Ricky Gervais
Encyclopedia
Ricky Dene Gervais is an English comedian, actor, director, radio presenter, producer, musician, and writer.
Gervais achieved mainstream fame with his television series The Office
and the subsequent series Extras, both of which he co-wrote and co-directed with friend and frequent collaborator Stephen Merchant
. In addition to writing and directing the shows, Gervais also played the lead roles of David Brent
in The Office and Andy Millman in Extras. Gervais has also starred in a number of Hollywood films, assuming leading roles in Ghost Town
and The Invention of Lying
. He has performed on four sell-out stand-up comedy
tours, written the best-selling Flanimals
book series and starred with Stephen Merchant
and Karl Pilkington
in the most downloaded podcast in the world as of March 2009, The Ricky Gervais Show
.
He has won multiple awards and honours, including seven BAFTA Awards, five British Comedy Awards
, two Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and the 2006 Rose d'Or
, as well as a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination.
In 2007 he was voted the 11th greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4
's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups and again in the updated 2010 list as the 3rd greatest stand-up comic. In 2010 he was named on the TIME 100 list of the world's most influential people. In 2010, Gervais became the first British person to host the Golden Globe Awards in 14 years; he returned to host in 2011 and is signed on to host in 2012.
in Reading, Berkshire
. Gervais's father, Lawrence Raymond 'Jerry' Gervais (1919–2002), a Franco-Ontarian
, emigrated while on foreign duty during the Second World War from London, Ontario
, Canada. Jerry met Gervais's mother, Eva Sophia M. (née House; 1925–2000), during a blackout
, and they settled in Whitley. She died aged 74 of lung cancer.
During Xfm London's The Ricky Gervais Show
and in further newspaper interviews with The Independent
, 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. He has claimed that his father was "drunk when he filled in the birth certificate", leading to the unusual spelling of his middle name.
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
", made fun of each other regularly.
Gervais attended Whitley Park Infants and Junior Schools and received his secondary education at Ashmead Comprehensive School, before moving on to University College London
in 1979. He arrived to study biology
but changed to philosophy
after only two weeks and earned an upper second-class honours degree in the subject. During his time at UCL, he met Jane Fallon
, with whom he has been in a relationship since 1982.
. They were signed by London Records
, 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 number 117 and "Bitter Heart" peaking at 70 in the UK singles charts. Despite not being successful in the UK, Seona Dancing did manage to score a hit in the Philippines with "More to Lose".
According to the 20 December 2003 broadcast of the Ricky Gervais Show, Gervais later had a band called the Sacred Hearts, which Ian Camfield described as Gervais's Bon Jovi
phase.
for the University of London Union
(ULU), where he continued working until he took a similar job as "head of speech" at Xfm London
.
Needing an assistant, Gervais interviewed the first person whose curriculum vitae he saw. The CV belonged to Stephen Merchant
. During the interview at a local pub, Merchant agreed to do "all the boring stuff" because of his experience in media studies
while Gervais "mess[ ed] around". In 1998 Gervais was made redundant when the station was taken over by the Capital Radio
group.
Gervais was music adviser for the BBC drama This Life
, which was being produced by his girlfriend, Jane Fallon
. He and Merchant also contributed sketches to BBC Radio 1
's The Breezeblock
in 1999 and 2000.
After the first series of The Office
, 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 when the pair first worked with Karl Pilkington
, who produced the shows and later collaborated with them on their series of podcast
s.
began offering 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. These audiobooks were described as the 'guide to...' series, covering several topics. As of May 2011, there are 12 "Guides" in total: Medicine, Natural History, Arts, Philosophy, The English, Society, Law & Order, The Future, The Human Body, The Earth, The World Cup 2010 & Comic Relief
. The conversations typically begin on topic, but constantly stray away from the topic at hand.
(ITV), penning several sketches. His mainstream-TV debut came in September 1998 as part of Channel 4
's "Comedy Lab" series of pilots. His one-off show Golden Years focused on a David Bowie
–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
'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
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
, later a co-star of The Office
. Two years later, Gervais went on to present his own comedy chat show for Channel 4 called Meet Ricky Gervais
; it was poorly received and has since been mocked by Gervais himself. The Independent
newspaper has described Gervais as "obsessed by his own celebrity", but adds, "Who wouldn't want to be Peter Lawford
in a comedy Rat Pack
?" 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 Guardians
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
, but..." He remarks on the confused tone of the series, taking in the clash between the broad comedy of characters Barry (Shaun Williamson
) and Darren (Stephen Merchant
), 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 department run by a rather crudely stereotype
d gay couple".
Throughout this time, Gervais also wrote for the BBC sketch show Bruiser
and The Jim Tavare
Show, and he had cameo roles in Channel 4's sitcom Spaced
; it is speculated that the cameo is indeed The Office character David Brent
. However, both series of Spaced finished airing before The Office premiered. Gervais also appeared in a few of Channel 4's 'Top 100...' list programmes, and he voiced the character of Penguin in Robbie the Reindeer
's Legend of the Lost Tribe. His voice was redubbed for the US market.
On 5 January 2006 he interviewed Larry David
in a one off special, Ricky Gervais Meets... Larry David. On 25 and 26 December of the same year Channel 4 aired similar specials in which he interviewed the actor/comedian Christopher Guest
and comedian Garry Shandling
. There are no plans for further episodes of "Meets...", although editions with John Cleese
and Matt Groening
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
entitled "Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife
", which aired on 26 March 2006 in the United States, on 23 April 2006 on satellite station Sky One
in the United Kingdom (first appearing on terrestrial television in 2010), 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
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:
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".
Gervais, a longstanding Simpsons fan, presented a segment to mark the show's 20th anniversary on BBC Two
's The Culture Show
on 16 June 2007. Recently on Gervais's blog it was announced that he will be returning to The Simpsons and will feature him doing a skit based on his recent controversial performance at the 2011 Golden Globes. It is unknown if he will be writing the episode this time around.
Gervais has also guest-starred on Alias
(appearing in the third-season episode "Façade") as Daniel Ryan, a former Royal Navy bomb-disposal specialist turned rogue Irish Republican Army
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
in a Digital Short during which he claims that The Office was adapted from a Japanese program of the same name (with Steve Carell
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".
In January 2009 Gervais was interviewed by James Lipton
for Season 15 of BravoTV's Inside the Actors Studio
.
In January 2010 he hosted the 67th Golden Globe Awards
, making him the first master of ceremonies since 1995. He stated:
His performance as host received a mixed response with positive reviews from the New York Daily News
and the Associated Press
, but also some negative comments from industry bible, The Hollywood Reporter
.
Gervais was a guest judge on Jerry Seinfeld
's NBC show The Marriage Ref
alongside Larry David
and Madonna
.
On 1 April 2010 Gervais made his first appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
on NBC
.
As of April 2011 he has made 18 guest appearances on the Late Show With David Letterman
on the CBS
network.
In April 2010 it was announced that Gervais and Stephen Merchant will be writing a new show, called Life's Too Short
, which they described as, "A cross between Extras and Curb Your Enthusiasm
and One Foot in the Grave
but with a dwarf. That is out and out funny." The show will star actor Warwick Davis
as himself, as well as Gervais and Merchant.
In June 2010 it was announced that Gervais had been cast in the upcoming Season 8 of Curb Your Enthusiasm
playing himself.
The Office In August 1999, while on a BBC production course, Stephen Merchant
had to make his own short film. 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
, Merchant passed this tape on to the BBC's Head of Entertainment Paul Jackson
at the Edinburgh Fringe
, who then passed it on to Head of Comedy Jon Plowman
, who eventually commissioned a full-pilot script from Merchant and Gervais.
The first six-episode series of The Office
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
in December 2003 for its final two special episodes.
The Office has since been remade for audiences in France
, Germany
, Quebec
, Brazil
, and the United States. Gervais and Merchant are producers of the American version, and they also co-wrote the episode "The Convict
" for the show's third season. The original UK version is currently airing on Adult Swim
on Fridays, and prior to the show's airing, Gervais appears as himself talking about the episode that will air. In one of those segments Gervais claimed the episode "Training
" to be his favourite.
. 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
, Les Dennis
, Patrick Stewart
, Vinnie Jones
, Samuel L. Jackson
, Ben Stiller
, Kate Winslet
, and Francesca Martinez
. A second series began on 14 September 2006 in the UK and featured appearances by Daniel Radcliffe
, Dame Diana Rigg
, Orlando Bloom
, Sir Ian McKellen
, Chris Martin
, Keith Chegwin
, Robert Lindsay
, Warwick Davis
, Ronnie Corbett
, Stephen Fry
, Richard Briers
, Patricia Potter
, Sophia Myles
, Moira Stuart
, David Bowie
, Kate Winslet
, Robert De Niro
, and Jonathan Ross
.
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
, Clive Owen
, Gordon Ramsay
, Jonathan Ross, and David Tennant
.
On 10 June 2006 Gervais and Merchant were seen in a specially-filmed promotional sketch for the second series, in the middle of BBC One
's World Cup
football coverage. This time Gervais did not perform his famous dance. Instead, Merchant did a take-off of the Crouch Dance, recently popularised by England
striker
Peter Crouch
.
Some have suggested that Gervais is influenced by Curb Your Enthusiasm
and The Larry Sanders Show
in making Extras, particularly in the format of celebrities making fools of themselves or subverting their public personas, and in the Gervais joke
of someone making inappropriate remarks in front of a member of a minority
. He has interviewed both Larry David
and Garry Shandling
, 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. Gervais also won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.
In February 2007 British ventriloquist Keith Harris 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
, Gervais claimed that Harris simply "didn't get it". Keith Chegwin
, who assumed the role offered to Harris, said "the people who didn't get it probably think Johnny Depp
really is a pirate."
The Ricky Gervais Show (HBO / Channel 4 animated series) The Ricky Gervais Show is an animated TV show that debuted on US cable network HBO on 19 February 2010. In the UK, the first season began airing on 23 April 2010 on Channel 4
. The show was developed using original podcast recordings from The Ricky Gervais Show starring Gervais, Stephen Merchant
, and Karl Pilkington
. After receiving a loyal and enthusiastic following in the US, Cable channel HBO recommissioned the show for a second season, due to air in 2011.
The original audio show was broadcast in November 2001 on radio station Xfm
, and aired in weekly periods for months at a time throughout 2002, 2003, 2004, and mid-2005. In November 2005 Guardian Unlimited
offered the show as a podcast
series of 12 shows. 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. By September 2006, according to the BBC
, the podcasts of the series had been downloaded "nearly 8 million" times.
in the late 1990s, but his first successful show took place at the Cafe Royal, as part of the 2001 Edinburgh Festival Fringe
. Titled Rubbernecker, the show also featured Jimmy Carr
, Robin Ince
, and Stephen Merchant
.
Gervais later toured the UK in 2003 with his stand-up show Animals
. The Politics
tour followed a year later. Both of these shows were recorded for release on DVD and television broadcast. The third part of the themed live trilogy, Fame
, took place in 2007. It started in Glasgow in January and ended in Sheffield
in April. Blackpool reported selling out of tickets within 45 minutes of them going on sale. More dates were added.
Newsnight Reviews panel saw Animals during its Bloomsbury run and covered it in January 2003. They were not favourable, with Private Eye
editor Ian Hislop
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
, Mark Kermode
, and Mark Lawson
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
, and the Edinburgh International Television Festival
.
Fame
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 could someone do to become famous like you? To which he replied, "Go out and kill a prostitute". He followed up with the punch line
, "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 victim Tania Nicol: "These days, they want to make a joke out of anything. I feel he's just being uncaring, quite honestly". Gervais defended 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".
Gervais's fourth show was entitled Science, and commenced with an eleven date tour in August 2009 at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre
in Glasgow
. The show opened to little critical praise. Writing for The Independent
, Julian Hall gave Science two stars out of five, stating that is was Gervais's "most disappointing" offering yet.
The DVD for Science was released on 15 November 2010.
In November 2009 he headlined the sixth annual New York Comedy Festival at Carnegie Hall, New York.
Gervais has begun writing his fifth stand-up routine, to be titled Humanity.
and he is in the Comedy Club and CNT in the video game along with another comedian in GTA IV Katt Williams
.
(illustrated by his friend Rob Steen), which depicted nonsense animals. After the success of this book, he released its sequel More Flanimals
in 2005, with Flanimals of the Deep
coming the next year. A new Flanimals book, Day of the Bletching, was released in October 2007. Flanimals: Pop Up was also published in 2009.
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
could be developed. "That way it stands a chance of being the next Dr. Seuss
or Mr. Men
".
In late 2006 the Extras script book was released, as well as The World of Karl Pilkington
presented by Gervais and Merchant. These were essentially transcripts of Xfm
/podcast
routines performed by the three.
, as museum director Dr. McPhee in 2006's Night at the Museum
and its sequel Night at the Museum 2
, 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
$570 million worldwide.
Gervais starred in Ghost Town
, which was released on 19 September 2008, and was in Lowell, Massachusetts
during May 2008 filming his next project, The Invention of Lying
, starring himself, Jennifer Garner
, Rob Lowe
, and Louis C.K.
, with appearances by Tina Fey
, Jeffrey Tambor
, Jason Bateman
, Roz Ryan
, Philip Seymour Hoffman
, and Edward Norton
. The comedy, released in 2009, was co-written and co-directed by Gervais and Matt Robinson.
Gervais and co-writer Stephen Merchant
made a film called Cemetery Junction
, set in 1970s England, about class, love and fulfillment. The film was released in April 2010.
He has been cast as Mole in the 2012 adaption of The Wind in the Willows
, featuring effects by Weta Workshop
in New Zealand.
event held in Hyde Park, London
, where he performed his famous dance. He produced a series of short films for the cause, linked acts from the studio with Jonathan Ross
, and also introduced the group R.E.M.
.
Gervais also has a role in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV
, 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.
He appeared on an episode of Sesame Street in which Elmo is looking to get to sleep and he's the celebrity from "Celebrity Lullabies" who sings about the letter "N" to help. He uses soft words like "Put your nightcap on" but when he gets to the chorus it's the rock song version of "Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na" which wakes Elmo up with each chorus.
Gervais has also hosted the 2010
and 2011 Golden Globe Awards
. His 2011 hosting of the awards was controversial for his edgy jokes that were at the expense of many of the nominees, similar to the New York Friars Club roast style jokes. His jibes were described as setting "a corrosive tone" by one critic, though some celebrities were seen crying from laughter, leaving the overall reaction to be 'mixed'.
match against entrepreneur Grant Bovey — known only to the public due to his relationship with TV personality Anthea Turner
. On his Saturday afternoon radio show on Xfm London
Gervais and partners Merchant and Pilkington had discussions on both Gervais'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.
Gervais was trained for the three-round contest by famous boxing trainer brothers Frank
and Eugene Maloney, at their Fight Factory gymnasium. It was the second televised charity boxing match, the first being Bob Mortimer
against Les Dennis
, for Comic Relief
. The fight was televised by the BBC, and Gervais came out on top by a split decision
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.
in Wembley Stadium
, a music event celebrating the life of the Princess of Wales
. Towards the end of the event — after a pre-recorded introduction from Ben Stiller
— Gervais appeared along with fellow Office
star Mackenzie Crook
. They performed Free Love 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
to close the show, so he did the David Brent
dance again, as well as singing the "Little Fat Man" song as performed by David Bowie
in episode two of the second series of Extras.
On 7 July 2007 Gervais appeared at the UK leg
of Live Earth
at Wembley Stadium
, London. Gervais introduced Rob Reiner
appearing in the guise of spoof film director Marty Di Bergi, who in turn introduced Spinal Tap
.
In July 2007, following Gervais's appearance at the memorial concert for the Princess of Wales, The Guardian ran a column by Daily Mirror television critic Jim Shelley
entitled "Call Me Crazy... But Has Ricky Gervais Lost It?" 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 fucking laurels you cunt!" In this video Gervais mocked Jim Shelley typing the words "Resting on his laurels" as Gervais jokingly lashed out by stating he was resting on his laurels and that he was not going to make another show for television, quipping "What's the point? What is there to beat?".
, having moved from Bloomsbury
, with his girlfriend of 29 years, producer and screenwriter Jane Fallon
. He says they chose not to legally marry because "there's no point in us having an actual ceremony before the eyes of God because there is no God" or have children because they "didn't fancy dedicating 16 years of our lives. And there are too many children, of course".
In August 2008, they bought a second home on the Upper East Side
of Manhattan
in New York City.
Gervais is a fervent supporter of animal rights
, and has been a fan of wildlife documentaries since he was a child. He has spoken out against fox hunting
and bullfighting
, and wrote to Gordon Brown
urging him to stop the use of black bear
fur as caps for the Foot Guards
.
He told Kirsty Young
that he is an atheist during a 2007 interview for Desert Island Discs
, later stating he lost his faith at the age of eight, and in June 2008 he became an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society
. In December 2010 he wrote an editorial for the Wall Street Journal defending his lack of faith.
. Gervais claimed the word no longer represented this meaning.
Although other comedians and support groups for the disabled pointed out that verbal and physical abuse of the disabled was on the increase, Gervais initially remained defiant over his use of the word. He later apologised, saying that he found it hard to believe that "idiots" still used the word to refer to people with Down Syndrome.
was met with criticism since he made biting jokes about many of the stars in attendence. When it was announced that Gervais would host the awards show again the following year, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association
even wrote, "While many welcome Gervais’s return, not everyone is happy with the decision because last year his blunt one-liners targeting big-name celebrities caused anger and resentment in some quarters."
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
and British Comedy Awards
, amongst others.
Gervais received an honorary award at the annual Rose d'Or
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.
Gervais achieved mainstream fame with his television series The Office
The Office (UK TV series)
The Office is a British sitcom television series that was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the programme is about the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictitious...
and the subsequent series Extras, both of which he co-wrote and co-directed with friend and frequent collaborator Stephen Merchant
Stephen Merchant
Stephen James Merchant is an English writer, director, radio presenter, comedian, and actor. He is best known for his collaborations with Ricky Gervais, as the co-writer and co-director of the popular British sitcom The Office, as the co-writer, co-director and a co-star of Extras, and as the...
. In addition to writing and directing the shows, Gervais also played the lead roles of David Brent
David Brent
David Brent is a fictional character in the BBC television mockumentary The Office, as well as a recurring character in the NBC series of the same name, portrayed by co-writer and director Ricky Gervais. Brent is a white-collar office middle-manager and the principal character of the BBC series...
in The Office and Andy Millman in Extras. Gervais has also starred in a number of Hollywood films, assuming leading roles in Ghost Town
Ghost Town (film)
Ghost Town is a 2008 American comedy-drama film directed by David Koepp, who also co-wrote the screenplay with John Kamps. It stars English comedian Ricky Gervais in his first leading feature-film role, as a dentist who can see and talk with ghosts, along with Téa Leoni as a young widow and Greg...
and The Invention of Lying
The Invention of Lying
The Invention of Lying is a 2009 fantasy romantic comedy film that is written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson. This film is the directorial debut of Gervais. The film stars Ricky Gervais as the first human with the ability to lie...
. He has performed on four sell-out stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...
tours, written the best-selling Flanimals
Flanimals
Flanimals is a children's book series written by comedian Ricky Gervais. The book, illustrated by Rob Steen, depicts a list of seemingly useless or inadequate animals, and their behaviour.The cover Flanimal is the Grundit...
book series and starred with Stephen Merchant
Stephen Merchant
Stephen James Merchant is an English writer, director, radio presenter, comedian, and actor. He is best known for his collaborations with Ricky Gervais, as the co-writer and co-director of the popular British sitcom The Office, as the co-writer, co-director and a co-star of Extras, and as the...
and Karl Pilkington
Karl Pilkington
Karl Pilkington is a British podcaster, author, television personality and former radio producer. He is best known for the Sky travel series, An Idiot Abroad, which was also presented in the United States on the Science Channel, in Canada on Discovery Channel and in Australia on One HD, and The...
in the most downloaded podcast in the world as of March 2009, The Ricky Gervais Show
The Ricky Gervais Show
The Ricky Gervais Show is a comedy audio show in the UK starring Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant, and Karl Pilkington, later adapted into an animated televised version debuting for HBO and Channel 4 in 2010. The show started in November 2001 on Xfm, and aired in weekly periods for months at a time...
.
He has won multiple awards and honours, including seven BAFTA Awards, five 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.-History:...
, two Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and the 2006 Rose d'Or
Rose d'Or
The Rose d’Or is one of the most important international festivals in entertainment television. It was founded in Montreux in 1961 and has taken place in Lucerne since 2004. Producers, executives from independent and public service broadcasters and heads of production companies from over 40...
, as well as a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination.
In 2007 he was voted the 11th greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely 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...
's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups and again in the updated 2010 list as the 3rd greatest stand-up comic. In 2010 he was named on the TIME 100 list of the world's most influential people. In 2010, Gervais became the first British person to host the Golden Globe Awards in 14 years; he returned to host in 2011 and is signed on to host in 2012.
Early life
Gervais, along with siblings Larry (born 1945), Marsha (born 1948), and Bob (born 1950), was born and raised in the suburb of WhitleyWhitley, Berkshire
Whitley is a suburb of Reading in the English county of Berkshire.-Geography:Whitley, commonly known as one of the larger suburbs of Reading, is bounded to the north and east by a ridge of high ground carrying the road to Shinfield, to the west by the valleys of the River Kennet and the Foudry...
in Reading, Berkshire
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
. Gervais's father, Lawrence Raymond 'Jerry' Gervais (1919–2002), a Franco-Ontarian
Franco-Ontarian
Franco-Ontarians are French Canadian or francophone residents of the Canadian province of Ontario. They are sometimes known as "Ontarois"....
, emigrated while on foreign duty during the Second World War from London, Ontario
London, Ontario
London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...
, Canada. Jerry met Gervais's mother, Eva Sophia M. (née House; 1925–2000), during a blackout
Blackout (wartime)
A blackout during war, or apprehended war, is the practice of collectively minimizing outdoor light, including upwardly directed light. This was done in the 20th century to prevent crews of enemy aircraft from being able to navigate to their targets simply by sight, for example during the London...
, and they settled in Whitley. She died aged 74 of lung cancer.
During Xfm London's The Ricky Gervais Show
The Ricky Gervais Show
The Ricky Gervais Show is a comedy audio show in the UK starring Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant, and Karl Pilkington, later adapted into an animated televised version debuting for HBO and Channel 4 in 2010. The show started in November 2001 on Xfm, and aired in weekly periods for months at a time...
and in further newspaper interviews with The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, 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. He has claimed that his father was "drunk when he filled in the birth certificate", leading to the unusual spelling of his middle name.
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 American television series created by Earl Hamner, Jr., based on his book Spencer's Mountain, and a 1963 film of the same name. The show centered on a family growing up in a rural Virginia community during the Great Depression and World War II. The series pilot was a television...
", made fun of each other regularly.
Gervais attended Whitley Park Infants and Junior Schools and received his secondary education at Ashmead Comprehensive School, before moving on to University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
in 1979. He arrived to study biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
but changed to philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
after only two weeks and earned an upper second-class honours degree in the subject. During his time at UCL, he met Jane Fallon
Jane Fallon
Jane Fallon is the author of four bestselling novels - Getting Rid of Matthew , Got You Back , Foursome and The Ugly Sister...
, with whom he has been in a relationship since 1982.
Music
In 1983, during his final year as a student at UCL (University College London), Gervais and his friend Bill Macrae formed a pop duo, Seona DancingSeona Dancing
Seona Dancing was a 1980s British New Wave group, best known for providing comedian Ricky Gervais with his first experiences as a public performer.- History :...
. They were signed by London Records
London Records
London Records, referred to as London Recordings in logo, is a record label headquartered in the United Kingdom, originally marketing records in the United States, Canada and Latin America from 1947 to 1979, then becoming a semi-independent label....
, which released two of their singles—"More to Lose
More to Lose
"More To Lose" is a single by British New Wave group Seona Dancing, released in 1983. It is an uptempo new wave pop song, sung by a then-unknown Ricky Gervais, who was the lyricist and vocalist of the band. Macrae was the band's composer and keyboard player...
" and "Bitter Heart
Bitter Heart (song)
"Bitter Heart" is a single by British New Wave group Seona Dancing, released in 1983. It is a David Bowie style new wave pop song, sung by a then-unknown Ricky Gervais with synthesizers provided by Bill Macrae...
". The singles failed to break the top 40—with "More to Lose" charting at number 117 and "Bitter Heart" peaking at 70 in the UK singles charts. Despite not being successful in the UK, Seona Dancing did manage to score a hit in the Philippines with "More to Lose".
According to the 20 December 2003 broadcast of the Ricky Gervais Show, Gervais later had a band called the Sacred Hearts, which Ian Camfield described as Gervais's Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...
phase.
Radio
Gervais later worked as an events managerEvent management
Event management is the application of project management to the creation and development of festivals, events and conferences.Event management involves studying the intricacies of the brand, identifying the target audience, devising the event concept, planning the logistics and coordinating the...
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...
(ULU), where he continued working until he took a similar job as "head of speech" at Xfm London
Xfm London
Xfm London is a commercial radio station in the United Kingdom owned by Global Radio and broadcasts on 104.9 FM in London, on digital radio via 30 DAB multiplexes across the country, Sky, TalkTalk 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 an English writer, director, radio presenter, comedian, and actor. He is best known for his collaborations with Ricky Gervais, as the co-writer and co-director of the popular British sitcom The Office, as the co-writer, co-director and a co-star of Extras, and as the...
. During the interview at a local pub, Merchant agreed to do "all the boring stuff" because of his experience in media studies
Media studies
Media studies is an academic discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history and effects of various media; in particular, the 'mass media'. Media studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but mostly from its core disciplines of mass...
while Gervais "mess
Capital Radio
Capital London is a London based radio station which launched on 16 October 1973 and is owned by Global Radio. On 3 January 2011 it formed part of the nine station Capital radio network.- Pre-launch :...
group.
Gervais was music adviser for the BBC drama This Life
This Life
This Life is a BBC television drama that was produced by World Productions and screened on BBC Two. Two series were broadcast in 1996 and 1997 and a reunion special in 2007....
, which was being produced by his girlfriend, Jane Fallon
Jane Fallon
Jane Fallon is the author of four bestselling novels - Getting Rid of Matthew , Got You Back , Foursome and The Ugly Sister...
. He and Merchant also contributed sketches to BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
's The Breezeblock
The Breezeblock
The Breezeblock was a weekly radio programme on BBC Radio 1 that premiered on 17 February 1997 and focused on electronic music. The show's earliest broadcasts were unmixed 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 series of The Office
The Office (UK TV series)
The Office is a British sitcom television series that was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the programme is about the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictitious...
, 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 when the pair first worked with Karl Pilkington
Karl Pilkington
Karl Pilkington is a British podcaster, author, television personality and former radio producer. He is best known for the Sky travel series, An Idiot Abroad, which was also presented in the United States on the Science Channel, in Canada on Discovery Channel and in Australia on One HD, and The...
, who produced the shows and later collaborated with them on their series of podcast
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
s.
Podcast
On 5 December 2005 Guardian UnlimitedGuardian Unlimited
guardian.co.uk, formerly known as Guardian Unlimited, is a British website owned by the Guardian Media Group. Georgina Henry is the editor...
began offering 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. These audiobooks were described as the 'guide to...' series, covering several topics. As of May 2011, there are 12 "Guides" in total: Medicine, Natural History, Arts, Philosophy, The English, Society, Law & Order, The Future, The Human Body, The Earth, The World Cup 2010 & Comic Relief
Comic Relief
Comic Relief is an operating British charity, founded in 1985 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Lenny Henry in response to famine in Ethiopia. The highlight of Comic Relief's appeal is Red Nose Day, a biennial telethon held in March, alternating with sister project Sport Relief...
. The conversations typically begin on topic, but constantly stray away from the topic at hand.
Television
Gervais has contributed to the BAFTA-winning The Sketch ShowThe Sketch Show
The Sketch Show is a British television sketch comedy programme, featuring many leading British comedians. It aired on ITV between 2001 and 2003.A short-lived spinoff of the same title was produced in the United States.- Original line-up :...
(ITV), penning several sketches. His mainstream-TV debut came in September 1998 as part of Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely 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...
'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 arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, 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 satirical fictional character invented and performed by English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. Originally appearing on Channel 4's Eleven O'Clock show, Ali G is the title character of Channel 4's Da Ali G Show, original episodes of which aired in 2000 and on HBO in 2003–2004, and is the...
'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
Profanity
Profanity is a show of disrespect, or a desecration or debasement of someone or something. Profanity can take the form of words, expressions, gestures, or other social behaviors that are socially constructed or interpreted as insulting, rude, vulgar, obscene, desecrating, or other forms.The...
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 a British actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Gareth Keenan in The Office and Ragetti in the Pirates of the Caribbean films.-Life and career:...
, later a co-star of The Office
The Office (UK TV series)
The Office is a British sitcom television series that was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the programme is about the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictitious...
. 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 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. The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
newspaper has described Gervais as "obsessed by his own celebrity", but adds, "Who wouldn't want to be Peter Lawford
Peter Lawford
Peter Sydney Ernest Aylen , better known as Peter Lawford, was an English-American actor.He was a member of the "Rat Pack", and brother-in-law to US 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 actors 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 later variation of the group, after Bogart's death, that called itself "the summit" or "the clan," featuring Frank Sinatra, Dean...
?" 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 Guardians
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
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 sitcom television series that was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the programme is about the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictitious...
, 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 actor, singer, media personality and occasional presenter, best known for his former role as Barry Evans in soap opera EastEnders and as a version of himself in BBC sitcom Extras.- Career :...
) and Darren (Stephen Merchant
Stephen Merchant
Stephen James Merchant is an English writer, director, radio presenter, comedian, and actor. He is best known for his collaborations with Ricky Gervais, as the co-writer and co-director of the popular British sitcom The Office, as the co-writer, co-director and a co-star of Extras, and as the...
), 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 department run by a rather crudely stereotype
Stereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
d gay couple".
Throughout this time, Gervais also wrote for the BBC sketch show Bruiser
Bruiser (TV series)
Bruiser was a TV comedy sketch show produced for BBC Choice. It premiered on 28 February 2000 and ran for six episodes ending on 15 March 2000. The main writers were David Mitchell and Robert Webb...
and The Jim Tavare
Jim Tavare
Jim Tavaré is an English stand-up comedian, actor 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.-Life and career:Tavaré was born in Essex,...
Show, and he had cameo roles in Channel 4's sitcom Spaced
Spaced
Spaced is a British television sitcom written by and starring Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson, and directed by Edgar Wright. It is noted for its rapid-fire editing, frequent pop culture references and jokes, eclectic music, and occasional displays of surrealism and non-sequitur humour...
; it is speculated that the cameo is indeed The Office character David Brent
David Brent
David Brent is a fictional character in the BBC television mockumentary The Office, as well as a recurring character in the NBC series of the same name, portrayed by co-writer and director Ricky Gervais. Brent is a white-collar office middle-manager and the principal character of the BBC series...
. However, both series of Spaced finished airing before The Office premiered. Gervais also appeared in a few of Channel 4's 'Top 100...' list programmes, and he voiced the character of Penguin in Robbie the Reindeer
Robbie the Reindeer
Robbie the Reindeer is a series of three animated comedy television specials shown on BBC One at Christmas, filmed in aid of Comic Relief. Written by Kevin Cecil and Andy Riley, the programmes are based on the story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, with Robbie as Rudolph's son and the tenth of...
'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 American actor, writer, comedian and producer. He is best known as the co-creator , head writer, and executive producer of the television series Seinfeld from 1989 to 1996, and for creating the 1999 HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm, a partially improvised sitcom in...
in a one off special, Ricky Gervais Meets... Larry David. On 25 and 26 December of the same year Channel 4 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 American screenwriter, composer, musician, director, actor and comedian. He is most widely known in Hollywood for having written, directed and starred in several improvisational "mockumentary" films that...
and comedian Garry Shandling
Garry Shandling
Garry Emmanuel Shandling is an American comedian, actor and writer. 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 English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...
and Matt Groening
Matt Groening
Matthew Abram "Matt" Groening is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell as well as two successful 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 American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
entitled "Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife
Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife
"Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife" is the fifteenth episode of the seventeenth season of The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 26, 2006, and was watched by around ten million viewers during that broadcast. In the episode, Homer signs the Simpson family...
", which aired on 26 March 2006 in the United States, on 23 April 2006 on satellite station Sky One
Sky One
Sky1 is the flagship BSkyB entertainment channel available in the United Kingdom and Ireland.The channel first launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, and is the fourth-oldest TV channel in the United Kingdom, behind BBC One , ITV and BBC Two...
in the United Kingdom (first appearing on terrestrial television in 2010), 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 showCelebrity Big BrotherGame showA game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
s but I think it was my girlfriend's idea. We watch
Big Brother (UK)
Big Brother UK is the British version of the Dutch Big Brother television format, which takes its name from the character in George Orwell's 1948 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four...
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".
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 television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
's The Culture Show
The Culture Show
The Culture Show is a weekly BBC Two Arts magazine programme. It is broadcast in the UK on Thursday nights at 7pm, focusing on the best of the week's arts and culture news, covering books, art, film, architecture, music, visual fashion and the performing arts...
on 16 June 2007. Recently on Gervais's blog it was announced that he will be returning to The Simpsons and will feature him doing a skit based on his recent controversial performance at the 2011 Golden Globes. It is unknown if he will be writing the episode this time around.
Gervais has also guest-starred on Alias
Alias (TV series)
Alias is an American action television series created by J. J. Abrams which was broadcast on ABC for five seasons, from September 30, 2001 to May 22, 2006...
(appearing in the third-season episode "Façade") 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. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
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 live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
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 an American comedian, actor, voice artist, producer, writer, and director. Although Carell is notable for his role on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, he found greater fame in the late 2000s for playing Michael Scott on The Office...
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".
In January 2009 Gervais was interviewed by James Lipton
James Lipton
James Lipton is an American writer, poet, composer, actor and dean emeritus of the Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University in New York City. He is the executive producer, writer and host of the Bravo cable television series Inside the Actors Studio, which debuted in 1994...
for Season 15 of BravoTV's Inside the Actors Studio
Inside the Actors Studio
Inside the Actors Studio is a series on the Bravo cable television channel, hosted by James Lipton. It is produced and directed by Jeff Wurtz; the executive producer is James Lipton. The program, which premiered in 1994, is distributed internationally by CABLEready and is broadcast in 125 countries...
.
In January 2010 he hosted the 67th Golden Globe Awards
67th Golden Globe Awards
The 67th Golden Globe Awards was telecasted live from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on Sunday, January 17, 2010 by NBC, from 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM and 8:00PM – 11:00 PM . The ceremonies were hosted by Ricky Gervais, and were broadcast live for the first time.Nominations were...
, making him the first master of ceremonies since 1995. He stated:
"I have resisted many other offers like this, but there are just some things you don't turn down."
His performance as host received a mixed response with positive reviews from the New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
and the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, but also some negative comments from industry bible, The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
.
Gervais was a guest judge on Jerry Seinfeld
Jerry Seinfeld
Jerome Allen "Jerry" Seinfeld is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and television and film producer, known for playing a semi-fictional version of himself in the situation comedy Seinfeld , which he co-created and co-wrote with Larry David, and, in the show's final two seasons,...
's NBC show The Marriage Ref
The Marriage Ref
The Marriage Ref is a TV reality show and panel game hosted by comedian Tom Papa and produced by Jerry Seinfeld, in which a rotating group of celebrities decides the winners of real-life marital disputes. The show premiered on NBC on Sunday, February 28, 2010 on the final night of the Olympics...
alongside Larry David
Larry David
Lawrence Gene "Larry" David is an American actor, writer, comedian and producer. He is best known as the co-creator , head writer, and executive producer of the television series Seinfeld from 1989 to 1996, and for creating the 1999 HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm, a partially improvised sitcom in...
and Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
.
On 1 April 2010 Gervais made his first appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon on NBC. The show premiered on March 2, 2009, as the third incarnation of the Late Night franchise originated by David Letterman....
on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
.
As of April 2011 he has made 18 guest appearances on the Late Show With David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...
on the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
network.
In April 2010 it was announced that Gervais and Stephen Merchant will be writing a new show, called Life's Too Short
Life's Too Short
Life's Too Short is an observational sitcom series, created and written by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, from an idea by Warwick Davis, and is described by Gervais as being about "the life of a showbiz dwarf", with Davis playing a fictionalised version of himself. Gervais and Merchant appear...
, which they described as, "A cross between Extras and Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American comedy television series produced and broadcast by HBO, which premiered on October 15, 2000. As of 2011, it has completed 80 episodes over eight seasons. The series was created by Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, who stars as a fictionalized version of himself...
and One Foot in the Grave
One Foot in the Grave
One Foot in the Grave is a BBC television sitcom series written by David Renwick. The show ran for six series, including seven Christmas specials, two Comic Relief specials, over an eleven year period, from early 1990 to late 2000...
but with a dwarf. That is out and out funny." The show will star actor Warwick Davis
Warwick Davis
Warwick Ashley Davis is an English actor. He is most notable for playing the title characters in Willow and the Leprechaun film series, as well as for his roles in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi and the Harry Potter movies. Davis currently stars in the sitcom Life's Too Short, written...
as himself, as well as Gervais and Merchant.
In June 2010 it was announced that Gervais had been cast in the upcoming Season 8 of Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American comedy television series produced and broadcast by HBO, which premiered on October 15, 2000. As of 2011, it has completed 80 episodes over eight seasons. The series was created by Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, who stars as a fictionalized version of himself...
playing himself.
The Office In August 1999, while on a BBC production course, Stephen Merchant
Stephen Merchant
Stephen James Merchant is an English writer, director, radio presenter, comedian, and actor. He is best known for his collaborations with Ricky Gervais, as the co-writer and co-director of the popular British sitcom The Office, as the co-writer, co-director and a co-star of Extras, and as the...
had to make his own short film. 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-born television producer responsible for producing several British TV series such as The IT Crowd , The Office and Man Stroke Woman. He has also made cameo appearances in productions such as Ricky Gervais' Politics...
, 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 British television director, producer and executive.-Career in television:...
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 annually in Scotland's capital, in the month of August...
, 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...
, 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 sitcom television series that was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the programme is about the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictitious...
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 flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
in December 2003 for its final two special episodes.
The Office has since been remade for audiences in France
Le Bureau
Le Bureau was a 2006 French television show that aired on Canal+. It is a French version of the popular British television series The Office...
, Germany
Stromberg (TV series)
Stromberg is a German television series which is produced by Brainpool and broadcast on the commercial television channel ProSieben. The series was proclaimed as a copy of the BBC series The Office, although initially the producers claimed it was based on a character from a past ProSieben comedy,...
, Quebec
La Job
La Job is a French Canadian comedy television series set in Montreal. It is an adaptation of the British show The Office of the BBC. Produced by Anne-Marie Losique's Image Diffusion International, it has been broadcast for a limited number of viewers on Bell TV satellite television, beginning on...
, Brazil
Os Aspones
Os Aspones is a Brazilian television Comedy series that aired in 2004. It was created by Alexandre Machado and Fernanda Young. The program, which portrayed a group of white-collar workers at a governmental department lost in Brazilian bureaucracy in Brasília which actually has no function at all,...
, and the United States. Gervais and Merchant are producers of the American version, and they also co-wrote the episode "The Convict
The Convict
"The Convict" is ninth episode of the third season of The Office . It aired on November 30, 2006 on NBC. It was written by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant specifically for the U.S. series...
" for the show's third season. The original UK version is currently airing on Adult Swim
Adult Swim
Adult Swim is an adult-oriented Cable network that shares channel space with Cartoon Network from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am ET/PT in the United States, and broadcasts in countries such as Australia and New Zealand...
on Fridays, and prior to the show's airing, Gervais appears as himself talking about the episode that will air. In one of those segments Gervais claimed the episode "Training
Episode Four (The Office, Series One)
Episode Four is the fourth episode of the first series of The Office. "Training" is an alternative title for the episode. It was originally broadcast on 30 July 2001...
" to be his favourite.
Extras
Extras 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 artistExtra (actor)
A background actor or extra 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 James Kemp is a BAFTA award-winning British actor, author and journalist, who rose to prominence in the role of Grant Mitchell in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders...
, Les Dennis
Les Dennis
Les Dennis is an English comedian, television presenter and actor best known as the host of Family Fortunes for 15 years.-Early life:...
, Patrick Stewart
Patrick Stewart
Sir Patrick Hewes Stewart, OBE is an English film, television and stage actor, who has had a distinguished career in theatre and television for around half a century...
, Vinnie Jones
Vinnie Jones
Vincent Peter "Vinnie" Jones is an English film actor and retired Welsh footballer.Born in Hertfordshire, England, Jones represented and captained the Welsh national football team, having qualified via a Welsh grandparent. He also previously played for Chelsea and Leeds United. As a member of the...
, Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel Leroy Jackson is an American film and television actor and film producer. After becoming involved with the Civil Rights Movement, he moved on to acting in theater at Morehouse College, and then films. He had several small roles such as in the film Goodfellas before meeting his mentor,...
, Ben Stiller
Ben Stiller
Benjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller is an American comedian, actor, writer, film director, and 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 actress and occasional singer. She has received multiple awards and nominations. She was the youngest person to accrue six Academy Award nominations, and won the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Reader...
, and Francesca Martinez
Francesca Martinez
Francesca Martinez is an English stand-up comedienne and actress. She has toured internationally, including sell-out runs at the Edinburgh Festival, the Melbourne Comedy Festival and the 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 English actor who rose to prominence playing the titular character in the Harry Potter film series....
, Dame Diana Rigg
Diana Rigg
Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg, DBE is an English actress. She is probably best known for her portrayals of Emma Peel in The Avengers and Countess Teresa di Vicenzo in the 1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service....
, Orlando Bloom
Orlando Bloom
Orlando Jonathan Blanchard Bloom is an English actor. He had his break-through roles in 2001 as the elf-prince Legolas in The Lord of the Rings and starring in 2003 as blacksmith Will Turner in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series, and subsequently established himself as a lead in Hollywood...
, Sir Ian McKellen
Ian McKellen
Sir Ian Murray McKellen, CH, CBE is an English actor. He has received a Tony Award, two Academy Award nominations, and five Emmy Award nominations. His work has spanned genres from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction...
, Chris Martin
Chris Martin
Christopher Anthony John "Chris" Martin is an English song-writer, who is the lead vocalist, pianist and rhythm guitarist of the band Coldplay. He is married to actress Gwyneth Paltrow.-Early life:...
, Keith Chegwin
Keith Chegwin
Keith Chegwin is an English television presenter, former child actor and singer.-Early career:Chegwin's early roles were in works of the Children's Film Foundation, appearing as Egghead Wentworth in The Troublesome Double Egghead's Robot . He also appeared as a stowaway in Doomwatch episode...
, Robert Lindsay
Robert Lindsay (actor)
Robert Lindsay is an English actor who is best known for his television work, especially his roles of Wolfie Smith in Citizen Smith, Michael Murray in G.B.H., Captain Sir Edward Pellew in Hornblower and Ben Harper in My Family which has been on television screens since 2000.-Early life:Lindsay was...
, Warwick Davis
Warwick Davis
Warwick Ashley Davis is an English actor. He is most notable for playing the title characters in Willow and the Leprechaun film series, as well as for his roles in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi and the Harry Potter movies. Davis currently stars in the sitcom Life's Too Short, written...
, Ronnie Corbett
Ronnie Corbett
Ronald Balfour "Ronnie" Corbett, OBE is a Scottish actor and comedian of Scottish and English parentage who had a long association with Ronnie Barker in the British television comedy series The Two Ronnies...
, Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
, Richard Briers
Richard Briers
Richard David Briers, CBE is an English actor whose career has encompassed theatre, television, film and radio.He first came to prominence as George Starling in Marriage Lines in the 1960s, but it was in the following decade when he played Tom Good in the BBC sitcom The Good Life that he became a...
, Patricia Potter
Patricia Potter
Patricia Caroline Potter is an English actress. Best known for her role as Diane Lloyd in the popular BBC medical drama Holby City, Potter has acted on stage, television, and in film. She married her partner, doctor Jim Down, in May 2007.- Personal life :Potter grew up on a farm in Kent with her...
, Sophia Myles
Sophia Myles
-Early life:Myles was born in London. She is the daughter of Jane, who works in educational publishing, and Peter Myles, a retired Anglican vicar in Isleworth, west London. Her maternal grandmother was Russian, and she refers to herself as "half-Welsh, half-Russian". She grew up in Notting Hill,...
, Moira Stuart
Moira Stuart
Moira Clare Ruby Stuart OBE is a British journalist who was the first African-Caribbean female newsreader on British television...
, David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, Kate Winslet
Kate Winslet
Kate Elizabeth Winslet is an English actress and occasional singer. She has received multiple awards and nominations. She was the youngest person to accrue six Academy Award nominations, and won the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Reader...
, Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director and producer. His first major film roles were in Bang the Drum Slowly and Mean Streets, both in 1973...
, 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* Jonathon Ross , former Australian rules footballer...
.
George Michael
George Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...
, Clive Owen
Clive Owen
Clive Owen is an English actor, who has worked on television, stage and film. He first gained recognition in the United Kingdom for portraying the lead in the ITV series Chancer from 1990 to 1991...
, Gordon Ramsay
Gordon Ramsay
Gordon James Ramsay, OBE is a Scottish chef, television personality and restaurateur. He has been awarded 13 Michelin stars....
, Jonathan Ross, and David Tennant
David Tennant
David Tennant is a Scottish actor. In addition to his work in theatre, including a widely praised Hamlet, Tennant is best known for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, along with the title role in the 2005 TV serial Casanova and as Barty Crouch, Jr...
.
On 10 June 2006 Gervais and Merchant were seen in a specially-filmed promotional sketch for the second series, in the middle of BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
's World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
football coverage. This time Gervais did not perform his famous dance. Instead, Merchant did a take-off of the Crouch Dance, recently popularised by England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
striker
Striker
Forwards, also known as 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 footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Stoke City and the England national team.Crouch started his career as a trainee with Tottenham Hotspur...
.
Some have suggested that Gervais is influenced by Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American comedy television series produced and broadcast by HBO, which premiered on October 15, 2000. As of 2011, it has completed 80 episodes over eight seasons. The series was created by Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, who stars as a fictionalized version of himself...
and The Larry Sanders Show
The Larry Sanders Show
The Larry Sanders Show is a satirical television sitcom that aired from August 1992 to May 1998 on the HBO cable television network in the United States. It starred stand-up comedian Garry Shandling as vain, neurotic talk show host Larry Sanders, and centered on the running of his TV show, and the...
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 phrase or a paragraph with a humorous twist. It can be in many different forms, such as a question or short story. To achieve this end, jokes may employ irony, sarcasm, word play and other devices...
of someone making inappropriate remarks in front of a member of a minority
Minority group
A minority is a sociological group within a demographic. The demographic could be based on many factors from ethnicity, gender, wealth, power, etc. The term extends to numerous situations, and civilizations within history, despite the misnomer of minorities associated with a numerical statistic...
. He has interviewed both Larry David
Larry David
Lawrence Gene "Larry" David is an American actor, writer, comedian and producer. He is best known as the co-creator , head writer, and executive producer of the television series Seinfeld from 1989 to 1996, and for creating the 1999 HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm, a partially improvised sitcom in...
and Garry Shandling
Garry Shandling
Garry Emmanuel Shandling is an American comedian, actor and writer. 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
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy on 14 January 2008. Gervais also won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.
In February 2007 British ventriloquist Keith Harris refused an invitation to appear on the second series of Extras, claiming that Gervais "wanted me to be a racist
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
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 was a British comedy chat show presented by Jonathan Ross. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 2 November 2001. The programme featured Ross's take on current topics of conversation, guest interviews and live music from both a guest music group and the house band...
, Gervais claimed that Harris simply "didn't get it". Keith Chegwin
Keith Chegwin
Keith Chegwin is an English television presenter, former child actor and singer.-Early career:Chegwin's early roles were in works of the Children's Film Foundation, appearing as Egghead Wentworth in The Troublesome Double Egghead's Robot . He also appeared as a stowaway in Doomwatch episode...
, who assumed the role offered to Harris, said "the people who didn't get it probably think Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
really is a pirate."
The Ricky Gervais Show (HBO / Channel 4 animated series) The Ricky Gervais Show is an animated TV show that debuted on US cable network HBO on 19 February 2010. In the UK, the first season began airing on 23 April 2010 on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely 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...
. The show was developed using original podcast recordings from The Ricky Gervais Show starring Gervais, Stephen Merchant
Stephen Merchant
Stephen James Merchant is an English writer, director, radio presenter, comedian, and actor. He is best known for his collaborations with Ricky Gervais, as the co-writer and co-director of the popular British sitcom The Office, as the co-writer, co-director and a co-star of Extras, and as the...
, and Karl Pilkington
Karl Pilkington
Karl Pilkington is a British podcaster, author, television personality and former radio producer. He is best known for the Sky travel series, An Idiot Abroad, which was also presented in the United States on the Science Channel, in Canada on Discovery Channel and in Australia on One HD, and The...
. After receiving a loyal and enthusiastic following in the US, Cable channel HBO recommissioned the show for a second season, due to air in 2011.
The original audio show was broadcast in November 2001 on radio station Xfm
Xfm
Xfm is a brand of two commercial radio stations focused on alternative music, primarily indie pop, and owned by Global Radio.-History:Xfm was created in London in 1992 by Sammy Jacob, who later co-founded NME Radio in 2008. Xfm subsequently expanded to a network of four stations; there are...
, and aired in weekly periods for months at a time throughout 2002, 2003, 2004, and mid-2005. In November 2005 Guardian Unlimited
Guardian Unlimited
guardian.co.uk, formerly known as Guardian Unlimited, is a British website owned by the Guardian Media Group. Georgina Henry is the editor...
offered the show as a podcast
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
series of 12 shows. 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. By September 2006, according to the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, the podcasts of the series had been downloaded "nearly 8 million" times.
Stand-up comedy
Gervais made some attempts at stand-upStand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...
in the late 1990s, but his first successful show took place at the Cafe Royal, as part of the 2001 Edinburgh Festival Fringe
2001 Edinburgh Festival Fringe
The 2001 Edinburgh Festival Fringe was the 54th Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The Fringe ran from 5–27 August 2001 and presented 1462 shows over 176 venues.-Scotsman Fringe First Awards:Week One:*Gagarin Way*Runt*Like Thunder*Bedbound...
. Titled Rubbernecker, the show also featured Jimmy Carr
Jimmy Carr
James Anthony Patrick "Jimmy" Carr is an English-Irish comedian and humourist. He is known for his deadpan delivery and dark humour. He is also a writer, actor and presenter of radio and television....
, Robin Ince
Robin Ince
Robin Ince is an English stand-up comedian, actor and writer. He is best known for presenting the BBC radio show The Infinite Monkey Cage .-Stand-up comedy:...
, and Stephen Merchant
Stephen Merchant
Stephen James Merchant is an English writer, director, radio presenter, comedian, and actor. He is best known for his collaborations with Ricky Gervais, as the co-writer and co-director of the popular British sitcom The Office, as the co-writer, co-director and a co-star of Extras, and as the...
.
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 show toured in 2003 and is now available on DVD.-Introduction:...
. 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. Gervais toured the show in 2004 and it is now available on DVD....
tour followed a year later. Both of these shows were recorded for release on DVD and television broadcast. The third part of the themed live trilogy, Fame
Fame (comedy)
Fame was the third stand-up show written and performed by Ricky Gervais which took place in in 2007 .'Fame' has run for over 100 shows across the UK mainland, including a long stint at London's Hammersmith Apollo and was followed by a number of shows at New York's Madison Square Garden...
, took place in 2007. It started in Glasgow in January and ended in Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
in April. Blackpool reported selling out of tickets within 45 minutes of them going on sale. More dates were added.
Private Eye
Private Eye is a fortnightly British satirical and current affairs magazine, edited by Ian Hislop.Since its first publication in 1961, Private Eye has been a prominent critic and lampooner of public figures and entities that it deemed guilty of any of the sins of incompetence, inefficiency,...
editor Ian Hislop
Ian Hislop
Ian David Hislop is a British journalist, satirist, comedian, writer, broadcaster and editor of the satirical magazine Private Eye...
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 writer, academic, journalist and scholar of early modern English literature, widely regarded as one of the most significant feminist voices of the later 20th century....
, Mark Kermode
Mark Kermode
Mark Kermode is an English film critic, musician and a member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. He contributes to Sight and Sound magazine, The Observer newspaper and BBC Radio 5 Live, where he presents Kermode and Mayo's Film Reviews with Simon Mayo on Friday afternoons...
, and Mark Lawson
Mark Lawson
Mark Gerard Lawson is an English journalist, broadcaster and author.-Life and career:Born in Hendon, London, Lawson was raised in Yorkshire and is a Leeds United fan. He was educated at St Columba's College in St Albans and took a degree in English at University College London, where his lecturers...
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. Shows usually include...
, 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 was the third stand-up show written and performed by Ricky Gervais which took place in in 2007 .'Fame' has run for over 100 shows across the UK mainland, including a long stint at London's Hammersmith Apollo and was followed by a number of shows at New York's Madison Square Garden...
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 could someone do to become famous like you? To which he replied, "Go out and kill a prostitute". He followed up with the punch line
Punch line
A punch line is the final part of a joke, comedy sketch, or profound statement, usually the word, sentence or exchange of sentences which is intended to be funny or to provoke laughter or thought from listeners...
, "I won't do that bit in Ipswich", referring to the December 2006 murders of five prostitutes in Ipswich
Ipswich 2006 serial murders
The Ipswich serial murders took place between 30 October and 10 December 2006 when the bodies of five murdered women were discovered at different locations near Ipswich, Suffolk, England. All the victims were women who worked as prostitutes in the Ipswich area. Their bodies were discovered naked,...
. The joke drew criticism from the father of victim Tania Nicol: "These days, they want to make a joke out of anything. I feel he's just being uncaring, quite honestly". Gervais defended 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".
Gervais's fourth show was entitled Science, and commenced with an eleven date tour in August 2009 at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre
Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre
The Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre , located on the north bank of the River Clyde, in Glasgow, is Scotland's largest exhibition centre....
in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
. The show opened to little critical praise. Writing for The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, Julian Hall gave Science two stars out of five, stating that is was Gervais's "most disappointing" offering yet.
The DVD for Science was released on 15 November 2010.
In November 2009 he headlined the sixth annual New York Comedy Festival at Carnegie Hall, New York.
Gervais has begun writing his fifth stand-up routine, to be titled Humanity.
Grand Theft Auto IV
Gervais stars as a comedian on Grand Theft Auto IVGrand Theft Auto IV
Grand Theft Auto IV is a 2008 open world action video game published by Rockstar Games, and developed by British games developer Rockstar North. It has been released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles, and for the Windows operating system...
and he is in the Comedy Club and CNT in the video game along with another comedian in GTA IV Katt Williams
Katt Williams
Micah S. Katt Williams is a U.S. comedian, rapper, and actor. He is best known for his role as Money Mike in Friday After Next...
.
DVD releases
| Title | Released | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 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 show toured in 2003 and is now available on DVD.-Introduction:... |
17 November 2003 | Live at the Bloomsbury Theatre, London |
| 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. Gervais toured the show in 2004 and it is now available on DVD.... |
15 November 2004 | Live at the Palace Theatre, London Palace Theatre, London The Palace Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster in London. It is an imposing red-brick building that dominates the west side of Cambridge Circus and is located near the intersection of Shaftesbury Avenue and Charing Cross Road... |
| Fame Fame (comedy) Fame was the third stand-up show written and performed by Ricky Gervais which took place in in 2007 .'Fame' has run for over 100 shows across the UK mainland, including a long stint at London's Hammersmith Apollo and was followed by a number of shows at New York's Madison Square Garden... |
12 November 2007 | Live at the HMV Hammersmith Apollo, London |
| Science | 22 November 2010 | Live at the HMV Hammersmith Apollo, London |
Flanimals
Gervais released a children's book in 2004, FlanimalsFlanimals
Flanimals is a children's book series written by comedian Ricky Gervais. The book, illustrated by Rob Steen, depicts a list of seemingly useless or inadequate animals, and their behaviour.The cover Flanimal is the Grundit...
(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 British comedian Ricky Gervais and illustrator Rob Steen...
coming the next year. A new Flanimals book, Day of the Bletching, was released in October 2007. Flanimals: Pop Up was also published in 2009.
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 characters, setting and trademarks of an original work of media , such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or a video game. Generally, a whole series is made in a particular medium, along with merchandising and endorsements...
could be developed. "That way it stands a chance of being the next Dr. Seuss
Dr. Seuss
Theodor Seuss Geisel was an American writer, poet, and cartoonist most widely known for his children's books written under the pen names Dr. Seuss, Theo LeSieg and, in one case, Rosetta Stone....
or Mr. Men
Mr. Men
Mr. Men is a series of 49 children's books by Roger Hargreaves commencing in 1971. Two of these books were not published in English. The series features characters with names such as Mr. Tickle and Mr. Happy who have personalities based on their names...
".
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. It was published and released in 2006....
presented by Gervais and Merchant. These were essentially transcripts of Xfm
Xfm
Xfm is a brand of two commercial radio stations focused on alternative music, primarily indie pop, and owned by Global Radio.-History:Xfm was created in London in 1992 by Sammy Jacob, who later co-founded NME Radio in 2008. Xfm subsequently expanded to a network of four stations; there are...
/podcast
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
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 ConsiderationFor 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 director Dr. McPhee in 2006's Night at the Museum
Night at the Museum
Night at the Museum is a 2006 fantasy adventure-comedy film based on the 1993 children's book 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 its sequel Night at the Museum 2
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian is an American adventure comedy film directed by Shawn Levy, and starring Ben Stiller, Hank Azaria, Amy Adams, Owen Wilson, Robin Williams, and Steve Coogan. The film is a sequel to Night at the Museum...
, 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.-Usage:In this sense, it may appear an adjective, following the noun it modifies, e.g., "earned two million dollars, gross"...
$570 million worldwide.
Gervais starred in Ghost Town
Ghost Town (film)
Ghost Town is a 2008 American comedy-drama film directed by David Koepp, who also co-wrote the screenplay with John Kamps. It stars English comedian Ricky Gervais in his first leading feature-film role, as a dentist who can see and talk with ghosts, along with Téa Leoni as a young widow and Greg...
, which was released on 19 September 2008, and was in Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 106,519. It is the fourth largest city in the state. Lowell and Cambridge are the county seats of Middlesex County...
during May 2008 filming his next project, The Invention of Lying
The Invention of Lying
The Invention of Lying is a 2009 fantasy romantic comedy film that is written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson. This film is the directorial debut of Gervais. The film stars Ricky Gervais as the first human with the ability to lie...
, starring himself, Jennifer Garner
Jennifer Garner
Jennifer Anne Affleck , better known as Jennifer Garner, is an American actress and film producer. Garner gained recognition on television for her performance as CIA agent Sydney Bristow in the thriller drama series Alias, which aired on ABC for five seasons from 2001 to 2006...
, Rob Lowe
Rob Lowe
Robert Hepler "Rob" Lowe is an American actor. Lowe came to prominence after appearing in films such as The Outsiders, Oxford Blues, About Last Night..., St. Elmo's Fire, and Wayne's World. On television, Lowe is known for his role as Sam Seaborn on The West Wing and his role as Senator Robert...
, and Louis C.K.
Louis C.K.
Louis Szekely , known professionally as Louis C.K., is a stand-up comedian, television and film writer, actor, producer, and director...
, with appearances by Tina Fey
Tina Fey
Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey is an American actress, comedian, writer and producer, known for her work on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live , the NBC comedy series 30 Rock, and films such as Mean Girls and Baby Mama .Fey first broke into comedy as a featured player in the...
, Jeffrey Tambor
Jeffrey Tambor
Jeffrey Michael Tambor is an American actor, perhaps best known for his roles as George Bluth Sr. and Oscar Bluth on Arrested Development and Hank Kingsley on The Larry Sanders Show.-Early life:...
, Jason Bateman
Jason Bateman
Jason Kent Bateman is an American television and film actor. After appearing in several 1980s and 1990s sitcoms including It's Your Move, and The Hogan Family, Bateman came to prominence in the early 2000s for playing Michael Bluth on Arrested Development, for which he won a TV Land, a Golden...
, Roz Ryan
Roz Ryan
Roz Ryan is an American actress. She has earned wide acclaim as an actress, singer and comedian.-Life and career:Ryan was born Rosalyn Bowen in Detroit, Michigan, the daughter of Gertrude and Thomas Bowen, who worked for the Board of Education. She is a 1969 graduate of Mackenzie High School...
, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Philip Seymour Hoffman is an American actor and director. Hoffman began acting in television in 1991, and the following year started to appear in films...
, and Edward Norton
Edward Norton
Edward Harrison Norton is an American actor, screenwriter, film director and producer. In 1996, his supporting role in the courtroom drama Primal Fear garnered him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor...
. The comedy, released in 2009, was co-written and co-directed by Gervais and Matt Robinson.
Gervais and co-writer Stephen Merchant
Stephen Merchant
Stephen James Merchant is an English writer, director, radio presenter, comedian, and actor. He is best known for his collaborations with Ricky Gervais, as the co-writer and co-director of the popular British sitcom The Office, as the co-writer, co-director and a co-star of Extras, and as the...
made a film called Cemetery Junction
Cemetery Junction (film)
Cemetery Junction is a coming-of-age comedy-drama film written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. The film was released in the United Kingdom on 14 April 2010.-Plot:...
, set in 1970s England, about class, love and fulfillment. The film was released in April 2010.
He has been cast as Mole in the 2012 adaption of The Wind in the Willows
The Wind in the Willows
The Wind in the Willows is a classic of children's literature by Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. Alternately slow moving and fast paced, it focuses on four anthropomorphised animal characters in a pastoral version of England...
, featuring effects by Weta Workshop
Weta Workshop
Weta Workshop is a special effects and prop company based in Miramar, New Zealand, producing effects for television and film.Founded in 1987 by Richard Taylor and Tania Rodger as RT Effects, Weta Workshop has produced creatures and makeup effects for the TV series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys...
in New Zealand.
Other appearances
On 2 July 2005 Gervais appeared at the Live 8Live 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 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, United Kingdom, 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* Jonathon Ross , former Australian rules footballer...
, and also introduced the group R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
.
Gervais also has a role in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV
Grand Theft Auto IV
Grand Theft Auto IV is a 2008 open world action video game published by Rockstar Games, and developed by British games developer Rockstar North. It has been released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles, and for the Windows operating system...
, 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.
He appeared on an episode of Sesame Street in which Elmo is looking to get to sleep and he's the celebrity from "Celebrity Lullabies" who sings about the letter "N" to help. He uses soft words like "Put your nightcap on" but when he gets to the chorus it's the rock song version of "Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na" which wakes Elmo up with each chorus.
Gervais has also hosted the 2010
67th Golden Globe Awards
The 67th Golden Globe Awards was telecasted live from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on Sunday, January 17, 2010 by NBC, from 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM and 8:00PM – 11:00 PM . The ceremonies were hosted by Ricky Gervais, and were broadcast live for the first time.Nominations were...
and 2011 Golden Globe Awards
68th Golden Globe Awards
The 68th Golden Globe Awards was broadcast live from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on January 16, 2011, by NBC. The host was Ricky Gervais....
. His 2011 hosting of the awards was controversial for his edgy jokes that were at the expense of many of the nominees, similar to the New York Friars Club roast style jokes. His jibes were described as setting "a corrosive tone" by one critic, though some celebrities were seen crying from laughter, leaving the overall reaction to be 'mixed'.
Boxing
In 2002 Gervais took part in a charity boxingBoxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
match against entrepreneur Grant Bovey — known only to the public due to his relationship with TV personality Anthea Turner
Anthea Turner
Anthea Millicent Turner is an English television presenter and media personality.-Education:Turner was educated at the independent St. Dominic's High School in Hartshill, Stoke-on-Trent....
. On his Saturday afternoon radio show on Xfm London
Xfm London
Xfm London is a commercial radio station in the United Kingdom owned by Global Radio and broadcasts on 104.9 FM in London, on digital radio via 30 DAB multiplexes across the country, Sky, TalkTalk TV and Virgin Media....
Gervais and partners Merchant and Pilkington had discussions on both Gervais'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.
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 is most famous for managing Lennox Lewis to the Undisputed Heavyweight Championship of the World.-Early life:...
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 an English comedian and actor, who is best known for his double act with Vic Reeves...
against Les Dennis
Les Dennis
Les Dennis is an English comedian, television presenter and actor best known as the host of Family Fortunes for 15 years.-Early life:...
, for Comic Relief
Comic Relief
Comic Relief is an operating British charity, founded in 1985 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Lenny Henry in response to famine in Ethiopia. The highlight of Comic Relief's appeal is Red Nose Day, a biennial telethon held in March, alternating with sister project Sport 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 striking in which two of the three judges score for the same fighter as the winner, while the third judge scores for the other...
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 DianaConcert for Diana
Concert for Diana was a concert held at the then 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 her death...
in Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
, a music event celebrating the life of the Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
. Towards the end of the event — after a pre-recorded introduction from Ben Stiller
Ben Stiller
Benjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller is an American comedian, actor, writer, film director, and 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 sitcom television series that was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the programme is about the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictitious...
star Mackenzie Crook
Mackenzie Crook
Paul Mackenzie Crook is a British actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Gareth Keenan in The Office and Ragetti in the Pirates of the Caribbean films.-Life and career:...
. They performed Free Love Freeway
Free Love Freeway
"Free Love Freeway" is a song written by Ricky Gervais, who starred as David Brent in the British comedy series The Office. Gervais first performed the song as Brent in Series 1, Episode 4 of the show. During an employee training seminar, Brent's singing/songwriting in rock band Foregone...
, 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, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
to close the show, so he did the David Brent
David Brent
David Brent is a fictional character in the BBC television mockumentary The Office, as well as a recurring character in the NBC series of the same name, portrayed by co-writer and director Ricky Gervais. Brent is a white-collar office middle-manager and the principal character of the BBC series...
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 arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
in episode two of the second series of Extras.
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.-Running order:In order of appearance :...
of Live Earth
Live Earth
-Background:Founded by Emmy-winning producer Kevin Wall, in partnership with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, Live Earth was built upon the belief that entertainment has the power to transcend social and cultural barriers to move the world community to action...
at Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
, London. Gervais introduced Rob Reiner
Rob Reiner
Robert "Rob" Reiner is an American actor, director, producer, writer, and political activist.As an actor, Reiner first came to national prominence as Archie and Edith Bunker's son-in-law, Michael "Meathead" Stivic, on All in the Family. That role earned him two Emmy Awards during the 1970s...
appearing in the guise of spoof film director Marty Di Bergi, who in turn introduced Spinal Tap
Spinal Tap (band)
Spinal Tap is a parody heavy metal band that first appeared on a failed 1979 ABC TV sketch comedy pilot called "The T.V. Show", starring Rob Reiner...
.
In July 2007, following Gervais's appearance at the memorial concert for the Princess of Wales, The Guardian ran a column by Daily Mirror television critic Jim Shelley
Jim Shelley (TV critic)
Jim Shelley is a British television critic who writes a column for the Daily Mirror each Monday titled Shelleyvision. Prior to writing for the Daily Mirror he wrote for The Guardian and his collection of reviews "Interference: Tapehead vs. Television" was published by Atlantic Books...
entitled "Call Me Crazy... But Has Ricky Gervais Lost It?" 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 fucking laurels you cunt!" In this video Gervais mocked Jim Shelley typing the words "Resting on his laurels" as Gervais jokingly lashed out by stating he was resting on his laurels and that he was not going to make another show for television, quipping "What's the point? What is there to beat?".
Personal life
Gervais currently lives in HampsteadHampstead
Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
, having moved from Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury
-Places:* Bloomsbury is an area in central London.* Bloomsbury , related local government unit* Bloomsbury, New Jersey, New Jersey, USA* Bloomsbury , listed on the NRHP in Maryland...
, with his girlfriend of 29 years, producer and screenwriter Jane Fallon
Jane Fallon
Jane Fallon is the author of four bestselling novels - Getting Rid of Matthew , Got You Back , Foursome and The Ugly Sister...
. He says they chose not to legally marry because "there's no point in us having an actual ceremony before the eyes of God because there is no God" or have children because they "didn't fancy dedicating 16 years of our lives. And there are too many children, of course".
In August 2008, they bought a second home on the Upper East Side
Upper East Side
The Upper East Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, between Central Park and the East River. The Upper East Side lies within an area bounded by 59th Street to 96th Street, and the East River to Fifth Avenue-Central Park...
of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
in New York City.
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 non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
, and has been a fan of wildlife documentaries since he was 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.Fox hunting originated in its current...
and bullfighting
Bullfighting
Bullfighting is a traditional spectacle of Spain, Portugal, southern France and some Latin American countries , in which one or more bulls are baited in a bullring for sport and entertainment...
, and wrote to Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
urging him to stop the use of black bear
American black bear
The American black bear is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most common bear species. Black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but do leave forests in...
fur as caps for the Foot Guards
Foot Guards
-British Army:The Foot Guards are the Regular Infantry regiments of the Household Division of the British Army. There have been six regiments of foot guards, five of which still exist. The Royal Guards Reserve Regiment was a reserve formation of the Household Brigade in existence from 1900-1901...
.
He told Kirsty Young
Kirsty Young
Kirsty Jackson Young is a Scottish television presenter and radio presenter. She is the main presenter of Crimewatch and Desert Island Discs. She is married to millionaire club owner Nick Jones.- Career :...
that he is an atheist during a 2007 interview for Desert Island Discs
Desert Island Discs
Desert Island Discs is a BBC Radio 4 programme first broadcast on 29 January 1942. It is the second longest-running radio programme , and is the longest-running factual programme in the history of radio...
, later stating he lost his faith at the age of 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 and the separation of church and state. It holds that no-one should gain advantage or disadvantage because of their religion or lack of religion. It was founded by Charles Bradlaugh in 1866...
. In December 2010 he wrote an editorial for the Wall Street Journal defending his lack of faith.
Use of the word 'mong'
On 18 October 2011, Gervais attracted criticism for his repeated use of the word "mong", a historically derogatory term for disabled people, most commonly used against those with Down syndromeDown syndrome
Down syndrome, or Down's syndrome, trisomy 21, is a chromosomal condition caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 21st chromosome. It is named after John Langdon Down, the British physician who described the syndrome in 1866. The condition was clinically described earlier in the 19th...
. Gervais claimed the word no longer represented this meaning.
Although other comedians and support groups for the disabled pointed out that verbal and physical abuse of the disabled was on the increase, Gervais initially remained defiant over his use of the word. He later apologised, saying that he found it hard to believe that "idiots" still used the word to refer to people with Down Syndrome.
Jokes made at the 68th Golden Globe Awards
Gervais's job as host of the 68th Golden Globe Awards68th Golden Globe Awards
The 68th Golden Globe Awards was broadcast live from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on January 16, 2011, by NBC. The host was Ricky Gervais....
was met with criticism since he made biting jokes about many of the stars in attendence. When it was announced that Gervais would host the awards show again the following year, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association
Hollywood Foreign Press Association
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association is an organization composed of working journalists who cover the United States film industry for a variety of outlets, including newspapers and magazines in Europe, Asia, Australia and Latin America. Today, the 90 members of the HFPA represent at least 55...
even wrote, "While many welcome Gervais’s return, not everyone is happy with the decision because last year his blunt one-liners targeting big-name celebrities caused anger and resentment in some quarters."
Accolades and awards
British Academy Television Awards
The British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . They have been awarded annually since 1954, and are analogous to the Emmy Awards in the United States.-Background:...
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.-History:...
, amongst others.
Gervais received an honorary award at the annual Rose d'Or
Rose d'Or
The Rose d’Or is one of the most important international festivals in entertainment television. It was founded in Montreux in 1961 and has taken place in Lucerne since 2004. Producers, executives from independent and public service broadcasters and heads of production companies from over 40...
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 |
|---|---|
| BAFTA Awards |
|
| British Comedy Award |
|
| Broadcasting Press Guild Awards |
|
| Emmy Award Emmy Award An Emmy Award, often referred to simply 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 and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various... s |
|
| Golden Globe |
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 61st Golden Globe Awards The 61st Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and television for 2003, were held on January 25, 2004 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California... Best Actor — Musical or Comedy (TV) The Office (UK) |
| Peabody Awards |
|
| Rose d'Or Rose d'Or The Rose d’Or is one of the most important international festivals in entertainment television. It was founded in Montreux in 1961 and has taken place in Lucerne since 2004. Producers, executives from independent and public service broadcasters and heads of production companies from over 40... |
|
| Royal Television Society Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world... |
|
| Satellite Awards Satellite Awards The Satellite Awards are an annual award given by the International Press Academy. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards.- Film :*Best Actor – Drama*Best Actor – Musical or Comedy*Best Actress – Drama... |
|
| Television Critics Association Television Critics Association The Television Critics Association is a group of approximately 200 United States and Canadian journalists and columnists who cover television programming... |
|
| 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 East of the Mississippi.... |
|
Film
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Dog Eat Dog | Bouncer | |
| 2005 | Valiant | Bugsy | Voice role |
| 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 fantasy adventure-comedy film based on the 1993 children's book 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 American comedy-drama film directed by David Koepp, who also co-wrote the screenplay with John Kamps. It stars English comedian Ricky Gervais in his first leading feature-film role, as a dentist who can see and talk with ghosts, along with Téa Leoni as a young widow and Greg... |
Dr. Bertram Pincus | Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy |
| 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 an American adventure comedy film directed by Shawn Levy, and starring Ben Stiller, Hank Azaria, Amy Adams, Owen Wilson, Robin Williams, and Steve Coogan. The film is a sequel to Night at the Museum... |
Dr. McPhee | |
| The Invention of Lying The Invention of Lying The Invention of Lying is a 2009 fantasy romantic comedy film that is written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson. This film is the directorial debut of Gervais. The film stars Ricky Gervais as the first human with the ability to lie... |
Mark Bellison | Also Writer/Producer/Director | |
| 2010 | Cemetery Junction Cemetery Junction (film) Cemetery Junction is a coming-of-age comedy-drama film written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. The film was released in the United Kingdom on 14 April 2010.-Plot:... |
Len Taylor | Also Writer/Executive Producer/Director (with Stephen Merchant Stephen Merchant Stephen James Merchant is an English writer, director, radio presenter, comedian, and actor. He is best known for his collaborations with Ricky Gervais, as the co-writer and co-director of the popular British sitcom The Office, as the co-writer, co-director and a co-star of Extras, and as the... ) |
| 2011 | Spy Kids: All the Time in the World | Argonaut | Voice Only |
| The Muppets The Muppets (film) The Muppets is a 2011 American musical and comedy film, and the first Muppets theatrical release in 12 years, as well as the first Disney-produced Muppets film since 1996's Muppet Treasure Island... |
Cameo | post-production | |
| 2012 | The Wind in the Willows | Mole | Voice Only pre-production |
Television
| Year | Programme | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | The 11 O'Clock Show | Various | Unknown episodes |
| 1999 | Comedy Lab Comedy Lab Comedy Lab is a British television series which showcases pilots of experimental comedy shows. Series have been aired irregularly on Channel 4 and E4 since 1998.... |
Clive Meadows | Episode: "Golden Years" |
| 2000 | Bruiser Bruiser (TV series) Bruiser was a TV comedy sketch show produced for BBC Choice. It premiered on 28 February 2000 and ran for six episodes ending on 15 March 2000. The main writers were David Mitchell and Robert Webb... |
Recurring | 6 episodes |
| 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 for Channel 4 in 2000 and ran for one series on Friday nights.... |
Himself | 6 episodes | |
| 2001 | The Sketch Show The Sketch Show The Sketch Show is a British television sketch comedy programme, featuring many leading British comedians. It aired on ITV between 2001 and 2003.A short-lived spinoff of the same title was produced in the United States.- Original line-up :... |
Various | (Unknown episodes) |
| Spaced Spaced Spaced is a British television sitcom written by and starring Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson, and directed by Edgar Wright. It is noted for its rapid-fire editing, frequent pop culture references and jokes, eclectic music, and occasional displays of surrealism and non-sequitur humour... |
Dave | 1 episode | |
| 2001–2003 | The Office The Office (UK TV series) The Office is a British sitcom television series that was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the programme is about the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictitious... |
David Brent David Brent David Brent is a fictional character in the BBC television mockumentary The Office, as well as a recurring character in the NBC series of the same name, portrayed by co-writer and director Ricky Gervais. Brent is a white-collar office middle-manager and the principal character of the BBC series... |
14 episodes including 2 Christmas specials Also writer, director |
| 2004 | Alias Alias (TV series) Alias is an American action television series created by J. J. Abrams which was broadcast on ABC for five seasons, from September 30, 2001 to May 22, 2006... |
Daniel Ryan | Episode: "Façade" |
| 2005 | Kelsey Grammer Presents: The Sketch Show | Various | (Unknown episodes) |
| 2005–2007 | Extras | Andy Millman | 13 episodes Also writer, director, executive producer |
| 2006 | The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie... |
Charles Heathbar | Also Writer Episode: "Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife "Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife" is the fifteenth episode of the seventeenth season of The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 26, 2006, and was watched by around ten million viewers during that broadcast. In the episode, Homer signs the Simpson family... " |
| 2008 | Ricky Gervais: Out of England-The Stand-Up Special | Himself | (written by) |
| 2009 | Sesame Street Sesame Street Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The... |
Himself | 3 episodes |
| 2010 | The Ricky Gervais Show The Ricky Gervais Show The Ricky Gervais Show is a comedy audio show in the UK starring Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant, and Karl Pilkington, later adapted into an animated televised version debuting for HBO and Channel 4 in 2010. The show started in November 2001 on Xfm, and aired in weekly periods for months at a time... |
Himself | with Karl Pilkington Karl Pilkington Karl Pilkington is a British podcaster, author, television personality and former radio producer. He is best known for the Sky travel series, An Idiot Abroad, which was also presented in the United States on the Science Channel, in Canada on Discovery Channel and in Australia on One HD, and The... & Stephen Merchant Stephen Merchant Stephen James Merchant is an English writer, director, radio presenter, comedian, and actor. He is best known for his collaborations with Ricky Gervais, as the co-writer and co-director of the popular British sitcom The Office, as the co-writer, co-director and a co-star of Extras, and as the... |
| An Idiot Abroad An Idiot Abroad An Idiot Abroad is a travel documentary television series broadcast on Sky1, as well as a spin-off book published by Canongate Books, created by and featuring Karl Pilkington and his former radio show colleagues Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant.... |
Himself | with Karl Pilkington Karl Pilkington Karl Pilkington is a British podcaster, author, television personality and former radio producer. He is best known for the Sky travel series, An Idiot Abroad, which was also presented in the United States on the Science Channel, in Canada on Discovery Channel and in Australia on One HD, and The... & Stephen Merchant Stephen Merchant Stephen James Merchant is an English writer, director, radio presenter, comedian, and actor. He is best known for his collaborations with Ricky Gervais, as the co-writer and co-director of the popular British sitcom The Office, as the co-writer, co-director and a co-star of Extras, and as the... |
|
| Louie Louie (TV series) Louie is an American comedy television series on the FX network that began airing in 2010. It is written, directed, edited and produced by the show's creator, stand-up comedian Louis C.K., who stars as a fictionalized version of himself, a comedian and newly divorced father raising his two... |
Dr. Ben | 2 episodes | |
| 2011 | Life's Too Short Life's Too Short Life's Too Short is an observational sitcom series, created and written by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, from an idea by Warwick Davis, and is described by Gervais as being about "the life of a showbiz dwarf", with Davis playing a fictionalised version of himself. Gervais and Merchant appear... |
Himself | with Stephen Merchant Stephen Merchant Stephen James Merchant is an English writer, director, radio presenter, comedian, and actor. He is best known for his collaborations with Ricky Gervais, as the co-writer and co-director of the popular British sitcom The Office, as the co-writer, co-director and a co-star of Extras, and as the... & Warwick Davis Warwick Davis Warwick Ashley Davis is an English actor. He is most notable for playing the title characters in Willow and the Leprechaun film series, as well as for his roles in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi and the Harry Potter movies. Davis currently stars in the sitcom Life's Too Short, written... |
| The Office | David Brent | Episode: The Seminar The Seminar "The Seminar" is the fourteenth episode of seventh season of the American comedytelevision series The Office, and the show's 140th episode overall. Written by Steve Hely and directed by B. J. Novak, the episode aired January 27, 2011 on NBC.... & Search Committee Search Committee "Search Committee" is the hour-long finale of the seventh season of the American television comedy series The Office. It is the 151st and 152nd episodes of the series overall and the 25th and 26th episodes of the seventh season. It was written by show runner and executive producer Paul Lieberstein... |
|
| The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie... |
Himself | Episode: "Angry Dad: The Movie Angry Dad: The Movie "Angry Dad: The Movie" is the fourteenth episode of The Simpsons twenty-second season. It aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 20, 2011... " |
|
| Curb Your Enthusiasm Curb Your Enthusiasm Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American comedy television series produced and broadcast by HBO, which premiered on October 15, 2000. As of 2011, it has completed 80 episodes over eight seasons. The series was created by Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, who stars as a fictionalized version of himself... |
Himself | Episode: The Hero | |
| Family Guy Family Guy Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian... |
Billy Finn | Episode: "Be Careful What You Fish For" | |
| Talking Funny | Himself | With Jerry Seinfeld Jerry Seinfeld Jerome Allen "Jerry" Seinfeld is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and television and film producer, known for playing a semi-fictional version of himself in the situation comedy Seinfeld , which he co-created and co-wrote with Larry David, and, in the show's final two seasons,... , Chris Rock Chris Rock Christopher Julius "Chris" Rock III is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, television producer, film producer and director. He was voted in the US as the 5th greatest stand-up comedian of all time by Comedy Central... and Louis C.K. Louis C.K. Louis Szekely , known professionally as Louis C.K., is a stand-up comedian, television and film writer, actor, producer, and director... |
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| An Idiot Abroad 2: The Bucket List An Idiot Abroad An Idiot Abroad is a travel documentary television series broadcast on Sky1, as well as a spin-off book published by Canongate Books, created by and featuring Karl Pilkington and his former radio show colleagues Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant.... |
Himself | with Karl Pilkington Karl Pilkington Karl Pilkington is a British podcaster, author, television personality and former radio producer. He is best known for the Sky travel series, An Idiot Abroad, which was also presented in the United States on the Science Channel, in Canada on Discovery Channel and in Australia on One HD, and The... & Stephen Merchant Stephen Merchant Stephen James Merchant is an English writer, director, radio presenter, comedian, and actor. He is best known for his collaborations with Ricky Gervais, as the co-writer and co-director of the popular British sitcom The Office, as the co-writer, co-director and a co-star of Extras, and as the... |
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| 2012 | Afterlife | God | With Clyde Phillips Clyde Phillips Clyde B. Phillips is a writer and producer for television and film. He has written for the shows Dexter, Shout About Movies, Suddenly Susan, Parker Lewis Can't Lose, Midas Valley, and Trapper John, M.D.... |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Grand Theft Auto IV Grand Theft Auto IV Grand Theft Auto IV is a 2008 open world action video game published by Rockstar Games, and developed by British games developer Rockstar North. It has been released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles, and for the Windows operating system... |
Himself |
Interviews
- Time Magazine (2008). Renaissance Man: Ricky Gervais by Joel Stein
- The Independent, et al. (2005). Ricky Gervais: My life as a pure 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