Stephen Merchant reveals he actually doesn’t need glasses

Stephen Merchant has revealed that he is continuing to wear glasses even though he doesn’t need them.

The 49-year-old actor is well known for being a co-creator of the smash comedy The Office and stands out among other celebrities thanks to his huge height and trademark glasses.

But now the 6ft 7inch star has explained that he had laser surgery to correct his vision – but is choosing to still wear glasses.

Speaking on stage at a comedy show, the star explained, as per The Sun, “I had eye surgery. You’re probably wondering why I’m still wearing glasses. It did go well, but I am wearing these for two reasons.

“One, I was genuinely worried that if I wasn’t wearing the glasses, you wouldn’t know who I was. And also, if you haven’t seen me without glasses, it’s quite something to just throw at people.”

He then drew laughs as he added, “My father said I look like what you’d draw if you were playing Pictionary and the card said, ‘Giant paedo’. Thanks Dad.”

Merchant has previously joked about his height, saying it would be impossible to find an actor to play him in a story of his life.

He told the A.V. Club in 2019, “There aren’t a lot of 6’7” actors. I’ve also got quite a specific face. So I think you’d need to get Andy Serkis to do a motion capture version of me, generated through Peter Jackson’s technology.

“Basically, I’m like Golem. I need to be played in the same way they did Golem in The Lord Of The Rings.”