ricky gervais vs. david brent

[colm od]

does ricky gervais simply play himself in the office?? any time i see him on awards shows etc he seems quite like his alter ego.

[andy hughes]

Any actor is going to look like his character, unless altered by make-up and costume. Likewise, voices are bound to resemble the actor's own voice, unless changed specifically. Because Ricky Gervais goes to some lengths to stress that he is not an 'actor' per se, a number of his personal characteristics are shared by the Brentmeister. That obviously does not extend to the childish humour, the Jupitrer-sized ego, the rampant personal sensitivity, matched only by insensitivity in dealing with absolutely anyone else, and so on, and so on. Brent is a fool, a twit, and a sad man, there is no way he could have come anywhere near the comic genius needed to create and co-write 'The Office' - that belongs to Mr Gervais alone, and he obviously leaves the rest of Brent behind when he takes off the badly fitting suit and naff tie his character wears, at the end of the working day.