Photo: Thomas Atilla Lewis at https://www.flickr.com/people/51761894@N00 / CC BY-SA 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Gervais fascinates me because his cruelty is a decoy. The Office weaponized embarrassment and his awards-show monologues weaponized celebrity discomfort, but After Life revealed what I always suspected: underneath the provocation sits an unabashed sentimentalist obsessed with grief, decency, and dogs. That tension — the philosophy graduate who needles the powerful, then writes the tenderest scenes on television — is what keeps his work interesting long after the shock fades. I do not always agree with his targets, but I admire a comedian who built an empire entirely on his own terms, refusing to soften a single edge to get there.
Overview
Ricky Dene Gervais ( jər-VAYZ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, television producer, filmmaker and former musician. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms The Office (2001–2003), Extras (2005–2007), and Life's Too Short (2011–2013) with Stephen Merchant. He also created, wrote, and starred in Derek (2012–2014) and After Life (2019–2022).
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Ricky Gervais
- Name (Japanese)
- リッキー・ジャーヴェイス
- Reading
- りっきー・じゃーゔぇいす
- Born
- June 25, 1961 (age 64)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Cancer / Ox
- Origin
- Reading, United Kingdom
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- actor / writer / musician / comedian / screenwriter
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- University College London
Awards & achievements
- Writers Guild of America Award
- 2019 Richard Dawkins Award
- 2007 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Actor — see all → · Writer — see all → · More people from United Kingdom →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-11
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.