Latest news with #StephenMerchant
Telegraph
18 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
‘Celebrities are just like us – idiots': Ricky Gervais on Extras turning 20
Samuel L Jackson was a fan of The Office – one of many celebrity fans whom Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant encountered in the wake of their mockumentary sitcom success. Jackson had watched The Office on DVD, a concept that still amuses Merchant. 'It just seemed so weird,' he says. 'The image of Sam Jackson at home, trying to get the cellophane off of the DVD – having to get a key and scratching it off – then popping the DVD in and putting his feet up with a cup of coffee or whatever.' There was a common theme among their celebrity fans: many stars said they'd like to work with Gervais and Merchant in the future. 'It happened often enough that we thought it would be nice to take advantage of that,' says Merchant. The celebs had unwittingly cast themselves in Gervais and Merchant's follow-up sitcom, Extras, which first aired on BBC Two 20 years ago this week, on July 21, 2005. Across Extras' two series and feature-length Christmas special, A-list guest stars included Samuel L Jackson, Kate Winslet, Ben Stiller, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, George Michael, Daniel Radcliffe, Orlando Bloom, David Bowie, and Robert De Niro. Most played what Gervais and Merchant described as 'twisted' versions of themselves: egomaniacs, oddballs, fantasists, buffoons. 'It wasn't as common at the time to have these A-listers ridiculing themselves,' says Gervais. 'It was before social media – before everyone found out that celebrities are just like us. They're idiots!' But the celebs were, ironically enough, just supporting players to Extras' real lead characters: Andy Millman (Gervais) and best friend Maggie (Ashley Jensen). 'We didn't want it to be, 'look at my celebrity mates,'' says Gervais. 'They had to be bonuses, appendages. Because it was really about a guy who was struggling and selling everything for an ambition.' In the first series, Andy – a film extra and frustrated wannabe actor – scrabbles around film sets for one meagre line of dialogue, sucking up to and putting his foot in it with star names. In the second series, Andy's dreams seemingly come true when he gets his own BBC sitcom. But ratings-chasing compromises – broad gags, funny wigs and catchphrases ('Are you havin' a laugh?') – turn his modicum of celebrity into a series of humiliations. He sells any semblance of artistic integrity to cling on to fame while grumbling to Maggie that he should be higher up the showbiz ladder; that he deserves more respect. 'No matter how successful you are, you'll never be famous enough,' Maggie warns him shortly before he signs up for the ultimate profile-boosting indignity: Celebrity Big Brother. Who's who in Extras Maggie is the heart and conscience of Extras, Andy is the snark and insecurity, and his hilariously useless agent, Darren Lamb (Merchant) is the s--t-for-brains. The tragedy (and all great British sitcoms need a touch of something tragic) comes from the lower rungs of showbiz, a source of imagined desperation. Les Dennis lays his personal and professional woes bare (while also baring his backside) and Shaun Williamson – best known as Barry off EastEnders – plays himself as a down-on-his-luck sad-sack. He's so unable to shake the EastEnders image that even his agent, Darren, calls him Barry and describes him as having 'an undercurrent of tragedy'. Looking back, Gervais remembers an old sketch idea that now feels like a precursor to Extras. It was a Braveheart-like scene, with a Mel Gibson-like star, in which a camera would pan across the battle lines until one extra suddenly asked, 'What time's lunch?' 'Imagine being at the bottom of the pile and ruining it,' says Gervais. 'That was the funny seed.' Gervais likens it to a moment that sums up the first series, when Andy tries to edge into a shot – in the background of a Ross Kemp period drama – then hears the director say, 'Cut before that fat little extra gets his face in.' 'It was an absurd world' Extras was also inspired by the fact that Gervais and Merchant were, at the time, new to show business. 'It was such an absurd world that we'd entered,' says Merchant. 'It was bizarre encountering award ceremonies and film sets and celebrities. It was hard not to think of that as a fun subject. We felt like outsiders.' 'I worked in an office for nine years, so I wrote about it,' says Gervais. 'After that, my job was sort of show business. It's irresistible to write about your own job. Write what you know.' Merchant recalls that they originally planned to use A-listers as actual extras. 'They'd literally be walking around in the background,' he says. 'You'd see Sam Jackson or Kate Winslet, but they'd say nothing. They were just extras in the show. At some point, we thought if we got them all the way to the set, it seems silly to squander them. We started to think about how they could interact with the characters.' It wasn't a new idea. The Larry Sanders Show and Curb Your Enthusiasm had featured Hollywood stars playing fictionalised versions of themselves. In Extras, the celebrities are there to make Andy squirm under the backstage power dynamic and to hold up the cracked mirror of fame – they reveal themselves as out-of-touch with reality, or as massively out-of-step with their public persona. 'Famous people behaving badly' Ben Stiller turns his hand from comedy acting to directing a war drama. But he's a tyrant, threatening to shoot a child actor's mum in the face and screaming about Meet the Fockers' box office take. 'When I sent Ben Stiller the rough idea, he said, 'You've tapped into my inner soul,'' says Gervais, laughing. In another episode, Kate Winslet plays herself as a foul-mouthed nun in a Second World War film. She dishes out advice on dirty phone calls and admits that she's only doing a Holocaust drama for an Oscar. 'And then she wins an Oscar for a Holocaust film!' says Gervais, in reference to The Reader (2008). As smart as Extras is – tinkering with multiple levels of the fourth wall and playing out the John Updike quote that 'celebrity is a mask that eats into the face' – Gervais agrees there was some childish glee in getting their A-listers to say and do outrageous things. 'It was famous people behaving badly,' Gervais says. 'That's what it could have been called.' 'The more that these people said that they were interested, the more it became a game of what would be the most unpleasant or funniest version of themselves – the one that was most incongruous with their public image,' says Merchant. He adds: 'Normally, we'd get a tentative yes and we'd write a script with them in mind to see if they were happy. They almost all were. I think Kate Winslet had a couple of lines that were particularly offensive that she wouldn't say, but other than that she was game for it. They were just game for a laugh. There was very little push-back. It was surprisingly easy.' A personal favourite from the first series is Patrick Stewart, who begins by bellowing out a speech from The Tempest then tells Andy about a script he's written himself, in which he controls the world with the power of his mind – a power he mostly uses for making ladies' clothes fall off. ('Even before she can get her knickers back on, I've seen everything ... I've seen it all.') 'One of the most dignified Shakespearian actors in the world talking about knickers,' sniggers Gervais. Another highlight is Ross Kemp, who lies about feats of hard-nuttery ('I headbutted a horse once') and boasts he could batter Vinnie Jones – until Vinnie turns up to show him what being hard is all about. There's a touch of melancholy to Kemp – a wounded, lip-quivering Billy no-mates. 'He was a little bit nervous,' says Gervais. 'He did talk about portraying himself and going too far. He said, 'Well, it's OK if you're Sam Jackson!' He was very conscious and worried about perception. But he still did it!' Les Dennis goes close-to-the-bone The celeb who played the riskiest version of themself was Les Dennis. The episode is daringly close-to-the-bone, portraying the former Family Fortunes host as a washed-up has-been who – between panto performances – showers a much-younger girlfriend with £50 notes and calls up Heat magazine to report celebrity sightings of, well, himself. The lowest moment comes when Les discovers his girlfriend is cheating. He slumps into his dressing room chair, traumatised and naked. Gervais rates it as the best episode. 'It was the one where we sailed very close to the wind as to the public perception of him,' says Gervais. 'As opposed to playing against type or making something up.' 'It was a way of exploring how celebrity works,' says Merchant. 'It chews you up and spits you out.' It came after Dennis's real-life divorce from Amanda Holden and a maudlin stint on Celebrity Big Brother that made him a tabloid target. One headline read, 'Is this the most pathetic man in Britain?' 'My agent called to say Ricky Gervais wants you to call him,' says Dennis. 'I thought, 'What? Why would Ricky Gervais want me to call him?' It wasn't long after Big Brother. The phone wasn't exactly ringing at the time. Ricky asked me if I wanted to play a 'twisted, demented' version of myself.' Dennis visited their office to talk about the episode. 'They said, 'How far can we go?' and I said, 'Go as far as you like!' On the way out, Ricky said, 'How do you feel about the arse shot?' I said, 'What?' He said, 'You'll be naked in the dressing room. Do you want a double?' I said, 'No I'll do it myself.'' When they shot the scene, he wore nothing but a cricket box. 'Ricky said, 'I'm not having Les's offal in my face! I want him to wear something!'' Dennis recalls, laughing. 'There were tea and biscuits around and Ricky picked up the ginger nuts.' Dennis's friends were concerned about him taking the role – they were suspicious that it might be a Brass Eye-type set-up – but Dennis knew he had to do it. 'At the time I was known as 'Les Miserables,'' he says. 'I came out of the Big Brother house and had a lot of stuff going on. People thought I was grumpy, but I just didn't like being invaded by the press. I thought, just go for it and show you've got a sense of humour about all this stuff that's being written.' Dennis came up with lines to ridicule himself even more. For one climactic scene – in bed with a woman he's just pulled – Dennis suggested blurting out his Family Fortunes catchphrase: 'If it's up there, I'll give you the money me-self.' Dennis remembers that Gervais was laughing so much filming the scene that Merchant ordered him off set. 'He said, 'Ricky, you've ruined the take, you've laughed over the dialogue, you've got to go out,'' says Dennis. 'He got thrown out of the room by Stephen.' The role changed the public perception of Dennis and boosted his theatre career. 'They helped me reinvent myself,' he says. Orlando Bloom told us to 'go harder' Dennis wasn't the only celeb insisting they go more extreme. Orlando Bloom told Gervais and Merchant to 'go harder' when he's trying to prove he's a bigger heartthrob than Johnny Depp. 'Orlando Bloom said, 'Go harder, let me go after Johnny Depp harder, make it worse!'' says Gervais. 'Willy Wonka? Johnny w-----r! ' says Bloom, trying to impress Maggie on the set of a courtroom drama. In other ridiculous celebrity appearances, Daniel Radcliffe plays himself as a randy teenager and accidentally flicks an unravelled condom onto Dame Diana Rigg's head. Gervais had to delicately position the condom on Rigg's head himself. 'When Daniel Radcliffe flicks it, we had to get it to land,' says Gervais. 'So, at one point I was putting it over her eye a little bit. I was saying, 'Can you see? Is that alright?' She said, 'Yeah. That's alright.' And I just thought, that's a weird day at work.' Elsewhere, they cast George Michael as a kebab-chomping, joint-smoking troublemaker. The much-treasured singer uses his community service lunch break to scout Hampstead Heath for sexual encounters. 'What a performer,' says Gervais. 'Just willing to be cottaging, smoking a joint, eating a kebab … He'd just done that community service, so we had him in trouble with the police.' In the episode, George is in trouble for fly-tipping a fridge freezer with Annie Lennox. Sting grassed them up to the council. 'Because he's a f----er do-gooder,' says George. Gervais and Merchant were, of course, the new darlings of British comedy at the time. Stars wanted to be involved. 'We had a blank cheque of kudos that we could cash-in,' says Merchant. 'Ronnie Corbett said his grandchildren told him, 'You've got to do this,'' says Gervais. 'And then we've got him in the toilets at the Baftas taking coke! It's mad what they were willing to say and do.' 'Two celebrities turned us down' Gervais and Merchant can only remember two celebs who turned them down. One was Syd Little of Little and Large. 'He read the script and thought it was too much, the swearing or whatever. He was an old family entertainer,' says Gervais. The other was Orville the Duck ventriloquist Keith Harris, who thought the show was some kind of wind-up. 'But I think Ian McKellen said he thought it was a wind-up,' says Gervais. Looking back now, do Gervais and Merchant have favourite celebrity appearances? For Merchant, it's the one and only Robert De Niro, who appears briefly with Merchant in series two. 'We were making the show and kept on referring to Robert De Niro without knowing if he was going to do it,' says Merchant. 'Finally, he gave us an hour. Because of my giant height [6ft 7in] and his relatively normal human size, there's a wide shot where I look three times as big as him – because of the weird perspective. There were conspiracy theories that we were never in the same room. I was like, 'Are you kidding me?! We worked so hard to get me in the same room!'' Merchant adds: 'Ricky was behind the camera and gave me a couple of notes. Robert De Niro said, 'Any notes for me?' We just started laughing! ' Yeah, we're giving you notes!'' Gervais chooses Bowie. 'Working with my hero David Bowie – writing a song with my hero David Bowie – is off the charts.' In the episode, Bowie listens to Andy's complaints about the sitcom, at which point Bowie bursts into his song. Gervais admits it's a bit surreal in contrast to other celebs. 'You meet David Bowie and then he writes a song!' says Gervais. 'It's almost like cheating, that. But it was well done and I think we were allowed. If you've got David Bowie for the day and he's written a song, he's allowed to sing it!' Twenty years on, Gervais is still amused by the idea that their A-listers were – to quote When the Whistle Blows – very much up for having a laugh. 'Surprising,' Gervais says. 'Just surprising that they said yes and then went along with it.'
Daily Mail
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
BBC slaps ANOTHER beloved sitcom with woke trigger warnings as five episodes flagged for 'discriminatory language'
The BBC has slapped another beloved sitcom with trigger warnings as five episodes have been flagged for 'discriminatory language'. The Office, the hit mockumentary sitcom created by comedians Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, famously stars Ricky as paper company boss David Brent. Both series of the noughties programme were already labelled with a G symbol on BBC iPlayer, which flags parental guidance for younger viewers. But nearly half of the BBC series' 14 episodes, following life at Wernham Hogg's Slough office, now also carry the additional content notice. In series one, which aired in 2001, the first and last episodes - Downsize and Judgement - bear the alert. Meanwhile, a whopping half of the second series, released in 2002, has been hit with trigger warnings - episodes one, three and five, named Merger, Party and Charity. The Office, now considered one of the best British sitcoms of all time, took home a whole host of awards when it first hit our screens. It won the Golden Globe for Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy in 2004, making it the first ever British comedy to take home a gong at the ceremony. Ricky also received the Golden Globe for Best Actor - Television Series Musical or Comedy in the same year. Its success lead to an American spin-off version in 2005, starring Steve Carell in the equivalent of Ricky's role. The US programme ran to an impressive nine series and just over 200 episodes, ending in 2013. The British version of The Office is just the latest of a run of sitcoms and classic TV shows to be hit with trigger warnings. Only Fools and Horses was hit with various disclaimers around 'racial language', words that 'may offend' and 'dated attitudes and behaviours' earlier this year. Only two of seven series of the eighties hit show - which is available to watch on ITV and often reruns on digital channel U&Gold - did not have any episodes at all slapped with the warnings. Meanwhile, a series of episodes of the third series of Doctor Who, which had previously been declared 'missing from the archives', was also hit with a warning back in April. The lost instalments, called The Savages, which star the first ever Time Lord William Hartnell, first aired back in 1966, with an animated remake released on DVD in March. But it was put out with a string of warnings attached from the British Board of Film Classification, saying it contained 'verbal references to discrimination and the discriminatory social structure of an alien society'. Also, ITV put a notice on some episodes of beloved seventies show George And Mildred in March - saying they contain 'classic British humour from a bygone era'. The show, which ran for five series from 1976 until 1979, follows George and Mildred Roper, played by Yootha Joyce and Brian Murphy, a constantly-sparring married couple. And the broadcaster was ridiculed for over-protecting its viewers, with Free Speech Union founder Toby Young saying: 'George And Mildred? Really? What's next? 'The Magic Roundabout on the grounds that viewers with hyperactivity disorder may find the character of Zebedee triggering?'
The Sun
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Award-winning comedy becomes latest hit show to be slapped with woke trigger warnings in crackdown by the BBC
HIT mockumentary sitcom The Office has been slapped with 'discriminatory language' trigger warnings by BBC bosses. Five episodes of Ricky Gervais 's award-winning show on iPlayer have been flagged. 1 All 14 episodes are available on the streaming service. Its two series, with Gervais as paper company branch boss David Brent, carry a 'G' rating to indicate adult humour. But some episodes also carry the additional warning. In the first series, debut episode Downsize — first aired in July 2001 — and the sixth episode Judgement are hit with the alert. And from series two, the first, third and fifth — Merger, Party and Charity — also carry the warnings. The Office won a clutch of awards in its time — most notably scooping a Golden Globe in 2004 for Best Television Series, the first British comedy to win. It was co-written and co-created by Gervais and Stephen Merchant, and went on to spawn a successful US version starring Steve Carell. The Office's alerts come after the BBC also put disclaimers about offensive or outdated language on episodes of Only Fools and Horses from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. In February, Channel 4 was branded 'humourless' for flagging a series of Father Ted on its catch-up. Broadcasters also hit Bafta-winning C4 sitcom The IT Crowd with advisories, with one warning: 'This episode was made in 2006 and contains strong, strong/offensive derogatory language and adult humour.'
Daily Mail
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
From tiny toes to titanic feet: The very surprising shoe sizes of your favourite male stars
Many celebrities have the world at their feet, but some of those feet are bigger than others. Ever wondered what your favourite star's shoe size is? Well wonder no more because we've got you covered. Some male celebrities' feet are so big they have to get their shoes custom made, while others are so small they find more options in the women's section. From Hollywood actors to basketball stars and 90s rockstars, MailOnline takes you through some of your favourite male star's shoe sizes. And some of them just might surprise you. the Daily Mail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Shaquille O'Neal - size 21 (22 US) Shaquille O'Neill stands at a towering 7'1 and has size 22 feet. The retired basketball player, 53, has custom shoes made for himself and also gets custom traners from an artist he discovered on YouTube. In 2023, USA Today told how a 14-year-old from Michigan with size 23 feet received a call from Shaq himself after the teen had spent years struggling to find shoes that fit. Stephen Merchant - size 14 At 6'7, Stephen Merchant wears a size 14 shoe, or a 15 when he's in the US. The actor has poked fun at his large feet before and even let Kate Beckinsale try on his shoes during an appearance on Conan O'Brien's former TBS talk show in 2012. 'Look what you've done to this beautiful woman, you monster,' Conan joked during the interview. Stephen Fry - size 13 Stephen Fry is thought to have size 13 feet, well above the 8-9 average for men in the UK. The actor, 67, cuts an imposing figure at 6'5 and has previously told how he lost five and a half stone after taking Ozempic. The comedian was an early proponent of Ozempic, an obesity drug that is all the rage in Hollywood - with celebrity fans including Sharon Osbourne and Amy Schumer. Arnold Schwarzenegger - size 12 Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn't just have muscles above average as he also boasts a size 12 shoe. The former pro bodybuilder won Mr. Universe at age 20 and went on to win Mr. Olympia seven times before becoming an action star. His son Patrick is now following in his footsteps with a role in the latest season of The White Lotus. Alexander Skarsgard - size 12 Alexander Skarsgard ranks as another male star with an above average shoe size and is thought to be a UK size 12. The Swedish actor was back in the limelight recently as his latest film Pillion premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. The film explores the BDSM relationship between a gay biker and a parking attendant - with the project earning rapturous applause at the premiere this weekend. Harry Styles - size 10 Harry Styles is thought to wear a size 10 shoe, slightly on the smaller side for his reported height of 6ft. However, he does appear to wear the biggest shoes in One Direction. His former bandmates Niall Horan and Zayn Malik are both thought to wear an eight while Louis Tomlinson wears a size 9. Daniel Radcliffe - size 8.5 There have been varying shoe sizes given for the Harry Potter star, who stands at 5'5, but he is thought to wear a 8.5. Daniel has taken on less film projects lately with his most recent release being Weird: The Al Yankovic Story in 2022. Fans will be able to see him in afew upcoming projects though including Now You See Me 3 and Batso And The Wall. Johnny Depp - size 8 Johnny Depp has never confirmed his shoe size but the actor is thought to be around an eight, or a nine in the US. The actor's latest film project was Modì, Three Days on the Wing of Madness which he directed. He is next slated to appear in the upcoming action thriller Day Drinker alongside Penelope Cruz. Zac Efron 7.5 (8.5 US) Zac Efron has never confirmed his true size but he is thought to wear around 8.5 US size or a 7.5 in the UK. The actor's fans have been pleasantly surprised by his new look - with many declaring that he looks better than ever before. He has debuted a more mature hairstyle, with visible salt and pepper color coming through on the sides. Hugh Grant - size 6 Coming in on the smaller side is Hugh Grant who is thought to wear a size 6 shoe. The actor returned to the limelight this year as he returned as Daniel Cleaver in Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy. In 2024, he received some of the best reviews of his career for his role in horror film Heretic. Critics widely praised his performance, often describing it as a standout, transformative, and chilling departure from his earlier rom-com roles Noel Gallagher - size 5.5 Noel Gallagher wears a size 5.5 shoe and as this is consideraly smaller than the male average, he sometimes struggles to find shoes that fit. In a past conversation with Justine Frischmann from the band Elastica, he said: 'I'm p****d off. I'm size five-and-a-half. I can't get any shoes.' He added: 'The amount of times I've walked into a shop and said, 'Can I have them in a six?' and they've said, 'they're women's.' Women are so f*****g lucky. They get periods, but they've got better shoes.'
Miami Herald
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
Why Stephen Merchant auctioned off his childhood ‘Star Wars' collection
By Filipa Gaspar Comedian Stephen Merchant's childhood "Star Wars" toys have been sold for more than £5,000 (over $6,000) to help raise money for a local school. Merchant, 50, was born in Hanham in Bristol and went on to co-write "The Office" and "Extras" with Ricky Gervais. His most recent work – the comedy drama series "The Outlaws" – was filmed in his hometown. Star Wars fans had the opportunity to purchase his childhood toys, with the funds going to a worthy cause. More than 30 lots of action figures and playsets went under the hammer at Auctioneum Ltd in Bristol on May 19. His Star Wars Collection was estimated to sell for between £300 and £500, but it fetched over £5,000. "An amazing out-of-this-world result," said auctioneer Andrew Stowe. All of the funds raised from the sale of Merchant's childhood toys are being donated to Ashton Park School, where his niece and nephew attend. They are raising funds to build a new outdoor covered space for lessons, activities and events. Merchant first saw "The Empire Strikes Back" at age six when it was released in cinemas, and it had a profound effect on him. It's where he fell in love with cinema. "Every child born in the seventies grew up with Star Wars around them," says Andrew, "but for some, the franchise had a greater effect." "We sell many childhood collections of toys, but when that child grew up to be one of the country's most recognizable stars, it really makes them special. ''These are no longer just 'toys', they're important social artefacts." One of the most sought-after lots from Merchant's collection was his original Millennium Falcon playset. "It's in remarkably good condition," says Andrew "Usually they are battered and bruised from flights around the living room – but Stephen clearly treasured this as it's complete and in good condition." The post Why Stephen Merchant auctioned off his childhood 'Star Wars' collection appeared first on Talker. Copyright Talker News. All Rights Reserved.
