ricky gervais

Ricky Gervais at Amazon.co.uk

 

Biography Ricky Gervais

Ricky Gervais has risen to the top of British comedy, for his innovative performances in his own productions of the Office and recently, Extras. His comedy is quite unique and includes a taste for the comedy of embarrassment, which during the Office can at times be excruciating.

Ricky Gervais was born June 25, 1961, to a French Canadian father. Ricky was brought up on a council estate near Reading and enjoyed a fairly “normal and happy childhood”.

Ricky studied Philosophy at University College London, where he graduated in 1979 with a 2:2. After finishing his studies he temporarily formed a band, Seona Dancing. They produced 2 singles, both of which failed to get into the top 40, although, bizarrely one of their songs become a big hit in the Philippines, one year after the groups demise.

After the demise of the band Ricky worked at various odd jobs related to the media and music. For example, he managed the group Suede for a time. In the 1990s he started to make a break through in TV, gaining slots on Channel 4 TV in programmes such as, The 11 ‘O clock show. He even had his own chat show “Meet Ricky Gervais”; however, this was not a success, and even Ricky has later mocked his performance in it.

The Office and Extras

The big break for Ricky Gervais came in 2001 when his own show the Office was piloted on BBC. The comedy was scripted with long time friend Stephen Marchant. The series proved a big hit, gaining a cult following. In the office, Ricky Gervais plays the boss, David Brent. David Brent is a caricature of the annoying boss. Although exaggerated for comic effect, it seemed to hit a nerve with many viewers; his sayings have gone onto become popular catch phrases. There was an American version of the Office, although it was moderated for the tastes of American audiences. After the second series Ricky Gervais decided to bring the series to an end. However, he did start working on a new programme Extras. In Extras, Ricky Gervais plays an aspiring actor, who struggles to get more than a silent extra part. A feature of the new programme was his ability to attract top stars to perform as a guest actor. It is testament to his standing that he was able to attract top stars, such as Patrick Stewart, to willingly make a parody of themselves.

List of Famous Actors performing in Extras

Second Series of the Extras

In 2006, he was also invited to write an episode of The Simpsons; the episode featured a reality game show, where Homer swaps his wife Marge. Ricky Gervais has said he enjoys watching reality game shows

Following his sucess in TV, Ricky has embarked on his own live stand-up tours. His first tour was called Animals, based around his fascination with the animal kingdom. His follow-up stand-up act was called Politics.

He was recently voted "The greatest living Briton" for the TV section by an ITV show, (2007) [1]