To make us smile before they even start to speak, a comic should have a round face, small forehead, wide nose and big lips. Large eyes and high cheekbones add to the laughter factor.
Psychologist Dr Anthony Little believes that Ricky Gervais, star of Extras and The Office, has the perfect comedy face, with a combination of features that win over the audience before he cracks his first joke.
Dr Little, an expert in how we perceive facial features, said: "The features most likely to mark out male comedians for success are predominately soft and feminine."
"The characteristics of a feminine face imply that the person may be agreeable and co-operative, which can be causal in our first imporessions of comedians as being friendly and funny."
"In the same way that infants are pre-programmed to respond to the warmth and approachability of a mother's face, soft feminine features put us at ease and encourage us to relax."
"This is conducive to laughter and enjoyment."
The University of Stirling psychologist studied the facial features of 20 of our favourite comics, including Peter Kay, Lee Evans, Jack Dee, Jimmy Carr, Tommy Cooper, Harry Hill and Ricky Gervais.
After looking for common characteristics such as round faces and large eyes, he morphed their features together to create a composite image representing the perfect comedy face.
A mixture of the features of many individuals, the computer-generated face most closely resembled that of Ricky Gervais.
Dr Little then looked outside the world of comedy, to see which public figures might make it on the comedy circuit, should the day job not work out.
Strong candidates for a life of stand-up include David Cameron and Wayne Rooney.
The Tory leader's round, wide face, large eyes and soft features make him an almost perfect contender, said Dr Little, who was commissioned by the comedy club chain Jongleurs.
And while Manchester United player Wayne Rooney has an angular and masculine jaw, these are offset by a round face and snub nose, with the overall effect a boyish appearance which is approachable rather than threatening.
Actor Daniel Craig, the new James Bond, is a good example of someone who conveys both humour and heroism in a single glance.
Dr Little said: "Daniel Craig's face is closer to that of a heroic actor than that of a comedian, yet it does possess some feminine aspects."
"He is well-suited to play Bond since it's a role that demands a little spoof and light-heartedness as well as dashing masculine heroism."
"It is likely, however, that a comedian would struggle to play a heroic role convincingly."
"Due to their appearance, it would be difficult for them to appear believable in situations where dominance and powerful sincerity is important."
"Daniel Craig would be a flop as Bond if he possessed all the face for comedy traits."
He added: "Having found the perfect face for comedy, there may be a perfect face for business and so on."
"There is great potential for further research."
研究发现，要想在开口讲话之前就能让观众发笑，笑星的长相应当是窄额头、宽鼻梁、厚嘴唇。此外，大眼睛和高颧骨也是搞笑的利器。
英国心理学家、专门研究人类如何感知脸部特征的安东尼·利特尔博士认为，喜剧明星都拥有一张完美的喜剧脸，因为他们长相搞笑，因此即使还未开口说话，观众就已被他们的“魅力”所征服。
利特尔说:“对男性喜剧演员来说，他们的制胜法宝是拥有一副温和、阴柔之美的面孔。”利特尔认为，婴儿对温柔、容易接近的母亲形象有一种与生俱来的亲切 感。温柔的女性形象让人们感到轻松、自在，“同样，带有女性特征的长相能给人以和蔼、易于合作的感觉，还能给人留下友好、搞笑的第一印象。”
英国斯特林大学的心理学家对深受人们喜爱的20名喜剧演员进行研究分析。
在寻找他们的共同脸部特征后，利特尔把上述笑星各自的优势特征综合到一起，绘成一副所谓的“完美喜剧脸”。令人惊讶的是，这副由计算机绘制而成的脸孔竟然和瑞奇·杰维斯的脸极其相似。杰维斯是风靡一时的英国喜剧《办公室》的编剧和主演。
利特尔还表示，既然找到了完美喜剧脸，那么也许同样可以找到适合经商或是其他职业的完美面孔。从这个意义上说，这个项目还有很多值得继续研究的地方。
利特尔还走出演艺界，在公众人物中搜寻能够成为喜剧明星的好坯子。最终他选出一些极具潜力的“替补喜剧演员”，其中包括英国保守党领袖戴维·卡梅伦和足球明星韦恩·鲁尼。在利特尔看来，卡梅伦的大眼睛和温柔面孔使他颇具喜剧效果。
说到曼联球星鲁尼，尽管他长着带有棱角、很有男子气概的下巴，不过他的圆脸和短平的鼻子还是让他的整体感觉像个容易接近的大男孩。
不过，利特尔说，这些带喜剧相的演员演起英雄角色来可能有些吃力。由于他们的特殊长相，在需要权威性和真诚感的表演中，他们不容易让人信服。
