industry “to be famous”. He added: “I think if you want the joy of being in a creative industry and you want absolutely loads of money and huge amounts of adrenaline but you want to walk down the street, then being in Coldplay is quite hard to beat as a job in showbusiness.”
Richard further explained that musicians have to do “loads of promo”. His brother, Suede bassist Mat Osman, informed Richard that a band like Coldplay would be expected to sign around 150,000 albums for promotional material.
The TV personality concluded that being a travel blogger would be among the top jobs for those seeking anonymity whilst working in the entertainment industry.
He added: “You get to spend your entire life on holiday, wherever you go on holiday people absolutely love you, but outside your sphere, no one would necessarily recognise you, that would be a nice entertainment job.”
