Gervais, Ricky (1961- )

English comedian, actor, and writer. He is best known for his starring role on the popular television mock documentary series The Office (2001-03), which he also co-wrote and co-directed with his former assistant Stephen Merchant. Other television work includes The 11 O'Clock Show (1999), his own chat show Meet Ricky Gervais (2001), and Extras (2005).

On The Office he played the smug, self-important, bufoonish office manager David Brent. The series depicts the dreary routine of office life at Wernham Hogg, a paper manufacturer in Slough, an industrial suburb of London. A US version aired in 2004.

Gervais grew up in Reading, Berkshire. During the early 1980s he was the lead singer of a group called Seona Dancing, and after the band split he attended University College, London, during the mid-1980s. He worked as entertainments manager for University of London student union and briefly managed the rock band Suede before they achieved stardom. While working as a DJ for London's XFM radio station he developed a character called Seedy Boss, which inspired his character in The Office. During the mid-2000s he toured the UK with a trilogy of stand-up comedy shows: Animals in 2003, Politics in 2004, and Science in 2005.