John Cleese says the key to comic success is sadism.
The Fawlty Towers star reckons a comedian can't have any sympathy - even with himself.
He adds that the British have a particular knack of being sadistic.
"The wonderful British are especially skilled in the art of being unsympathetic and masters in suppressing their emotions," Cleese told German magazine Cinema.
"This is the source of the so-called British humour, that the whole world envies us for."