Madonna and Ricky Gervais
His characters have desperately yearned for fame on “The Office” and “Extras,” but Ricky Gervais is finding that being widely known for his hilariously hapless roles has pitfalls of its own.
Gervais and Merchant’s second show, “Extras,” a follow-up to the Golden Globe winning mockumentary programme “The Office”, has just aired on the BBC to stellar ratings and will air in America on HBO later this year.
The show, peppered with celebrity guest stars like Kate Winslet and Ben Stiller, tells the story of a wannabe actor who ekes out a living as a film extra. Merchant and Gervais said the topic was a natural given the public’s obsession with celebrities and reality shows.
“People used to want to be upper class, now they want to have dinner with the Beckhams,” Gervais said.
Merchant said: “It was remarkable that the second best-selling autobiography of the year was Nelson Mandela, and the No. 1 book was (UK reality TV star) Jordan, who didn’t even write it.”
“Or read it,” Gervais added.
The two men said they will start writing the second season of “Extras” in a few months, but declined to comment on reports that Madonna would appear in an episodes.
Gervais admitted that he met the singer this summer: “She said, ‘I’m your biggest fan,’ and I said, Who are you?’ She said, ‘Paris Hilton.'”
“Extras” has been a popular and critical hit in Britain, but Gervais said he never thought about falling short of expectations after the massive success of “The Office.”
“The only way to avoid the second-album syndrome is to not make the first album very good,” he said.Source: Reuters.co.uk