TORONTO

Keep calm and take Ricky Gervais downtown.

Kara Stahl had difficulty handling the excitement after the British comedian and his long-time partner, writer Jane Fallon, accepted her offer to drive them to their downtown Toronto hotel from the Beach area on Saturday.

“I was really nervous,” the 35-year-old medical textbook editor recalled Sunday. “I saw them on the street and parked my car and went running after them. I’m not a big celebrity person but really admire his work, so I just had to take the chance.”

Stahl follows Gervais’s Facebook page and noticed he had posted a picture of the Leuty Lifeguard Station with the caption, “Exploring the beaches of Lake Ontario. What a beautiful place to live.”

Living nearby, she hopped into her Nissan Rogue and headed out to find them.

Exploring the beaches of Lake Ontario. What a beautiful place to live. #Torontopic.twitter.com/r46DEHoqVI — Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) May 2, 2015

“He and Jane were just walking along Lake Shore (Blvd. E.), near Woodbine,” she said. “I drove alongside them and yelled out the window, ‘I’m a big fan.’ And I quickly parked my car and went to see if I could get a picture. They were very kind and agreed.”

Afterwards, Stahl went back to her vehicle and was driving away when she noticed Gervais, 53, and Fallon, 54, were attempting to hail a taxi. So, she pulled over and asked if they needed a lift.

“I mentioned how much I admire his work and the stuff he’s doing for animal activism and we talked about Toronto and how much they like Canadians,” she said. “He mentioned that had this been in New York or London, that they would not have gotten into my car, but they just felt safe and Canadians have been nice and friendly. They were grateful and absolutely lovely.”

Gervais — who has starred in a number of TV series including The Office, Extras and Derek — is in town to film a movie called Special Correspondents, which is set to begin in a few weeks, according to his Facebook page.

The satirical film also stars Eric Bana, who plays a struggling radio journalist who fakes front-line war reports from his hideout above a Spanish restaurant in Manhattan.

“Unbelievable random act of kindness! Thank you @dixichkn for giving us a ride when we couldn’t find a taxi :),” Fallon tweeted Saturday.

Unbelievable random act of kindness! Thank you @dixichkn for giving us a ride when we couldn't find a taxi :) https://t.co/Q32oLhdvO8 — Jane Fallon (@JaneFallon) May 2, 2015

Stahl said Derek is her favourite Gervais show because “the theme of kindness is magic” resonates with her. She even paid homage to Gervais by naming her cat Ricky Furvais.

“I think in everything he does, there’s this element of kindness towards people, even when he’s making fun of things or making a point about humanity,” she said.

jenny.yuen@sunmedia.ca