Music For six months in 1983, during his final year as a student at UCL, Gervais and his best friend Bill Macrae formed the
new wave pop duo
Seona Dancing. They were signed by
London Records, which released two of their singles—"
More to Lose" and "
Bitter Heart". The songs failed to make an impact on the
UK Singles Chart. Despite not being successful in the UK, Seona Dancing did manage to score a hit in the
Philippines with "More to Lose". Gervais also worked as the manager for
Suede before they became successful in the 1990s. In 2013, Gervais performed a live tour as
David Brent along with his band
Foregone Conclusion, Brent's fictional band in
The Office. He and the band performed songs written under the Brent character, including "Equality Street" and "
Free Love Freeway". Gervais also produced a series of YouTube videos, 'Learn Guitar with David Brent', featuring acoustic guitar versions of nine songs. In 2016, as part of the
Life on the Road film promotion, Gervais published the
David Brent Songbook of 15 songs, which he also recorded for the album
Life on the Road as David Brent and Foregone Conclusion.
Radio Gervais worked as an assistant events manager for the
University of London Union (ULU), then was head of speech at the alternative radio station
Xfm. Needing an assistant, he interviewed the first person whose
curriculum vitae he read:
Stephen Merchant. In 1998 Gervais's position was made redundant when the station was taken over by the
Capital Radio group. Around this time he was also a regular contributor to
Mary Anne Hobbs's Radio 1 show, performing vox pop interviews in unlikely locations. After the first series of
The Office, Gervais and Merchant returned to Xfm in November 2001 for a Saturday radio show, where they began working with
Karl Pilkington, who produced the shows and later collaborated with them on their series of
podcasts. In October 2017, Gervais began hosting the weekly radio show
Ricky Gervais Is Deadly Sirius on
Sirius XM, which ran until 2019.
Podcast On 5 December 2005,
Guardian Unlimited began offering free weekly podcasts, including
The Ricky Gervais Show featuring Gervais, Merchant and Karl Pilkington. Throughout January and February 2006 the podcast was consistently ranked the number 1 podcast in the world. It appeared in the 2007 edition of the
Guinness Book of World Records as the world's most-downloaded podcast, with an average 261,670 downloads per episode during its first month. 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 Gervais and Merchant as "The Fourth Season". In October 2007 another free full-length podcast was released through iTunes, after being originally given out for free during a performance of Gervais's
Fame stand-up tour in London. On 25 November 2007 Gervais, Merchant and Pilkington released another free podcast of just over one hour. In August 2008, Gervais, Merchant and Pilkington recorded their fifth series of
audiobooks with four chapters released on 16 September 2008, and described as the
Guide To... series. There are 12 'Guides' to Medicine, Natural History, Arts, Philosophy, The English, Society, Law & Order, The Future, The Human Body, The Earth, The
World Cup 2010 and
Comic Relief. The conversations typically begin on topic and go out on tangents about other subjects. In 2021, Gervais launched a paid-for audio series,
Absolutely Mental, of his conversations with philosopher
Sam Harris. Season 2 was also launched in 2021, followed by season 3 in March 2022.
Television Early television appearances in 2007 Gervais has contributed to the
BAFTA-winning
The Sketch Show (ITV), penning several sketches. His mainstream-TV on-screen 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 expletives as was possible and produced an inordinate number 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 comedy chat show for Channel 4 called Meet Ricky Gervais, which was poorly received and cancelled after six episodes, and Gervais has since mocked it. Throughout this time, Gervais also wrote for the BBC sketch show Bruiser and The
Jim Tavare Show''.
The Office The Office started when
Stephen Merchant had to make his short film while on a BBC production course. In August 1999 he made a docu-soap parody, set in an office, with help from
Ash Atalla who was shown a 7-minute video called 'The Seedy Boss'. Thus the character of
David Brent was created. 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 momentum and anticipation for the second series, also comprising six episodes. Following the success of
The Office second series, Gervais was named the
most powerful person in TV comedy by
Radio Times. In 2004,
The Office won the
Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy as well as
Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy for Gervais, who said in a 2015 BBC interview that the award was the gateway to America for him.
The Office brand has since been remade for audiences in
Sweden,
France,
Germany,
Quebec,
Brazil,
Chile,
Czech Republic,
Finland,
India,
Israel,
Poland 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. Gervais has said that the episode "
Training" is his favourite, where Brent plays his guitar and sings. In 2021, on the show's 20th anniversary, he suggested the show would not have been produced in 2021 due to
cancel culture: "I mean, now it would be cancelled. I'm looking forward to when they pick out one thing and try to cancel it. Someone said they might try to cancel it one day, and I say, 'Good let them cancel it—I've been paid!'" In 2025, Gervais became an executive producer on
The Paper, a spinoff of the American version of
The Office created by
Greg Daniels, who had also created the American adaptation of
The Office. Extras Extras had its debut on the BBC on 21 July 2005; directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the sitcom ran for twelve episodes and starred Gervais as Andy Millman, a
background artist. 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,
Robert De Niro and
Jonathan Ross. at
Live 8 in
Hyde Park, London, July 2005 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. A
Rolling Stone article remarks that, in making
Extras, Gervais was influenced by
Larry David's
Curb Your Enthusiasm, particularly in the format of celebrities making fools of themselves or subverting their public personas. In 2007, Gervais won the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his portrayal of Andy Millman in the second series of
Extras. As Gervais was not present at the awards ceremony, the trophy was accepted on his behalf by
Steve Carell, the actor who starred as regional manager
Michael Scott—the counterpart to Gervais's David Brent—on
the American adaptation of The Office.
The Ricky Gervais Show The Ricky Gervais Show is an animated TV show adapted from the podcast of the same name that debuted on US cable network
HBO on 19 February 2010. In the UK, the first series 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 an enthusiastic following in the US, HBO recommissioned the show for a second series, which aired in 2011, and a third series in 2012.
''Life's Too Short'' ''
Life's Too Short began airing on BBC Two on 10 November 2011. Gervais and Stephen Merchant wrote this sitcom from an idea by Warwick Davis. It is described by Gervais as being about "the life of a showbiz dwarf" and as "a cross between Extras
and The Office''". The show stars actor Davis playing a fictionalised version of himself, as well as Gervais and Merchant. Premium cable channel HBO, which co-produced the series with the BBC, had the US rights and began airing the series on 19 February 2012.
An Idiot Abroad An Idiot Abroad is a travel documentary produced by Gervais and Stephen Merchant in which a reluctant Karl Pilkington travels around the world, with his reactions to people and places recorded. Occasionally, Gervais and Merchant call to surprise him with a new place to visit or task to do. Pilkington reports back mostly complaining about the situation. Gervais says there is no planning; a camera crew follows his friend around filming for many hours, which Gervais edits down to an hour each episode. Two series and a Christmas special have aired; series one involves Pilkington visiting the
Seven Wonders of the World. In the second show, he chooses to complete tasks from a bucket list provided by Gervais, and in the special, Warwick Davis joins Pilkington on a journey following
Marco Polo's route from Italy to China.
Derek In November 2011, Gervais filmed in London a 35-minute pilot episode for a potential
comedy-drama series called
Derek, which aired on Channel 4 on 12 April 2012. The pilot is solely written and directed by Gervais and features him in the title role of Derek Noakes, a 49-year-old
retirement home worker, who "loves animals,
Rolf Harris,
Jesus,
Deal or No Deal,
Million Pound Drop, and ''
Britain's Got Talent''." The character first appeared in a
2001 Edinburgh Festival Fringe sketch as an aspiring comedian who loves animals and still lives with his mother. Gervais's co-host
Karl Pilkington makes his acting debut as Derek's friend and facilities-caretaker Dougie who also works in the retirement home. British comedian
Kerry Godliman plays Derek's best friend Hannah and
David Earl plays Kev. Gervais said that the series is about "kindness [being] more important than anything else". He added: "It's about the forgotten—everyone's forgotten. It's all these arbitrary people who didn't know each other, and they're in there now because they're in the last years of their life. And it's about the people who help them, who themselves are losers and have their own problems. It's about a bunch of people with nothing, but making the most of it, and they're together." He chose to set the sitcom in a retirement home after he watched
Secret Millionaire—"It was always these people with huge problems who were helping other people. I thought about having Derek help old people because no one cares about old people in this country ... I think it's perfect for now." Channel 4 commissioned a full series of
Derek that aired in early 2013.
Derek was recommissioned for a second series, which premiered on 23 April 2014.
Derek ended with a one-off final special, broadcast on Channel 4 in the UK on 22 December 2014.
After Life On 9 May 2018, it was announced that
Netflix had given a production order for the first season of the comedy drama
After Life. It was created and directed by Gervais, who also starred in it and executive-produced it with Duncan Hayes, with
Charlie Hanson as producer; the series premiered on 8 March 2019. On 3 April 2019, Netflix renewed the series for a second season, which launched on 24 April 2020. In May 2020, it was announced that Gervais had signed a new deal with Netflix, including a third season of
After Life. Before the announcement Gervais said, "For the first time ever, I would do a series three, because the world's so rich. I love the characters, I love all the actors in it, I love my character, I love the town, I love the themes… I love the dog!"
Stand-up comedy Gervais began his stand-up career in the late 1990s. His first successful show was at the Café Royal as part of the
2001 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Titled
Rubbernecker, it also featured
Jimmy Carr,
Robin Ince and Stephen Merchant. Gervais toured the UK in 2003 with his stand-up show
Animals. The
Politics tour followed a year later. Both 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.
Newsnight Review's panel saw
Animals during its
Bloomsbury run and covered it in January 2003. They were not favourable, with
Private Eye editor
Ian Hislop saying it was "cobbled together ... banal ... a bit flat". After this, Gervais closed each show by calling Hislop an "ugly little pug-faced cunt".
Fame was the subject of some controversy in January 2007 when Gervais included a routine, ostensibly about how people will do anything to become famous, referring to
the murder of prostitutes in Ipswich. in the
West End, September 2021 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 DVD was released on 15 November 2010. In November 2009, he headlined the sixth annual
New York Comedy Festival at
Carnegie Hall. In 2013, Gervais announced that his next stand-up show would be called
Humanity. In December 2014, he said he was too busy to do the tour due to producing two films. In May 2016, Gervais performed stand-up in London, starting with some low key warm-ups with cast members from
Derek. He said: "Finally, I'm going to do some stand-up. The first in about six years if you don't count hosting the
Golden Globes". He continued his
Humanity show throughout 2017 and into 2018. He appeared at
SF Sketchfest as part of the tour, which devoted a night in honour of him, alongside comedic legend and mentor
Christopher Guest. His next tour and
Netflix special
SuperNature was announced in late 2018, where Gervais warned people not to travel to see "work in progress" as it would be a "shambles".
SuperNature shows continued through 2019 and 2020. Following significant cancellations and postponements as a result of the
COVID-19 pandemic, the
SuperNature tours resumed in August 2021.
SuperNature received criticism for jokes about
transgender people. It won the Best Stand-Up Show at the National Comedy Awards. In May 2023, in the world-wide tour of his comedy special,
Armageddon, he was reported to have an earned £1.41 million for a single stand-up gig, at the
Hollywood Bowl, the highest-grossing one-off gig ever by a British comedian. The show was released on
Netflix on 25 December 2023 but faced controversy for making a joke about
cancer patients. The special later won for "Best Performance in Stand-Up Comedy on Television" at the
81st Golden Globe Awards, but Gervais didn't attend the ceremony.
Animation One of the first animations Gervais voiced was the character of Penguin in
Robbie the Reindeer's
Legend of the Lost Tribe. He had a starring role in
Disney's Valiant, with
Ewan McGregor,
John Cleese and
Jim Broadbent, as pigeon Bugsy. Gervais guest-starred in an episode of
The Simpsons entitled "
Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife". 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; it 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: "I've always been fascinated with reality game shows but I think it was my girlfriend's idea. We watch
Celebrity Big Brother at the moment, we watch ''
I'm a Celebrity, Get Me out of Here... we watch all those reality TV shows—The Office
came out of those docu-soaps". 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. In 2012, Gervais made a guest appearance on
Family Guy in the episode titled "
Be Careful What You Fish For". In the episode, Gervais plays a dolphin named Billy Finn who gives
Peter Griffin a
Mercedes-Benz hood ornament, and Peter half-heartedly promises a favour to him. Soon, Billy moves to Quahog but outstays his welcome at Peter's. Peter tries to reunite Billy with his ex-wife in hopes that he will return to the ocean. The episode also featured
Lucy Davis, with whom Gervais starred in
The Office.
Guest star on television series Gervais had a cameo role in
Simon Pegg's and
Jessica Hynes's sitcom
Spaced as Dave, an estate agent who mistakenly places the advertisement for a property for a couple that turns out to be the premise of the show. Gervais has also guest-starred on
Alias (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 also made guest appearances on
Sesame Street.
Louis C.K. had Gervais play Dr Ben, his doctor, on two episodes of his series
Louie. Gervais broke into his trademark hysterical laugh every time his character made Louie the butt of a joke. In early 2015, Gervais guest-starred in
Galavant, a four-week comedy mini-series, as Xanax the magician. It aired on
ABC and Gervais got to show off his singing skills.
Entertainment Gervais made a cameo appearance on
Saturday Night Live in a Digital Short, during which he joked that
The Office was adapted from a Japanese programme 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". Gervais hosted the
67th,
68th,
69th,
73rd and
77th Golden Globe Awards. His appearance in 2010 made 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 and the
Associated Press, but also some negative comments from
The Hollywood Reporter. His 2011 hosting of the awards was controversial for his 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'. Gervais responded: "They are my friends, but I had to play the outsider." though he made a similar declaration during his first hosting performance in 2010. Gervais was a guest judge on
Jerry Seinfeld's NBC show
The Marriage Ref alongside Larry David and
Madonna. He has also been a regular guest on Seinfeld's
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.
Talking Funny, which first aired on 28 April 2011, starred Gervais and fellow standup comedians
Louis C.K.,
Chris Rock and Jerry Seinfeld having an informal round-table discussion on stand-up comedy. This one off HBO special was well received by critics & audience alike. In 2013, Gervais guest starred in
David Blaine: Real or Magic, a television special where Blaine proceeded to run a large needle through his forearm in front of Gervais.
Talk shows In January 2006, Gervais interviewed
Larry David in a one-off special,
Ricky Gervais Meets... Larry David. On 25 and 26 December 2006 he interviewed
Christopher Guest and
Garry Shandling which aired on Channel 4. There are no plans for further episodes of
Meets..., although editions with
Monty Python co-founder
John Cleese and
The Simpsons creator
Matt Groening were recorded in 2006 for broadcast in 2007. A source claimed, "The Shandling experience put him off for good". In January 2009, Gervais was a guest on BravoTV
Inside the Actors Studio season 15 with
James Lipton, where at one point of the interview he answered Lipton's question as David Brent, his character from
The Office. Brent obliged the audience by singing his song "Freelove Freeway" with a guitar supplied to him by Lipton. Gervais has been on
The Late Show with David Letterman 26 times. In 2008, he helped Letterman read out the
Late Show Top Ten List, Top Ten Stupid Things Americans Say To Brits. In mid-2014, upon hearing that Letterman was up for retirement, Gervais jokingly tried to discourage him by suggesting they go on a road trip where they would spend all their money. Gervais has appeared on the BBC's
The Graham Norton Show many times over the years. He has been on
Graham Norton's couch with Stephen Merchant, co-creator and co-writer of
The Office, to promote
Cemetery Junction. Another appearance saw him talk about his series
''Life's Too Short'';
Johnny Depp, who was there to promote his own film, was also present.
Video games Gervais is one of two featured comedians (the other being
Katt Williams) in the video game
Grand Theft Auto IV who performs at the Split Sides comedy club on the virtual stand-up stage and as an interviewee on the in game radio station
We Know The Truth. For the
stand-up bit a special three-minute act was written, recorded and fully motion-captured.
Books Flanimals Gervais released a children's book in 2004,
Flanimals (illustrated by 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,
Flanimals: The Day of the Bletchling, was released in October 2007.
Flanimals: Pop Up was also published in 2009.
Published television scripts The Office scripts have been released in book form, with series one issued in 2002, and the remaining episodes following in 2003.
Extras: The Illustrated Scripts: Series 1 & 2 has been released, as well.
Other books The World of Karl Pilkington was presented by Gervais and Merchant. These were essentially transcripts of
Xfm shows podcasts and featured illustrations by Pilkington.
Film Gervais's film career has included supporting roles as the voice of a pigeon, Bugsy, in 2005's
Valiant, as a
studio executive in 2006's
For Your Consideration, as museum director Dr. McPhee in 2006's
Night at the Museum and its sequels
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian and
Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, and as "Ferdy the Fence" in the 2007 film
Stardust. Gervais starred in
Ghost Town (2008) as a dentist who sees spirits, and co-wrote and co-directed (with
Matt Robinson)
The Invention of Lying (2009), in which he starred alongside
Jennifer Garner,
Rob Lowe and Louis C.K. Gervais and collaborator Stephen Merchant made a film called
Cemetery Junction, set in 1970s Britain, about class, love and fulfilment. The film was released in April 2010. Gervais starred in
Muppets Most Wanted (2014) as Dominic Badguy, the partner of the movie's villain,
Constantine. Gervais directed and starred in,
Special Correspondents, which began filming in May 2015. The comedy stars
Eric Bana as a journalist and Gervais as his assistant. They pretend to report news from a war torn country but in actuality they are safe in New York. The film was released on Netflix. Gervais directed and starred in the 2016 film
David Brent: Life on the Road, a
mockumentary following David Brent, a character first seen in
The Office series, as he lives his dream of being a rockstar. On 5 November 2015 Gervais signed up to play Ika Chu, a villainous cat, in an animated film
Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank, originally known as
Blazing Samurai. The movie is about a dog (Hank) played by
Michael Cera, who wants to be a warrior and fights with Ika Chu for the town of Kakamucho. In 2023, the BBC aired
7 Minutes, a short film about two people wanting to commit suicide at the same train station. Directed by Gervais, the film is part of the station's
Comedy Shorts series and was released in May 2023. In March 2023, Gervais had teased the project when he tweeted a photograph from the setting.
Other appearances in New York in 2007 On 2 July 2005, Gervais appeared at the
Live 8 event held in London's
Hyde Park, where he performed his famous dance from
The Office.
Concert for Diana and Live Earth On 1 July 2007, Gervais performed at the
Concert for Diana at
Wembley, a music event celebrating the life of
Princess Diana 10 years after her death. 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, as well as singing the "Little Fat Man" song as performed by David Bowie in episode two of the second series of
Extras. 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?", where he described Gervais as a "tiresome embarrassment". The following week,
The Guardian noted that Gervais had responded with "an exhilaratingly foul-mouthed tirade" on his website, concluding with the sentence "yes I am resting on my fucking laurels you cunt!" In this video, Gervais mocked Jim Shelley typing the words "resting on his laurels", and jokingly lashed out by stating that 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==