Ricky Gervais has revealed that his cameo appearance as David Brent in The Office season 7, episode 14, “The Seminar,” was never actually supposed to happen. Gervais is a staple of British comedy, having created and starred in the sitcoms Extras, Life’s Too Short, Derek, After Life, and The Office, which started as a UK-based series before being remade in the US, where it achieved far more success. Gervais starred in The Office as David Brent, the English inspiration behind Steve Carell’s Michael Scott, but also appeared alongside his American counterpart a number of times.
The first time Ricky Gervais appeared in the US iteration of The Office was in the opening moments of “The Seminar,” where David Brent bumps into Michael Scott outside an elevator, and the pair quickly bond over their weirdness and controversial personalities. 14 years later, Ricky Gervais has now revealed that this scene was entirely improvised and was not in any version of the episode’s script. “I did this cameo for a laugh when I was visiting the set,” explains Gervais. “It wasn’t in the script [and] there was no rehearsal. We just filmed [two] idiots ad libbing. What a fun morning.”
The fact that this scene was entirely improvised makes it even more spectacular and enjoyable, as it shows just how much dedication both Gervais and Carell had to their characters and how much fun they had. Gervais went on to appear in the Season 7 finale, “Search Committee,” too, as David Brent engaged in a video interview in hopes of assuming the role of Regional Manager following Scott’s departure and Deangelo Vickers’ (Will Ferrell) coma-inducing injury. He ultimately wasn’t successful, but it was great to see the connective tissue between the original UK series and its US remake being cultivated.
Ricky Gervais and The Office co-creator Stephen Merchant were credited as executive producers on the US remake, and they both wrote the “Pilot” episode and the season 3 episode, “The Convict.” Merchant also directed The Office season 5, episode 7, “Customer Survey,” so both he and Gervais had an active hand in the development of their own show’s remake, while giving show runners Greg Daniels, Paul Lieberstein, Jennifer Celotta, and writer Michael Schur almost-complete creative control. This balance allowed The Office to become one of the most successful sitcoms in history.
The original UK version of The Office only ran for two seasons between 2001 and 2003, yet became one of the most popular shows in British TV history. The first stories of The Office’s US remake were almost a word-for-word adaptation, but the show really hit its groove when it distanced itself from the British show. Nevertheless, it was fantastic to see Ricky Gervais make rare appearances in the US series as David Brent, harking back to his comedy roots and paying homage to one of the greatest British series of all time.
What did you make of Ricky Gervais’ cameo in The Office? Let us know in the comments!
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