Richard Osman has named one country that is a “joy to visit” for an unexpected reason. The 54-year-old has become a household name in the UK thanks to his appearance on TV shows such as Pointless and Richard Osman’s House of Games.

But it is through his writing that Richard has become an international success. His The Thursday Murder Club series has become a hit on both sides of the Atlantic, being named as a New York Times bestseller.

The Netflix adaptation, starring the likes of Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan, is set to release later this month. However Richard says his success as an author in America has meant he can move around unnoticed.

Speaking on his The Rest is Entertainment podcast, he says it means the US is a “joy” to visit. He explained: “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 went on to explain that fans of authors like John Grisham will recognise him from the back of books but the general population won’t have paid attention. The television presenter discussed his experiences in the US after a listener asked him what the “best job” in entertainment is, suggesting members of bands with famous frontmen such as Coldplay get to “live out their best rock and roll life” but can “probably pop to Tesco without getting hassled”.

Richard however explained some people like to get into 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 went on to explain that musicians have to do “loads of promo”. His brother, Suede bassist Mat Osman, told Richard that a band like Coldplay would be expected to sign around 150,000 albums for promotional material.

The TV star concluded that being a travel blogger would be among the best jobs for people wanting anonymity while 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.”

Richard’s podcast co-host Marina Hyde explained working on the show has meant people now stop her “all the time”. The Guardian columnist said: “I’ve never had that, I don’t think really, at all.”