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Ricky Gervais



 
 
Ricky Dene Gervais (; born 25 June 1961) is an English
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
 comedian
Comedian

A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain members of an audience, primarily by making them laughter. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy....
, author
Author

An author is defined both as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created....
, actor
Actor

An actor or actress is a person who acting in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio programming in that capacity....
, director
Television director

A television director directs the activities involved in making a television episode....
, producer
Television producer

The primary role of a television producer is to control all aspects of production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking....
, screenwriter
Screenwriter

Screenwriters or scenarists are scriptwriters who write the screenplays from which films and television programs are made.Most screenwriters start their careers writing on speculation....
 and former pop
Pop music

Pop music is a music genre that features a noticeable rhythmic element, melodies and hook , a mainstream style and a conventional structure.The term "pop music" was first used in 1926 in the sense of "having popular appeal" , but since the 1950s it has been used in the sense of a musical genre, originally characterized as a lighter alternat...
 musician
Musician

A musician is a person who plays or writes music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music:* An instrumentalist plays a musical instrument....
. Gervais achieved mainstream fame with his ground-breaking television
Television

Television is a widely used telecommunication mass-media for transmitting and receiving moving , either monochrome or color, usually accompanied by sound....
 series The Office
The Office (UK TV series)

The Office is a British Academy Television Awards, Golden Globe Award winning and Emmy-nominated United Kingdom television program comedy that first aired in the UK on BBC Two on 9 July 2001....
 and the subsequent series Extras
Extras (TV series)

Extras is a British Academy Television Awards, Golden Globe and Emmy award-winning United Kingdom Situation comedy about Extra working on film sets and in theatre....
, both of which he co-wrote and co-directed with friend and collaborator, Stephen Merchant
Stephen Merchant

Stephen James Merchant is a British Comedy Award-, BAFTA-, Emmy- and Golden Globe-award winning United Kingdom writer, director, and comic actor....
. Besides writing and directing the shows, Gervais also played the lead roles of David Brent
David Brent

David Brent is a fictional character white-collar office middle-manager and one of the principal characters from the BBC television mockumentary The Office , played by co-writer and director Ricky Gervais....
 in The Office and Andy Millman in Extras.






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Encyclopedia


Ricky Dene Gervais (; born 25 June 1961) is an English
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
 comedian
Comedian

A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain members of an audience, primarily by making them laughter. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy....
, author
Author

An author is defined both as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created....
, actor
Actor

An actor or actress is a person who acting in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio programming in that capacity....
, director
Television director

A television director directs the activities involved in making a television episode....
, producer
Television producer

The primary role of a television producer is to control all aspects of production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking....
, screenwriter
Screenwriter

Screenwriters or scenarists are scriptwriters who write the screenplays from which films and television programs are made.Most screenwriters start their careers writing on speculation....
 and former pop
Pop music

Pop music is a music genre that features a noticeable rhythmic element, melodies and hook , a mainstream style and a conventional structure.The term "pop music" was first used in 1926 in the sense of "having popular appeal" , but since the 1950s it has been used in the sense of a musical genre, originally characterized as a lighter alternat...
 musician
Musician

A musician is a person who plays or writes music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music:* An instrumentalist plays a musical instrument....
. Gervais achieved mainstream fame with his ground-breaking television
Television

Television is a widely used telecommunication mass-media for transmitting and receiving moving , either monochrome or color, usually accompanied by sound....
 series The Office
The Office (UK TV series)

The Office is a British Academy Television Awards, Golden Globe Award winning and Emmy-nominated United Kingdom television program comedy that first aired in the UK on BBC Two on 9 July 2001....
 and the subsequent series Extras
Extras (TV series)

Extras is a British Academy Television Awards, Golden Globe and Emmy award-winning United Kingdom Situation comedy about Extra working on film sets and in theatre....
, both of which he co-wrote and co-directed with friend and collaborator, Stephen Merchant
Stephen Merchant

Stephen James Merchant is a British Comedy Award-, BAFTA-, Emmy- and Golden Globe-award winning United Kingdom writer, director, and comic actor....
. Besides writing and directing the shows, Gervais also played the lead roles of David Brent
David Brent

David Brent is a fictional character white-collar office middle-manager and one of the principal characters from the BBC television mockumentary The Office , played by co-writer and director Ricky Gervais....
 in The Office and Andy Millman in Extras. Gervais has also appeared in several Hollywood films, including For Your Consideration
For Your Consideration (film)

For Your Consideration is a 2006 comedy film directed by Christopher Guest. It was co-written by Guest and Eugene Levy, both also starring in the film....
, Stardust, Night at the Museum
Night at the Museum

Night at the Museum is a 2006 in film American adventure comedy film. It is based on The Night at the Museum by Milan Trenc. It follows a divorced father trying to settle down, impress his son, and find his destiny....
 and Ghost Town
Ghost Town (film)

Ghost Town is a 2008 in film Cinema of the United States paranormal comedy film directed by David Koepp and starring the English comedian Ricky Gervais in his first leading role in a movie....
, in which he assumes the leading role.

Gervais has performed on three sell-out stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy

Stand-up comedy is a style of comedy where the performer speaks directly to the audience, with the absence of the theatrical "fourth wall". A person who performs stand-up comedy is known as a stand-up comic, stand-up comedian or more informally stand up....
 tours, wrote the best-selling Flanimals
Flanimals

Flanimals is a children's and adults' book written by comedian Ricky Gervais. The book, illustrated by Rob Steen, features 35 different characters described as species of animal which form an imaginary world....
 book series, and starred with Merchant and Karl Pilkington
Karl Pilkington

Karl Pilkington is a Sony Award-winning England radio producer, podcast , author and poet, best known for producing and co-presenting The Ricky Gervais Show, on London radio station Xfm London from 2001 to 2005 and later in the form of podcasts....
 in his podcast The Ricky Gervais Show
The Ricky Gervais Show

The Ricky Gervais Show is a comedy Sound show in the United Kingdom starring Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant, and Karl Pilkington. The show started in November 2001 on Xfm, and aired in weekly periods for months at a time throughout 2002, 2003, 2004, and mid-2005....
. He has accumulated a multitude of awards and honours throughout his career, including seven BAFTA Awards, four British Comedy Awards
British Comedy Awards

The British Comedy Awards is an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom celebrating notable comedians and entertainment performances of the previous year....
, three Golden Globes, two Emmys and the 2006 Rose d'Or
Rose d'Or

The Rose d'Or is a television award. It has been given annually in spring since 1961 at the Festival Rose d'Or. Since 2004, the festival has been held in Lucerne, Switzerland....
, as well as a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination.

Early life

Gervais, along with siblings Larry, Marsha and Bob, was born and raised in the suburb of Whitley
Whitley, Berkshire

Whitley is a suburb of Reading, Berkshire in Berkshire, England....
 in Reading, Berkshire
Reading, Berkshire

Reading is a town in England, located at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, midway between London and Swindon off the M4 motorway....
. Gervais's father, Jerry, a Franco-Ontarian
Franco-Ontarian

Franco-Ontarians are French Canadian or francophone residents of the Canada Provinces of Canada of Ontario. They are sometimes known as "Ontarois"....
, emigrated while on foreign duty during the Second World War
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
 from London, Ontario
London, Ontario

London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada along the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor with a metropolitan area population of 457,720; the city proper had a population of 352,395 in the Canada 2006 Census....
, Canada. Jerry met Gervais's mother, Eva, during a blackout
Blackout (wartime)

A blackout in time of war, or apprehended war, refers to the practice of collectively minimizing external light, including upward-directed light....
, and they settled in Whitley.

During Xfm London
Xfm London

Xfm London is a commercial radio station in the United Kingdom. The station is owned by Global Radio and broadcasts on 104.9 FM in London, on Digital radio in the United Kingdom via 30 Digital Audio Broadcasting multiplexes across the country, Sky Digital, Tiscali TV and Virgin Media....
's The Ricky Gervais Show
The Ricky Gervais Show

The Ricky Gervais Show is a comedy Sound show in the United Kingdom starring Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant, and Karl Pilkington. The show started in November 2001 on Xfm, and aired in weekly periods for months at a time throughout 2002, 2003, 2004, and mid-2005....
 and in further newspaper interviews with The Independent
The Independent

The Independent is a United Kingdom Compact newspaper published by Tony O'Reilly's Independent News & Media. It is nicknamed the Indy, with the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, being the Sindy....
, Gervais noted that he believes his birth was unplanned due to the age difference between his youngest sibling and himself. During one interview with The Independent, Gervais tells the author that even his mother admitted his birth was unplanned.

Gervais has stated that his upbringing and childhood were stable and trauma-free, with a high level of honesty and openness between his family members. He claims that his family, "much like The Waltons
The Waltons

The Waltons is an United States television series created by Earl Hamner, Jr., based on his book Spencer's Mountain, and a 1963 Spencer's Mountain, starring Henry Fonda and Maureen O'Hara....
," made fun of each other regularly.

Gervais began his secondary education at Ashmead School, before moving on to University College London
University College London

University College London is a university institution and constituent college of the University of London based primarily in London, England, United Kingdom....
 in 1979. While there, he studied Biology
Biology

Biology is a branch of the natural sciences concerned with the study of living organisms and their interaction with each other and their environment ....
 and later changed to Philosophy
Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, truth, beauty, justice, validity, mind, and language....
, in which he received an upper second-class honours. It was during his time at UCL that he met Jane Fallon
Jane Fallon

Jane Fallon is a British television producer and writer whose best-known productions include the comedy-drama Teachers , '20 Things To Do Before You're 30' and This Life....
.

Personal life

Gervais currently lives in Hampstead
Hampstead

Hampstead is an area of London, England, located north-west of Charing Cross. It is part of the London Borough of Camden. It is situated within Inner London....
, London, with his partner of twenty-five years, producer and screenwriter Jane Fallon
Jane Fallon

Jane Fallon is a British television producer and writer whose best-known productions include the comedy-drama Teachers , '20 Things To Do Before You're 30' and This Life....
.

Gervais is a fervent supporter of animal rights
Animal rights

Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings....
, and has been since becoming hooked on wildlife documentaries as a child. He has spoken out against fox hunting
Fox hunting

Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase, and sometimes killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds, and a group of followers led by a master of foxhounds, who follow the hounds on foot or on horseback....
 and bull fighting
Bull Fighting

Bull Fighting is a drama show in Taiwan starring Hebe Tian. It is in Mandarin language and is about basketball. The title refers to the one-on-one style of bull-fighting, compared to one-on-one basketball....
, and has even written to Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown

James Gordon Brown UK Member of Parliament is a United Kingdom Labour Party politician and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Brown assumed office in June 2007, after the resignation of Tony Blair and three days after becoming leader of the governing Labour Party....
 urging him to stop the use of black bear
American black bear

The American Black Bear is the most common bear species native to North America. It lives throughout much of the continent, from northern Alaska south into Mexico and from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean....
 fur as caps for the Foot Guards
Foot Guards

Foot guards is a term used to describe elite infantry regiments....
.

He revealed that he is an atheist during a 2007 interview with Kirsty Young
Kirsty Young

Kirsty Jackson Young is a Scotland television presenter, actress and radio presenter. She has recently left her position as head newsreader on Five News, the news programme on British television channel Five , where she had worked for most of the time since its launch in 1997....
 for Desert Island Discs
Desert Island Discs

Desert Island Discs is a long-running BBC Radio 4 programme. It was first broadcast on 29 January 1942 and is said by the Guinness Book of Records to be the longest-running music programme in the history of radio....
, later stating he lost his faith at age eight, and in June 2008 he became an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society
National Secular Society

The National Secular Society is a British campaigning organisation that promotes secularism, the separation of church and state, to make society fair for everyone, whatever their belief or lack of one....
. He is also a close friend of American comedian Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart

Jonathan "Jon" Stewart is an United States comedian, television host, and political satire. He is best known as host of The Daily Show, a news satire airing on Comedy Central....
 and is a frequent guest on his programme, The Daily Show
The Daily Show

The Daily Show is an United States news satire television program airing each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central in the United States....
.

Career


Music

In his final year in 1983 as a student at UCL, Gervais and his friend Bill Macrae
Bill Macrae

Bill Macrae was a member of the early 1980s British New Wave music duo Seona Dancing. Macrae attended University College London, where he met Ricky Gervais in June 1982, and they ended up making a demo tape with sixteen songs....
 formed a pop
Pop music

Pop music is a music genre that features a noticeable rhythmic element, melodies and hook , a mainstream style and a conventional structure.The term "pop music" was first used in 1926 in the sense of "having popular appeal" , but since the 1950s it has been used in the sense of a musical genre, originally characterized as a lighter alternat...
 duo
Duet (music)

A duet is a musical composition or musical piece for two performers. In classical music the term is most often used for a composition for two singers or pianists; with other instruments, the word Wiktionary:duo is also often used....
, Seona Dancing
Seona Dancing

Seona Dancing was a 1980s Music of the United Kingdom pop music group, best known for providing comedian Ricky Gervais with his first taste of fame....
 (named after a friend and fellow student Seona Myerscough). They were signed by record label
Record label

In the music industry, a record label can be a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of recorded sound and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the Record producer, manufacturing, distribution , marketing and promotion, and enforcement of copyright protec...
 London Records
London Records

London Records is a record label headquartered in the United Kingdom, originally marketing records in the United States, Canada and Latin America from 1947 in music through 1979 in music, then becoming a semi-independent label....
, which released two of their singles—"More to Lose" and "Bitter Heart". The singles failed to break the top 40—with "More to Lose" charting at position 117 and "Bitter Heart" charting at 70 of the UK singles charts.

Radio

Gervais subsequently worked as an events manager
Event management

Event management is the application of the management practice of project management to the creation and development of festivals and events.Event Management involves studying the intricacies of the brand, identifying the target audience, devising the event concept, planning the logistics and coordinating the technical aspects before actual...
 for the University of London Union
University of London Union

The University of London Union is the university-wide students' union for the University of London. It is the largest students' union in Europe, with over 120,000 students....
 (ULU), where he continued working until he was offered—and accepted—a similar job as "head of speech" at Xfm London
Xfm London

Xfm London is a commercial radio station in the United Kingdom. The station is owned by Global Radio and broadcasts on 104.9 FM in London, on Digital radio in the United Kingdom via 30 Digital Audio Broadcasting multiplexes across the country, Sky Digital, Tiscali TV and Virgin Media....
.

Needing an assistant, Gervais interviewed the first person whose curriculum vitae he saw. The CV belonged to Stephen Merchant
Stephen Merchant

Stephen James Merchant is a British Comedy Award-, BAFTA-, Emmy- and Golden Globe-award winning United Kingdom writer, director, and comic actor....
. During the interview at a local pub, Gervais asked Merchant to do "all the boring stuff" because of his experience in media studies
Media studies

Media studies is a collection of academic programs regarding the content, history, meaning and effects of various media . Media studies scholars vary in the theoretical and methodological focus they bring to mass media topics, including the media's political, social, economic and cultural roles and impact....
 while Gervais "mess[ed] around". Merchant agreed. In 1998, Gervais was made redundant when the station was taken over by the Capital Radio
Capital Radio

95.8 Capital FM is a London radio station owned by Global Radio....
 group.

Gervais was music adviser for the popular 1996–1997 BBC drama This Life
This Life

This Life was a BBC television drama, produced by World Productions and screened on BBC Two, running for two series in 1996 and 1997 and a reunion special in 2007....
, which was being produced by his girlfriend, Jane Fallon. He and Merchant also contributed sketches to BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1

BBC Radio 1 is a United Kingdom international radio station operated by the BBC, specialising in current popular music throughout the day, with a slight bias to Rock music & Independent music music....
's The Breezeblock
The Breezeblock

The Breezeblock was a weekly radio program on BBC Radio 1 that premiered on 17 February 1997 and focused on electronic music. The show's earliest broadcasts were Segue and featured individual songs, some of which were recordings of live sessions from BBC's Maida Vale Studio....
 in 1999 and 2000.

After the first season of The Office
The Office (UK TV series)

The Office is a British Academy Television Awards, Golden Globe Award winning and Emmy-nominated United Kingdom television program comedy that first aired in the UK on BBC Two on 9 July 2001....
, Gervais and Merchant returned to Xfm in November 2001 for a Saturday radio show. The show ran intermittently until January 2004 with breaks of 1–3 months between new shows. This was their first time working with Karl Pilkington
Karl Pilkington

Karl Pilkington is a Sony Award-winning England radio producer, podcast , author and poet, best known for producing and co-presenting The Ricky Gervais Show, on London radio station Xfm London from 2001 to 2005 and later in the form of podcasts....
. Pilkington produced the shows and later collaborated with them on their series of podcasts.

Gervais then took 29 months off to work on his new television show Extras
Extras (TV series)

Extras is a British Academy Television Awards, Golden Globe and Emmy award-winning United Kingdom Situation comedy about Extra working on film sets and in theatre....
, to write flanimals
Flanimals

Flanimals is a children's and adults' book written by comedian Ricky Gervais. The book, illustrated by Rob Steen, features 35 different characters described as species of animal which form an imaginary world....
, and to perform his live show Politics.

He returned to the airwaves on 28 May 2005 to host the show once again with Pilkington and Merchant. He was also heard on BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2

BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio radio station and the List of most-listened-to radio programs in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult contemporary music or Album-orientated rock, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres....
 during Christmas 2005, sitting in for Jonathan Ross for two weeks.

Podcast
On 5 December 2005, Guardian Unlimited
Guardian Unlimited

guardian.co.uk, formerly known as Guardian Unlimited, is a British website owned by the Guardian Media Group. It contains nearly all of the content of the newspapers The Guardian and The Observer, as well as a substantial body of web-only work produced by its own staff, including a rolling news service....
 began offering the first of twelve free weekly podcasts featuring Gervais, Merchant, and Pilkington. Throughout January and February 2006, the podcast was consistently ranked the number-one podcast in the world; it appeared in the 2007 Guinness World Record for the world's most-downloaded podcast, having gained an average of 261,670 downloads per episode during its first month. On 20 February 2006, after the conclusion of the twelve-podcast series, it was announced that all future episodes would be available from Audible.com at a "nominal fee" (later, these had to be called audiobooks in accordance with iTunes policy). Two more series—each with six podcasts—were released between February and September 2006.

In late 2006, three more free podcasts were released. Together called "The Podfather Trilogy", they debuted individually at Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. These three were known by Ricky and Steve as "The Fourth season". In October 2007, another free full-length podcast was released through iTunes; this podcast was originally given out for free during a performance of Gervais's Fame tour in London. On 25 November 2007, Gervais, Merchant, and Pilkington released another free full-length podcast, which lasted just over an hour.

In August 2008, Gervais, Merchant, and Pilkington recorded their fifth season of audiobooks, totalling 4 chapters, which were released on 16 September 2008.

Television

Gervais has contributed to the BAFTA-winning The Sketch Show
The Sketch Show

The Sketch Show was a United Kingdom television sketch comedy program, featuring many leading British comedians. It aired on ITV between 2001 and 2003 ....
 (ITV), penning several sketches. His mainstream-TV debut came in September 1998 as part of Channel 4
Channel 4

Channel 4 is a UK Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom television broadcaster which began transmissions on 2 November 1982. Although commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the #Channel Four Television...
's "Comedy Lab" series of pilots. His one-off show Golden Years focused on a David Bowie
David Bowie

David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and Arrangement. Active in five decades of rock music and frequently reinventing his music and image, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s....
–obsessed character called Clive Meadows. Gervais then came to much wider national attention with an obnoxious, cutting persona featured in a topical slot that replaced Ali G
Ali G

Ali G is a satire fictional character invented and played by England comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. Originally appearing on Channel 4's The Eleven O'Clock Show, Ali G was the title character of Channel 4's Da Ali G Show, original episodes of which aired on HBO in 2003-2004, and was the title character of the film Ali G Indahouse....
's segments on the satirical Channel 4 comedy programme The 11 O'Clock Show in early 1999, in which his character used as many expletive
Expletive

The word expletive is currently used in three senses: syntactic expletives, expletive attributives, and "bad language".The word expletive comes from the Latin verb explere, meaning "to fill", via expletivus, "filling out"....
s as was possible and produced an inordinate amount of politically incorrect statements. Among the other regular featured comedians on the show was Mackenzie Crook
Mackenzie Crook

Paul Mackenzie Crook is an English actor, comedian, and environmentalist, best known for playing Gareth Keenan in The Office and Ragetti in the Pirates of the Caribbean films films....
, later a co-star of The Office
The Office (UK TV series)

The Office is a British Academy Television Awards, Golden Globe Award winning and Emmy-nominated United Kingdom television program comedy that first aired in the UK on BBC Two on 9 July 2001....
. Two years later, Gervais went on to present his own comedy chat show for Channel 4 called Meet Ricky Gervais
Meet Ricky Gervais

Meet Ricky Gervais was a chat show written and hosted by the comedy writer and performer Ricky Gervais. It was produced by Talkback Thames for Channel 4 in 2000 and ran for one series on Friday nights....
; it was poorly received and has since been mocked by Gervais himself.

Throughout this time, Gervais also wrote for the BBC sketch show Bruiser
Bruiser (TV series)

Bruiser was a short-lived comedy sketch show. It premiered on February 28 2000 and ran for six episodes, ending on March 15 2000. The main writers were David Mitchell and Robert Webb ....
 and The Jim Tavare
Jim Tavare

Jim Tavar? is an England stand-up comedy and musician. He is best known for his work on The Sketch Show on ITV which won a BAFTA award and also plays the role of Tom , the owner of the Leaky Cauldron, in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ....
 Show
, and he had cameo roles in Channel 4
Channel 4

Channel 4 is a UK Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom television broadcaster which began transmissions on 2 November 1982. Although commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the #Channel Four Television...
's sitcom Spaced
Spaced

Spaced is a United Kingdom television situation comedy written by and starring Simon Pegg and Jessica Hynes, and directed by Edgar Wright. It is noted for its rapid-fire editing, frequent dropping of popular culture references, and occasional displays of surrealism....
; it is speculated that the cameo is indeed The Office
The Office (UK TV series)

The Office is a British Academy Television Awards, Golden Globe Award winning and Emmy-nominated United Kingdom television program comedy that first aired in the UK on BBC Two on 9 July 2001....
 character David Brent
David Brent

David Brent is a fictional character white-collar office middle-manager and one of the principal characters from the BBC television mockumentary The Office , played by co-writer and director Ricky Gervais....
. However, both series of Spaced finished airing before The Office premiered. Gervais also appeared in a few of Channel 4
Channel 4

Channel 4 is a UK Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom television broadcaster which began transmissions on 2 November 1982. Although commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the #Channel Four Television...
's 'Top 100...' list programmes, and he voiced the character of Penguin in Robbie the Reindeer
Robbie the Reindeer

Robbie the Reindeer is the main character in three animated BBC Christmas comedy television specials, filmed in aid of Comic Relief . It is shown on the Nicktoons Network, as well as the CBC Television....
's Legend of the Lost Tribe. His voice was redubbed for the US market.

On 5 January 2006, he interviewed Larry David
Larry David

Lawrence Gene "Larry" David is an United States actor, writer, comedian, Television producer, and film director. Formerly a Standup comedy, David went into television comedy, writing and starring in ABC's Fridays , as well as writing briefly for Saturday Night Live....
 in a one-off special, Ricky Gervais Meets... Larry David. On 25 December and 26 December of the same year, Channel 4
Channel 4

Channel 4 is a UK Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom television broadcaster which began transmissions on 2 November 1982. Although commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the #Channel Four Television...
 aired similar specials in which he interviewed the actor/comedian Christopher Guest
Christopher Guest

Christopher Haden-Guest, 5th Baron Haden-Guest , better known as Christopher Guest, is an United States screenwriter, composer, musician, director, actor and comedian....
 and comedian Garry Shandling
Garry Shandling

Garry Shandling is an United States comedian. He is best known for his work in It's Garry Shandling's Show and The Larry Sanders Show....
. There are no plans for further episodes of "Meets...", although editions with John Cleese
John Cleese

'John Marwood Cleese' is an Academy Award-nominated English actor, comedian, writer, film producer and singer, who is known as being a member of Monty Python, a group of comedians responsible for the sketch show Monty Python's Flying Circus and for all of the four Monty Python films: And Now for Something Completely Different, Monty...
 and Matt Groening
Matt Groening

Matthew Abram Groening is an United Statesn cartoonist, screenwriter and television producer. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell and the television series The Simpsons and Futurama....
 were recorded in 2006, for broadcast in 2007. A source claimed, "The Shandling experience put him off for good".

Gervais guest-starred in an episode of The Simpsons
The Simpsons

The Simpsons is an Television in the United States animated cartoon Situation comedy created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company....
 entitled "Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife
Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife

"Homer Simpson, This is Your Wife" is an episode of The Simpsons, that aired on March 26, 2006. It is the fifteenth episode of the show's seventeenth season....
", which aired on 26 March 2006 in the United States, on 23 April 2006 in the United Kingdom, and on 18 July 2006 in Australia. He is the only British comic to write and star in a Simpsons episode. The episode was the highest rated in Sky One's history, arguably because of its extensive promotion, which revolved around the angle that Gervais was the episode's sole writer (and the first guest star on the show to also receive a writing credit for the episode of his appearance). Gervais clarified the extent of his input in a joint interview (with Christopher Guest) for Dazed and Confused
Dazed & Confused (magazine)

Dazed & Confused is a British style magazine,that was set up in 1992 and published monthly. Its founding editors were Jefferson Hack and Rankin ....
 magazine (January 2006): "No, all I did was put down a load of observations on an email and they made it look like a Simpsons script. I'm going to get the credit, but I think everyone in the industry knows it was a joint effort". Asked in a separate interview about how his idea for the episode (in which Homer swaps Marge on a game show) came about, Gervais replied: "I've always been fascinated with reality game shows but I think it was my girlfriend's idea. We watch Celebrity Big Brother at the moment, we watch I'm a Celebrity, Get Me out of Here... we watch all those reality TV shows – The Office came out of those docu-soaps". Criticisms of the episode include its promotion of high-definition television (Sky had just launched an HD service) as well as the quality of the script. Gervais, a longstanding Simpsons fan, presented a segment to mark the show's 20th anniversary on BBC Two
BBC Two

BBC Two is the second major terrestrial television channel of the BBC, aimed at a wide range of subject matter and interests, and specialising in intelligent yet popular programme genres....
's The Culture Show
The Culture Show

The Culture Show is a weekly BBC Two magazine programme broadcast on Tuesday nights, focussing on the latest developments in the worlds of film, music, art, fashion and the performing arts....
 on 16 June 2007.

Gervais has also guest-starred on Alias
Alias (TV series)

Alias is an United States action movie Television program created by J. J. Abrams which was broadcast on American Broadcasting Company for five seasons, from September 30, 2001 to May 22, 2006....
 (appearing in the third-season episode "Façade
Alias episodes (Season 3)

This article contains episode summaries as well as directing and writing credits from Season 3 of the United States drama/Adventure film television series Alias ....
") as Daniel Ryan, a former Royal Navy bomb-disposal specialist turned rogue Irish Republican Army
Irish Republican Army

The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation descended from the Irish Volunteers, established 25 November 1913 and who in April 1916 staged the Easter Rising....
 bomb-maker. He has said about the appearance, "I did an episode of Alias, and I can't watch it. Me being serious. I can't watch it".

Gervais made a cameo appearance on Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live

Saturday Night Live is a weekly late-night 90-minute American sketch comedy/variety show filmed in New York City. It made its debut on October 11, 1975....
 in a Digital Short during which he claims that The Office was adapted from a Japanese program of the same name (with Steve Carell
Steve Carell

Steven John "Steve" Carell is a Golden Globe Awards- and Screen Actors Guild Award-winning American comedian, actor, Television producer and Screenwriter, who rose to fame as a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, from 1999 to 2004....
 reprising his role as Michael Scott). The sketch re-creates scenes from the American and British pilot episode with Japanese elements (although in an exaggerated way). "It's funny", Gervais laughs at the end, "because it's racist".

He has also appeared several times on The Late Show With David Letterman.

The Office
In August 1999, while in a BBC production course, Stephen Merchant had to make his own short subject. He chose to make a docu-soap parody, set in an office. This sketch later formed the basis of the interview episode. With help from Ash Atalla
Ash Atalla

Ash Atalla is an Egyptian television producer responsible for producing several United Kingdom TV series such as The IT Crowd , The Office and Man Stroke Woman....
, Merchant passed this tape on to the BBC's Head of Entertainment Paul Jackson
Paul Jackson (producer)

Kevin Paul Jackson , credited as Paul Jackson; sometimes as K. Paul Jackson, is a United Kingdom television producer. He has worked on such shows as The Two Ronnies, The Young Ones , and Red Dwarf where he directed the episode White Hole, although he is not credited....
 at the Edinburgh Fringe
Edinburgh Fringe

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world?s largest arts festival. Established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place in Scotland's capital during three weeks every August alongside several other arts and cultural festivals, collectively known as the Edinburgh Festival....
, who then passed it on to Head of Comedy Jon Plowman
Jon Plowman

Jon Plowman has been a producer at the BBC since 1980, when he produced Russell Harty's chat show Harty.He moved on to executive producing at the BBC in 1986, working on sketch show A Bit Of Fry And Laurie, and became head of comedy entertainment in 1994, mainly responsible for sketch shows....
, who eventually commissioned a full-pilot script from Merchant and Gervais.

The first six-episode series of The Office
The Office (UK TV series)

The Office is a British Academy Television Awards, Golden Globe Award winning and Emmy-nominated United Kingdom television program comedy that first aired in the UK on BBC Two on 9 July 2001....
 aired in the UK in July and August 2001 to little fanfare or attention. Word-of-mouth, repeats, and DVDs helped spread the word, building up huge momentum and anticipation for the second series, also comprising six episodes, in September 2002. The second series topped the BBC Two ratings, and the show then switched to BBC One
BBC One

BBC One is the primary television channel of the BBC . It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular public television service with a high level of ....
 in December 2003 for its final two special episodes.

The Office has since been remade for audiences in France
Le Bureau

Le Bureau is a French television show that airs Thursday nights on Canal+.It is a French version of the popular British television series The Office ....
, Germany
Stromberg (TV series)

Stromberg is a Germany television series which is produced by Brainpool and broadcast on the Commercial broadcasting channel ProSieben. Initially the producers claimed it was based on a character from a past ProSieben comedy, in spite of many elements resembling the BBC series The Office ....
, Quebec
La Job

La Job is a Canadian comedy television series set in Montreal. It is an adaptation of the United Kingdom show The Office of the BBC. Produced by Anne-Marie Losique's , it has been broadcast for a limited number of viewers on Bell TV satellite television, beginning on October 9, 2006....
, and the United States
The Office (US TV series)

The Office is an Emmy-Award winning American Situation comedy airing on NBC and developed by Greg Daniels. It is an American adaptation of the BBC series The Office and depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company....
. Gervais and Merchant are producers of the American version, and they also co-wrote the episode "The Convict
The Convict

"The Convict" is the eleventh filmed and ninth aired episode of the third season of The Office . It aired on November 30, 2006. It was written by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant specifically for the U.S....
" for the show's third season.

Extras
Extras
Extras (TV series)

Extras is a British Academy Television Awards, Golden Globe and Emmy award-winning United Kingdom Situation comedy about Extra working on film sets and in theatre....
 had its debut on the BBC on 21 July 2005; it received its premiere on HBO in the United States in September 2005. Written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the sitcom ran for twelve episodes and starred Gervais as Andy Millman, a background artist
Extra (actor)

An extra, also called a background actor, is a performer in a film, television show, stage, musical, opera or ballet production, who appears in a nonspeaking, nonsinging or nondancing capacity, usually in the background ....
. Millman is more self-aware and intentionally humorous than Gervais's The Office character David Brent.

Guest stars on the first series of Extras include Ross Kemp
Ross Kemp

Ross Kemp is a BAFTA award-winning English people actor, authorjournalist and television presenter, who rose to prominence in the role of Grant Mitchell in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders....
, Les Dennis
Les Dennis

Les Dennis is an England comedian, television presenter and actor perhaps best known as the host of Family Fortunes for 16 years....
, Patrick Stewart
Patrick Stewart

Patrick Hewes Stewart, Order of the British Empire is an English film, television and Stage actor. He is also Chancellor of the University of Huddersfield....
, Vinnie Jones
Vinnie Jones

Vincent Peter "Vinnie" Jones is an England-born film actor and ex-Association football, having represented Wales national football team. He has capitalised on his tough man image as a footballer and is now known as an actor for his aggressive style and intimidating demeanour....
, Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel L. Jackson

Samuel Leroy Jackson is an United States film and television actor. Jackson came to fame in the early 1990s, after a series of well-reviewed performances, and has since become a major film star and cultural icon, having appeared in a large number of high-grossing films....
, Ben Stiller
Ben Stiller

Benjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller is an Emmy Award-winning American comedian, actor, film director, and film producer. He is the son of veteran comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara....
, Kate Winslet
Kate Winslet

'Kate Elizabeth Winslet' is an English people Actor and occasional singing. She is noted for having played diverse characters over her career, but probably best-known for her critically acclaimed performances as Marianne Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility , Titanic #Cast in Titanic , Clementine Kruczynski in Eternal Sunshine of the Sp...
, and Francesca Martinez
Francesca Martinez

Francesca Martinez is an award-winning England stand-up comedian. She has toured internationally including sell-out runs at the Edinburgh Festival, the Melbourne Comedy Festival and the prestigious Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal....
. A second series began on 14 September 2006 in the UK and featured appearances by Daniel Radcliffe
Daniel Radcliffe

Daniel Jacob Radcliffe is an England actor, best known for playing Harry Potter in the Harry Potter film series based on the popular Harry Potter....
, Orlando Bloom
Orlando Bloom

'Orlando Jonathan Blanchard Bloom' is an England actor. He had his break-through roles in 2001 as the elf-prince Legolas in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy and blacksmith Will Turner in the Pirates of the Caribbean , and subsequently established himself as a lead in Hollywood films, including Troy , Elizabethtown and Kingdom...
, Sir Ian McKellen
Ian McKellen

Sir Ian Murray McKellen, Order of the Companions of Honour, Order of the British Empire , is an England actor of theatre and film, the recipient of the Tony Award and two Academy Awards nominations....
, Chris Martin
Chris Martin

Christopher Anthony John Martin is an England singer-songwriter and instrumentalist, best known for his work as lead vocalist of the band Coldplay....
, Keith Chegwin
Keith Chegwin

Keith "Cheggers" Chegwin is an English people television presenter, former child actor and singer. He is the brother of DJ Janice Long...
, Robert Lindsay
Robert Lindsay (actor)

Robert Lindsay is an award-winning English people actor who is best known for his television work, especially his roles in Citizen Smith, My Family, and Hornblower ....
, Warwick Davis
Warwick Davis

Warwick Ashley Davis is a British actor. He is noted for his dwarfism, standing at tall. Davis is probably best known as the title characters in Willow and the Leprechaun series of films; other prominent roles include List of Star Wars characters#W in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Professor Filius Flitwick in the...
, Ronnie Corbett
Ronnie Corbett

Ronald Balfour "Ronnie" Corbett, Order of the British Empire is a British actor and comedian, born in Scotland, best known for his association with Ronnie Barker in the popular British television comedy sketch series The Two Ronnies....
, Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry

Stephen John Fry is an England actor, comedian, author and television presenter. With Hugh Laurie, as the comedy double act Fry and Laurie, he co-wrote and co-starred in A Bit of Fry and Laurie, and the duo also played the title roles in Jeeves and Wooster....
, Richard Briers
Richard Briers

Richard David Briers, Order of the British Empire is an English people actor whose career has encompassed the theatre, television, film and radio....
, Patricia Potter
Patricia Potter

Patricia Caroline Potter is an England actress. Best known for her role as Former characters in Holby City#Diane Lloyd in the popular BBC medical drama Holby City, Potter has acted on stage, television, and in film....
, Sophia Myles
Sophia Myles

Sophia Jane Myles is a British film and television actor....
, Moira Stuart
Moira Stuart

Moira Clare Ruby Stuart Order of the British Empire is a United Kingdom journalist who was the first British African-Caribbean community female News presenter on British television....
, David Bowie
David Bowie

David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and Arrangement. Active in five decades of rock music and frequently reinventing his music and image, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s....
, Kate Winslett, Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro

Robert Mario De Niro, Jr. is a two-time Academy Award-winning United States actor, director and producer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential actors of all time....
, and Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross

Jonathan Ross may refer to:* Jonathan Ross , English television and radio personality* Jonathan Ross , United States Senator, Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court...
. A Christmas special of Extras aired on 27 December 2007 in the UK and on 16 December 2007 in the US, featuring guest appearances by George Michael
George Michael

Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou , best known as George Michael, is a two-time Grammy Award winning, England singer-songwriter, who has had a career as frontman of the duo Wham! as well as a soul music-influenced, solo Pop music musician....
, Clive Owen
Clive Owen

Clive Owen is an Academy Award -nominated, and Golden Globe Award- and British Academy of Film and Television Arts winning England actor....
, Gordon Ramsay
Gordon Ramsay

Gordon James Ramsay, Order of the British Empire, is a chef, television personality and restaurateur. He has been awarded a total of 14 Michelin Guide#Michelin stars and other ratings, and in 2007 became one of only three chefs in the United Kingdom to hold three Michelin stars at one time....
, Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross

Jonathan Ross may refer to:* Jonathan Ross , English television and radio personality* Jonathan Ross , United States Senator, Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court...
, and David Tennant
David Tennant

David Tennant is a Scotland actor. Already a well-known theatre actor, Tennant achieved wider fame for his TV role as the Tenth Doctor in BBC's Doctor Who as well as in Casanova , and his film role as Death Eater#Barty Crouch, Jr in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ....
.

On 10 June 2006, Gervais and Merchant were seen in a specially filmed promotional sketch for Extras 2
Extras (TV series)

Extras is a British Academy Television Awards, Golden Globe and Emmy award-winning United Kingdom Situation comedy about Extra working on film sets and in theatre....
 in the middle of BBC One
BBC One

BBC One is the primary television channel of the BBC . It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular public television service with a high level of ....
's World Cup
FIFA World Cup

The FIFA World Cup, occasionally called the Football World Cup, but usually referred to simply as the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the List of men's national association football teams of the members of F?d?ration Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global govern...
 football
Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players, and is widely considered to be the most popular sport in the world....
 coverage. This time, Gervais did not perform his famous dance. Instead, Merchant did a take-off of the Crouch Dance
Peter Crouch

Peter James Crouch is an English international Association football player. He currently plays for Portsmouth F.C. as a striker. His height of 6 ft 7 in makes him the tallest man ever to play for the England national football team, as well as the tallest outfield player currently in the Premier League....
, recently popularised by England
England national football team

The English national football team represents England in international Association football and is controlled by The Football Association, the governing body for football in England....
 striker
Striker

Forwards, also known as attackers and strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals....
 Peter Crouch
Peter Crouch

Peter James Crouch is an English international Association football player. He currently plays for Portsmouth F.C. as a striker. His height of 6 ft 7 in makes him the tallest man ever to play for the England national football team, as well as the tallest outfield player currently in the Premier League....
.

Some have suggested that Gervais is influenced by Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm

Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American comedy starring Seinfeld writer, co-creator, and executive producer Larry David as himself, and produced and broadcast by Home Box Office....
 and The Larry Sanders Show
The Larry Sanders Show

The Larry Sanders Show is a satirical television sitcom that originally aired from August 1992 to May 1998 on the Home Box Office cable television network in the United States....
 in making Extras, particularly in the format of celebrities making fools of themselves or subverting their public personas, and in the Gervais joke
Joke

A joke is a short story or ironic depiction of a situation communicated with the intent of being humour. These jokes will normally have a punch line that will end the sentence to make it humorous....
 of someone making inappropriate remarks in front of a member of a minority. He has interviewed both Larry David
Larry David

Lawrence Gene "Larry" David is an United States actor, writer, comedian, Television producer, and film director. Formerly a Standup comedy, David went into television comedy, writing and starring in ABC's Fridays , as well as writing briefly for Saturday Night Live....
 and Garry Shandling
Garry Shandling

Garry Shandling is an United States comedian. He is best known for his work in It's Garry Shandling's Show and The Larry Sanders Show....
, creators of these shows, on Ricky Gervais Meets... .

Extras was awarded the Golden Globe award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy on 14 January 2008.

Stand-up comedy

Gervais made a few attempts at stand-up
Stand-up comedy

Stand-up comedy is a style of comedy where the performer speaks directly to the audience, with the absence of the theatrical "fourth wall". A person who performs stand-up comedy is known as a stand-up comic, stand-up comedian or more informally stand up....
 in the late 1990s, but his first successful show took place at the Cafe Royal, as part of 2001's Edinburgh Fringe
Edinburgh Fringe

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world?s largest arts festival. Established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place in Scotland's capital during three weeks every August alongside several other arts and cultural festivals, collectively known as the Edinburgh Festival....
. Titled Rubbernecker, the show also featured Jimmy Carr
Jimmy Carr

James Anthony Patrick "Jimmy" Carr, Jr. is an England comedian, author, actor and presenter of radio presenter and television presenter, known for his deadpan, satire and often very Black comedy....
, Robin Ince
Robin Ince

Robin Ince is an England stand-up comedian, actor and writer. He is also an Impressionist , having performed his John Peel on The 11 O'Clock Show, for which he also wrote....
, and Stephen Merchant.

Gervais later toured the UK in 2003 with his stand-up show Animals
Animals (comedy)

Animals is a stand-up show written and performed by the comedian Ricky Gervais. As the title suggests Gervais uses aspects of the animal kingdom as his central theme....
. The Politics
Politics (comedy)

Politics is the second of Ricky Gervais' stand-up shows. It was written and performed by the comedian Gervais. As the title suggests the show takes the political sphere as its central theme....
 tour followed a year later. Both of these shows were recorded for release on DVD
DVD

DVD, also known as "Digital Versatile Disc" or "Digital Video Disc,"is a popular optical disc data storage device media format. Its main uses are video and data storage....
 and television broadcast. The third part of the themed live trilogy, Fame
Fame (comedy)

Fame is the most recent of stand-up shows written and performed by Ricky Gervais.'Fame' has run for over 100 shows across the UK mainland, including a long stint in London and will be followed by a number of shows at New York's Madison Square Gardens....
, took place in 2007. It started in Glasgow in January and ended in Sheffield
Sheffield

Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom and metropolitan borough in South Yorkshire, England. It is so named because of its origins in a field on the River Sheaf that runs through the city....
 in April. Blackpool reported selling out of tickets within 45 minutes of them going on sale. More dates were added.

Newsnight Review's panel saw Animals during its Bloomsbury run and covered it in January 2003. They were not favourable, with Private Eye editor Ian Hislop
Ian Hislop

Ian David Hislop is a United Kingdom satirist, writer, broadcaster and editor of the magazine Private Eye . He has also appeared on many radio and television programmes, most notably as a team captain on the BBC current affairs quiz Have I Got News for You....
 being the most explicit in his criticism. After this, Gervais closed each show by calling Hislop an "ugly little pug-faced cunt". Further coverage on Newsnight Review has been overwhelmingly favourable, with the panelists playing themselves in promos for the second series of Extras. Panel regulars Germaine Greer
Germaine Greer

Germaine Greer is an Australian-born writer, academic, journalist and scholar of early modern English literature, widely regarded as one of the most significant Feminism voices of the later 20th century....
, Mark Kermode
Mark Kermode

Mark Kermode is an England film criticism who regularly writes for Sight and Sound magazine and The Observer newspaper. He reviews films on Simon Mayo's BBC Radio Five Live show on Friday afternoons, and is the resident movie critic for The Culture Show, on BBC Two, and for Film 4, in the United Kingdom....
, and Mark Lawson
Mark Lawson

Mark Gerard Lawson is an English people journalist, broadcaster and author....
 also appeared as themselves reviewing When The Whistle Blows in a series episode. Critic Mark Lawson is a great admirer of Gervais and Merchant, having interviewed them extensively for television, print Front Row
Front Row (radio)

Front Row is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. The BBC describes the programme as a "live magazine programme on the world of arts, literature, film, media and music." It is broadcast each week day between 7.15 and 7.45 and has a of highlights available for download....
, and the Edinburgh International Television Festival
Edinburgh International Television Festival

The Edinburgh International Television Festival, founded in 1976, is held annually over the British August bank holiday weekend at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre....
.

Fame
Fame (comedy)

Fame is the most recent of stand-up shows written and performed by Ricky Gervais.'Fame' has run for over 100 shows across the UK mainland, including a long stint in London and will be followed by a number of shows at New York's Madison Square Gardens....
 was the subject of some controversy in January 2007, when Gervais told a story, ostensibly about how people will do anything to become famous, to a Scottish audience. The story referred to a question asked of Gervais five years earlier by a reporter: what can you do to become famous? To which he replied, "Go out and kill a prostitute". He followed up with the punchline, "I won't do that bit in Ipswich", referring to the December 2006 murders of five prostitutes in Ipswich. The joke drew criticism from the father of one of the victims, Tania Nicol: "These days, they want to make a joke out of anything. I feel he’s just being uncaring, quite honestly". Gervais did not apologise but did defend himself: "I do want people to know that that happened five years ago and is not related to anything now. That is the problem with comedy, a joke that is funny today can be a terrible faux pas tomorrow".

He has performed stand-up in the U.S. three times—he performed two warm-up shows at the TriBeCa Performing Arts Center and headlined David Bowie
David Bowie

David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and Arrangement. Active in five decades of rock music and frequently reinventing his music and image, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s....
's High Line Festival in May 2007.

In Grand Theft Auto IV
Grand Theft Auto IV

Grand Theft Auto IV is a Nonlinear gameplay Action-adventure game video game developed by Rockstar North. It is the ninth game in the Grand Theft Auto ....
, Gervais can be seen at a comedy club performing a 4-minute routine. There are several different performances that can be seen, composed mostly of material from his Fame tour.

Gervais's next stand-up comedy show will be entitled Science with the tour comencing 2009, although no dates have been released yet.

Books


Flanimals
Gervais released a children's book in 2004, Flanimals
Flanimals

Flanimals is a children's and adults' book written by comedian Ricky Gervais. The book, illustrated by Rob Steen, features 35 different characters described as species of animal which form an imaginary world....
 (illustrated by his friend Rob Steen), which depicted nonsense animals. After the success of this book, he released its sequel More Flanimals
More Flanimals

More Flanimals is the sequel to Ricky Gervais' book Flanimals.Like Flanimals, the book features around 30 species of Flanimal, illustrated by Rob Steen, which make up their own imaginary ecosystem....
 in 2005, with Flanimals of the Deep
Flanimals of the Deep

Flanimals of the Deep is the third book in the Flanimals series from United Kingdom Comedian Ricky Gervais and Illustrator Rob Steen.The book was published on 5 October 2006 and includes such Flanimals as the Mulgi, Flambois, Bif Uddlers and Mulons....
 coming the next year. A new Flanimals book, Day of the Bletching, was released in October 2007.

There is a wide range of Flanimals merchandise available, including dolls and gift cards. A six-part Flanimals TV series has been commissioned by ITV, although Gervais had previously claimed signing a Hollywood movie deal so that a franchise
Media franchise

A media franchise is an intellectual property involving the fictional character, fictional universe, and trademarks of an original work of News media , such as a film, a work of literature, a television program, or a video game....
 could be developed. "That way it stands a chance of being the next Dr. Seuss
Dr. Seuss

Theodor Seuss Geisel was an American writer and cartoonist, most widely known for his children's books written under his pen name, Dr. Seuss....
 or Mr Men".

Other books
The Office scripts have been released in book form, with Series 1 issued in 2002, and the remaining episodes following in 2003.

In late 2006 the Extras script book was released, as well as The World of Karl Pilkington
The World of Karl Pilkington

The World of Karl Pilkington is the first book written and illustrated by Karl Pilkington, and contains transcripts from The Ricky Gervais Show podcasts and excerpts from his own diary, as well as drawings and some original material illustrated by Pilkington....
 presented by Gervais and Merchant. These were essentially transcripts of Xfm
Xfm

Xfm is a brand of commercial radio stations focused on alternative music, primarily indie , and owned by Global Radio in the United Kingdom. Xfm was created in 1997 in London, but has since expanded to several stations....
/podcast routines performed by the three.

Film

Gervais's film career has included small roles as the voice of a pigeon in 2005's Valiant, as a studio executive in 2006's For Your Consideration
For Your Consideration (film)

For Your Consideration is a 2006 comedy film directed by Christopher Guest. It was co-written by Guest and Eugene Levy, both also starring in the film....
, as museum
Museum

A museum is a "permanent institution in the service of society and of its development, open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits the tangible and intangible heritage of humanity and its environment, for the purposes of education, study, and entertainment", as defined by the International Coun...
 director Dr. McPhee in 2006's Night at the Museum
Night at the Museum

Night at the Museum is a 2006 in film American adventure comedy film. It is based on The Night at the Museum by Milan Trenc. It follows a divorced father trying to settle down, impress his son, and find his destiny....
, and as "Ferdy the Fence" in the 2007 film Stardust. His role in Night at the Museum has proven to be one of Gervais's most popular roles, with the movie grossing
Gross (economics)

In economics, gross means before deductions. The antonym is Net , meaning after deductions....
 $570 million worldwide.

At one point, Gervais was considered for a role in the Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise

Thomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known by his Stage name Tom Cruise, is an United States actor and film producer. Forbes magazine ranked him as the world's most powerful celebrity in 2006....
 movie Mission: Impossible III
Mission: Impossible III

Mission: Impossible III is a 2006 in film action film, the third based on the spy-themed television series Mission: Impossible starring Tom Cruise who reprises his role of an agent of Impossible Mission Force, an unofficial branch of the CIA likely modelled after their elite Special Activities Division, agent Ethan Hunt....
, but it never came to fruition - Gervais cited reasons for this, on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross

Friday Night with Jonathan Ross is a comical chat show presented by Jonathan Ross . It is on the United Kingdom terrestrial TV channel BBC One and is broadcast at 10.35pm on Friday nights....
: "It was a bigger part than I first thought."

Gervais starred in Ghost Town
Ghost Town (film)

Ghost Town is a 2008 in film Cinema of the United States paranormal comedy film directed by David Koepp and starring the English comedian Ricky Gervais in his first leading role in a movie....
, which was released on 19 September 2008, and was in Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell, Massachusetts

Lowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 105,167....
 during May 2008 filming his next project, This Side of the Truth
This Side of the Truth

This Side of the Truth is an upcoming comedy film, directed by Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson, from their own script. The film is set on an alternate Earth where no one has ever lied, and stars Gervais as a performer who tells the world's first lie, coming to wield its power for personal gain....
, starring himself, Jennifer Garner
Jennifer Garner

'Jennifer Anne Garner Affleck' is an United States actor. She is best known for her role as CIA agent Sydney Bristow on TV's Alias , as well as for her roles in the films Juno , Pearl Harbor , Dude, Where's My Car?, 13 Going on 30, Catch Me if You Can, Daredevil , Elektra , Catch and Release , and The King...
, Rob Lowe
Rob Lowe

Robert Hepler Lowe is an United States actor. He became famous after appearing in popular 1980s movies such as The Outsiders and St. Elmo's Fire , which included other members of the Brat Pack ....
, and Jason Bateman
Jason Bateman

Jason Kent Bateman is a Golden Globe-winning and Emmy Award-nominated United States actor. After starring in several 1980s sitcoms, Bateman became known for his role as Michael Bluth on the television sitcom Arrested Development ....
, with appearances by Tina Fey
Tina Fey

Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey is an United States writer, comedian, actor, and Television producer. She has won six Emmys, three Golden Globes, and three SAG Awards....
 and Jeffrey Tambor
Jeffrey Tambor

Jeffrey Michael Tambor is an American actor, perhaps most known for his roles as George Bluth Sr. on the television series Arrested Development and Hank Kingsley on The Larry Sanders Show....
. The comedy is co-written and co-directed by Gervais and Matt Robinson.

Other appearances

On 2 July 2005, Gervais appeared at the Live 8
Live 8

Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 Conference and 31st G8 summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland from 6-8 July 2005; they also coincided with the 20th anniversary of Live Aid....
 event held in Hyde Park, London
Hyde Park, London

Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, England and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine ....
, where he performed his famous dance. He produced a series of short films for the cause, linked acts from the studio with Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross

Jonathan Ross may refer to:* Jonathan Ross , English television and radio personality* Jonathan Ross , United States Senator, Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court...
, and also introduced the group R.E.M.

Gervais also has a role in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV
Grand Theft Auto IV

Grand Theft Auto IV is a Nonlinear gameplay Action-adventure game video game developed by Rockstar North. It is the ninth game in the Grand Theft Auto ....
, as himself, appearing in his role as a comedian in a comedy club, and as an interviewee on radio station We Know The Truth. For this, a special 3-minute act was written, recorded and fully motion-captured.

Boxing
In 2002, Gervais took part in a charity boxing
Boxing

Boxing is a combat sport where two participants, generally of similar human weight, fight each other with their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee and is typically engaged in during a series of one to three-minute intervals called rounds....
 match against entrepreneur
Entrepreneur

An entrepreneur is a person who has possession of an organization, or venture, and assumes significant accountability for the inherent risks and the outcome....
 Grant Bovey - known largely by the public due to his relationship with TV personality Anthea Turner
Anthea Turner

Anthea Millicent Turner is an England journalist, television presenter and media personality....
. On his Saturday afternoon Radio show on Xfm London
Xfm London

Xfm London is a commercial radio station in the United Kingdom. The station is owned by Global Radio and broadcasts on 104.9 FM in London, on Digital radio in the United Kingdom via 30 Digital Audio Broadcasting multiplexes across the country, Sky Digital, Tiscali TV and Virgin Media....
 Gervais and partners Merchant and Pilkington had discussions on both Ricky's attitude towards boxing and training in general, as well as his likelihood of victory against Bovey. Initially, Merchant had questions as to why Gervais was participating in the event, due to his dislike of slight pain and his inexperience with fitness in general.

In the weeks before the event was scheduled to take place both Merchant and Pilkington voiced their doubts as to his fitness due to illness which he had sustained weeks before the event, humorously, by stating that both they and Gervais's family had written up a petition to the BBC stating "Please do not allow this man to box."

Gervais was trained for the three-round contest by famous boxing trainer brothers Frank
Frank Maloney

Frank Maloney is a boxing manager and promoter and United Kingdom Independence Party politician. He stood in the London mayoral election, 2004, coming fourth with 6.19% of the vote....
 and Eugene Maloney, at their Fight Factory gymnasium. It was the second televised charity boxing match, the first being Bob Mortimer
Bob Mortimer

Robert "Bob" Renwick Mortimer is a United Kingdom comedian and actor, who is best known for his double act with Vic Reeves . He owns the independent production company Pett Productions with Vic Reeves and Lisa Clark....
 against Les Dennis
Les Dennis

Les Dennis is an England comedian, television presenter and actor perhaps best known as the host of Family Fortunes for 16 years....
, for Comic Relief. The fight was televised by the BBC, and Gervais came out on top by a split decision
Split decision

A Split Decision is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and others sports involving strike in which two of the three judges score for the same fighter as the winner, while the third judge scores for the other fighter....
 verdict. Gervais later said that the experience was the 'most difficult thing' he had ever done. He donated his £5,000 prize money to the training of a Macmillan nurse.

Concert for Diana and Live Earth
On 1 July 2007, Gervais performed at the Concert for Diana
Concert for Diana

Concert for Diana was a concert held at the new Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom in honour of Diana, Princess of Wales on 1 July 2007, which would have been her 46th birthday; 31 August that year brought the 10th anniversary of Death of Diana, Princess of Wales....
 in Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium

The original Wembley Stadium was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007....
, a music event celebrating the life of the late Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales

Diana, Princess of Wales, was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales. Their sons, Princes Prince William of Wales and Prince Henry of Wales , are second and third Line of succession to the British throne of the British monarchy and fifteen other Commonwealth Realms....
. Towards the end of the event - after a pre-recorded introduction from Ben Stiller
Ben Stiller

Benjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller is an Emmy Award-winning American comedian, actor, film director, and film producer. He is the son of veteran comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara....
 - Gervais appeared along with fellow Office
The Office (UK TV series)

The Office is a British Academy Television Awards, Golden Globe Award winning and Emmy-nominated United Kingdom television program comedy that first aired in the UK on BBC Two on 9 July 2001....
 star Mackenzie Crook
Mackenzie Crook

Paul Mackenzie Crook is an English actor, comedian, and environmentalist, best known for playing Gareth Keenan in The Office and Ragetti in the Pirates of the Caribbean films films....
. They performed Freelove Freeway, a song previously heard in the fourth episode of series one of The Office. Due to a technical problem, Gervais then had to fill time until he was able to re-introduce Elton John
Elton John

Sir Elton Hercules John Order of the British Empire is an England singer-songwriter, composer and pianist.In his four-decade career, John has been one of the dominant forces in rock and popular music, especially during the 1970s....
 to close the show, so he did the David Brent
David Brent

David Brent is a fictional character white-collar office middle-manager and one of the principal characters from the BBC television mockumentary The Office , played by co-writer and director Ricky Gervais....
 dance again, as well as singing the "Little Fat Man" song as performed by David Bowie
David Bowie

David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and Arrangement. Active in five decades of rock music and frequently reinventing his music and image, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s....
 in episode two of the second series of Extras
Extras (TV series)

Extras is a British Academy Television Awards, Golden Globe and Emmy award-winning United Kingdom Situation comedy about Extra working on film sets and in theatre....
.

On 7 July, 2007 Gervais appeared at the UK leg
Live Earth concert, London

The Live Earth concert in the United Kingdom was held at Wembley Stadium, London, England on 7 July 2007....
 of Live Earth
Live Earth

Live Earth is an annual event developed to combat global warming....
 at Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium

The original Wembley Stadium was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007....
, London. Gervais introduced Rob Reiner
Rob Reiner

Robert "Rob" Reiner is an United States actor, Film director, Film producer, writer, and political activist. As an actor, Reiner first came to national prominence as Archie and Edith Bunker's son-in-law, Michael Stivic, on All in the Family....
 appearing in the guise of spoof film director Marty Di Bergi, who in turn introduced Spinal Tap
Spinal tap

Spinal tap can refer to:*Spinal tap, colloquial term for a lumbar puncture*Spinal Tap, a fictional hard rock band*This Is Spinal Tap, a mockumentary portraying the same band...
. At the start of the concert, Radio 1
BBC Radio 1

BBC Radio 1 is a United Kingdom international radio station operated by the BBC, specialising in current popular music throughout the day, with a slight bias to Rock music & Independent music music....
 DJ Chris Moyles
Chris Moyles

Christopher Moyles is an England Presenter from Leeds. He currently hosts the BBC Radio 1 breakfast show, entitled The Chris Moyles Show....
, who was acting as compère for part of the event, announced that Gervais would be appearing and performing an 'extended 25-minute set', which ultimately failed to happen. It is unclear whether this was meant as a joke, perhaps referring to the time Gervais had to fill at the Concert for Diana the previous Sunday, or if it was simply cut because of time constraints, but in an off-stage segment later Moyles actually expressed disappointment that it had not occurred. Gervais himself however did reference his appearance at the Diana concert the previous week, saying, 'Now listen, we're running late, so I'm gonna be off this stage in 30 seconds, whether Elton John is fucking ready or not,' making him one of a number of people to swear on live TV at the event.

Accolades

Gervais has received many awards for his work on The Office, most notably two Golden Globes (one for acting, one for the show itself), as well as numerous British Academy Television Awards
British Academy Television Awards

The British Academy Television Awards, also known as the BAFTAs — or, to differentiate them from the British Academy Film Awards, the BAFTA Television Awards — are the most prestigious awards given in the United Kingdom television industry, analogous to the Emmy Awards in the United States....
 and British Comedy Awards
British Comedy Awards

The British Comedy Awards is an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom celebrating notable comedians and entertainment performances of the previous year....
, amongst others. The show missed out on what was considered to be a definite Emmy Award
Emmy Award

The Emmy Award, also known as the 'Emmy', is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards....
 nomination because there were not enough episodes broadcast in the U.S. before the deadline for consideration.

Gervais received an honorary award at the annual Rose d'Or
Rose d'Or

The Rose d'Or is a television award. It has been given annually in spring since 1961 at the Festival Rose d'Or. Since 2004, the festival has been held in Lucerne, Switzerland....
 ceremony in Switzerland on 29 April 2006. The award is given to "an individual who has made an exceptional contribution to the global entertainment business".

On 16 September 2007, Gervais won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his role of Andy Millman on Extras.

Awarding Body/Event Awarded
Writers Guild of America
Writers Guild of America

The Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers around New York City....
  • 2007 Best Comedy Series "The Office" (U.S.)
Rose d'Or
Rose d'Or

The Rose d'Or is a television award. It has been given annually in spring since 1961 at the Festival Rose d'Or. Since 2004, the festival has been held in Lucerne, Switzerland....
  • 2006 Honorary Rose for Exceptional Contribution to the Global Entertainment Business
  • Emmy Award
    Emmy Award

    The Emmy Award, also known as the 'Emmy', is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards....
    s
  • 2007 Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series "Extras"
  • 2006 Best Writing for a Comedy "Extras"
  • 2006 Emmy Outstanding Comedy Series "The Office" (U.S.)
  • 2005 Best Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special “Office Special” (UK)
  • Golden Globe
  • 2008
    65th Golden Globe Awards

    The 65th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and television of 2007, were scheduled to be presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association on January 13, 2008....
     Best Television Comedy or Musical (TV) Extras
  • 2004
    62nd Golden Globe Awards

    The 62nd Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and television for 2004, were held on January 16, 2005.The Aviator received the most nominations and won the most awards, with 3 ....
     Best Actor - Musical or Comedy (TV) The Office (UK)
  • 2004 Best Television Comedy The Office (UK)
  • Peabody Awards
  • 2004 Peabody Award “The Office” (UK)
  • BAFTA Awards
  • 2007 Best Comedy Performance
  • 2004 Best Comedy Performance
  • 2004 Best Situation Comedy “The Office” (UK)
  • 2003 Best Comedy Performance
  • 2003 Situation Comedy Award “The Office” (UK)
  • 2002 Best Comedy Performance
  • 2002 Situation Comedy Award “The Office” (UK)
  • Royal Television Society
    Royal Television Society

    The Royal Television Society is a United Kingdom-based society for the discussion, analysis and preservation of television in all its forms, past, present and future....
  • 2003 Best Comedy Performance for: "The Office" (UK)
  • British Comedy Award
  • 2008 Best TV Comedy Actor
  • 2004 Writer of the Year Ricky Gervais & Stephen Merchant
  • 2002 Best Comedy Actor
  • 2002 Best Television Comedy “The Office” (UK)
  • 2001 Best New Television Comedy “The Office” (UK)
  • Broadcasting Press Guild Awards
  • 2003 Writer's Award for: "The Office" (UK)
  • 2002 Writer's Award for: "The Office" (UK)


  • Criticism and controversy

    The Independent
    The Independent

    The Independent is a United Kingdom Compact newspaper published by Tony O'Reilly's Independent News & Media. It is nicknamed the Indy, with the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, being the Sindy....
     newspaper has described Gervais as "obsessed by his own celebrity
    Celebrity

    A celebrity is a widely-recognized or notable person who commands a high degree of public and media attention. The word stems from the Latin verb "celebrare" but one may not become a celebrity unless public and mass media interest is piqued....
    ", but adds, "Who wouldn't want to be Peter Lawford
    Peter Lawford

    Peter Sydney Lawford was an English-born actor, member of the "Rat Pack," and brother-in-law to President John F. Kennedy, perhaps more noted in later years for his off-screen activities as a celebrity than for his acting....
     in a comedy Rat Pack
    Rat Pack

    The Rat Pack was a group of popular entertainers originally centered on Humphrey Bogart. In the mid-1960s it was the name used by the press and the general public to refer to a group that called itself "the summit" or "the clan," featuring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop, who appeared together on...
    ?" in reference to Ricky Gervais Meets...; the article, however, also describes him as "a very funny man" who "created one of the great sitcoms". The Guardian
    The Guardian

    Sorry, no overview for this topic
    's Chris Tryhorn explained the "few gripes" he had with Extras, "particularly in the second series". "You can forgive Gervais a certain arrogance after the success of The Office
    The Office (UK TV series)

    The Office is a British Academy Television Awards, Golden Globe Award winning and Emmy-nominated United Kingdom television program comedy that first aired in the UK on BBC Two on 9 July 2001....
    , but..." He remarks on the confused tone of the series, taking in the clash between the broad comedy of characters Barry (Shaun Williamson
    Shaun Williamson

    Shaun Williamson is an English people actor, singer and television personality who achieved fame during the 1990s and early 2000s with the role of Barry Evans in EastEnders....
    ) and Darren (Stephen Merchant
    Stephen Merchant

    Stephen James Merchant is a British Comedy Award-, BAFTA-, Emmy- and Golden Globe-award winning United Kingdom writer, director, and comic actor....
    ), and the apparent parody of this style with When The Whistle Blows, and "given their total indulgence of Gervais, the BBC is portrayed as interfering, its comedy
    Comedy

    Comedy as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse generally intended to amuse, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western culture origins are found in Ancient Greece....
     department run by a rather crudely stereotype
    Stereotype

    A stereotype is a preconceived idea that attributes certain characteristics to all the members of class or set. The term is often used with a negative connotation when referring to an oversimplified, exaggerated, or demeaning assumption that a particular individual possesses the characteristics associated with the class due to his or her me...
    d gay couple".

    In September 2005 he caused mild controversy by recording a radio
    Radio

    Radio is the transmission of signals, by modulation of electromagnetic radiation with frequency below those of visible light.Electromagnetic radiation radio propagation by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space....
     advert for a prostate
    Prostate

    The prostate is a compound tubuloalveolar exocrine gland of the male mammalian reproductive system. Females do not have a prostate gland, although females do have tiny paraurethral Skene's glands connected to the distal third of the urethra in the prevaginal space that are homologous to the prostate....
     cancer
    Cancer

    Cancer is a class of diseases in which a group of cell display uncontrolled growth , invasion , and sometimes metastasis . These three malignant properties of cancers differentiate them from benign tumors, which are self-limited, do not invade or metastasize....
     charity which was only allowed to be broadcast from 9pm to 6am because of its content. However, on 3 October 2005, the Radio Advertising Clearance Centre announced that the advert could be broadcast before 9pm, but stipulated that a "squish" noise should be removed.

    In February 2007, British ventriloquist Keith Harris
    Keith Harris

    Keith Harris is an England ventriloquism who is known for his television show , audio recordings, and club appearances with his puppets Orville the Duck and Cuddles the Monkey....
     refused an invitation to appear on the second series of Extras, claiming that Gervais "wanted me to be a racist bigot" and describing the script as "pure filth". When asked about Harris's refusal on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
    Friday Night with Jonathan Ross

    Friday Night with Jonathan Ross is a comical chat show presented by Jonathan Ross . It is on the United Kingdom terrestrial TV channel BBC One and is broadcast at 10.35pm on Friday nights....
    , Gervais claimed that Harris simply "didn't get it". Keith Chegwin
    Keith Chegwin

    Keith "Cheggers" Chegwin is an English people television presenter, former child actor and singer. He is the brother of DJ Janice Long...
    , who assumed the role offered to Harris, said "the people who didn't get it probably think Johnny Depp
    Johnny Depp

    Johnny Depp is an American actor known for his portrayals of offbeat, eccentric characters such as Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series and Edward Scissorhands....
     really is a pirate."

    In July 2007, following Gervais's appearance at the memorial concert for Diana, Princess of Wales, the Guardian ran a column by Daily Mirror television critic Jim Shelley
    Jim Shelley (TV critic)

    'Jim Shelley' is a United Kingdom television critic who writes a columnist for the Daily Mirror each Monday entitled 'Shelleyvision'. Prior to writing for the Daily Mirror he wrote for The Guardian and his collection of reviews "Interference: Tapehead vs....
     entitled "Call Me Crazy... But Has Ricky Gervais Lost It?" This related to his performance at the concert for Diana in which he had to fill time after a technical fault in the sound system for Elton John
    Elton John

    Sir Elton Hercules John Order of the British Empire is an England singer-songwriter, composer and pianist.In his four-decade career, John has been one of the dominant forces in rock and popular music, especially during the 1970s....
    's performance. He was not allowed to use material from his current stand-up show 'Fame'
    Fame (comedy)

    Fame is the most recent of stand-up shows written and performed by Ricky Gervais.'Fame' has run for over 100 shows across the UK mainland, including a long stint in London and will be followed by a number of shows at New York's Madison Square Gardens....
     for legal reasons, so instead performed his famous Brent Dance that the audience willed him to do and sang the song "Little Fat Man" from Extras series two (originally performed by David Bowie
    David Bowie

    David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and Arrangement. Active in five decades of rock music and frequently reinventing his music and image, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s....
     in the series) before being told he could hand back to the BBC. Gervais was allegedly booed off stage. He tells British radio station Heart FM, "After the Diana concert there was one guy - who works for a tabloid - and he wrote that the crowd booed… they didn't boo, they loved it." "People love it when something goes wrong and I was standing there and they demanded I do 'the robot dance' and it was funny."

    The following week, the Guardian noted that Gervais had responded with "an exhilaratingly foul-mouthed tirade" on his website, concluding with the words, "Yes I am resting on my laurels you cunt!", in this video Gervais mocked Jim Shelley typing the words "Resting on his laurels" as Ricky jokingly lashed out by stating he was resting on his laurels and that he was not going to make another show for television and saying "What's the point? What is there to beat?".

    Filmography

    Year Film Role Notes
    2001 Dog Eat Dog
    Dog Eat Dog (film)

    Dog Eat Dog is a 2001 in film, Directed by Moody Shoaibi and written by Moody Shoaibi and Mark Tonderai....
    Bouncer 
    2005 Valiant Bugsy (voice) 
    2006 For Your Consideration
    For Your Consideration (film)

    For Your Consideration is a 2006 comedy film directed by Christopher Guest. It was co-written by Guest and Eugene Levy, both also starring in the film....
    Martin Gibb 
    Night at the Museum
    Night at the Museum

    Night at the Museum is a 2006 in film American adventure comedy film. It is based on The Night at the Museum by Milan Trenc. It follows a divorced father trying to settle down, impress his son, and find his destiny....
    Dr. McPhee 
    2007 Stardust Ferdy the Fence 
    2008 Ghost Town
    Ghost Town (film)

    Ghost Town is a 2008 in film Cinema of the United States paranormal comedy film directed by David Koepp and starring the English comedian Ricky Gervais in his first leading role in a movie....
    Bertram Pincus 
    2009 Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
    Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

    Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian is a 2009 in film American adventure comedy film and the sequel to the American adventure comedy film Night at the Museum....
    Dr. McPhee in post-production
    This Side of the Truth
    This Side of the Truth

    This Side of the Truth is an upcoming comedy film, directed by Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson, from their own script. The film is set on an alternate Earth where no one has ever lied, and stars Gervais as a performer who tells the world's first lie, coming to wield its power for personal gain....
    Mark Belsonin post-production; Also co-writer and co-director


    Interviews

    • The Independent, et al. (2005). Ricky Gervais: My life as a superstar [Electronic Version] Independent News Media: United Kingdom
    • The Guardian Newspaper, et al. (2005). "Second Coming" Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007: United Kingdom
    • Thomas, S., et al. (1983). More to lose - everything to gain [Electronic Version] Retrieved on 8 July 2007 from New Music Express : London


    External links

    • Official Site
    • - Ricky Gervais Resource
    • video