Action.
I can't act with this.
So, here we are, "the lads".
Gonna talk about Extras, the cracking new sitcom.
- Not a fan? - Yeah, it's all right.
Not as good as The Office, in your opinion?
Didn't like The Office much.
I thought it was overrated to be honest, but erm...
- You know, it was... - Extra Extras.
I will unleash hell.
Well, it was a pretty daunting prospect
with people saying, "it's the difficult second album".
But the thing about a difficult second album is it's not the album that's difficult,
it's all the people that like the first thing you did that are difficult.
I think the only way you can avoid the difficult second album syndrome
is to make sure your first album's not very good.
Yeah. Whereas ours was a blinder.
You know, in a lot of people's opinions. Not ours, but, you know, certainly...
The Golden Globe boys liked it.
- The Golden Globes. - And the BAFTA cats.
Yeah, yeah, the old RTS dudes.
- They thought it was wicked. - High-five, man, for all those awards.
- Could you see me? - Yeah, definitely.
Excellent. We'll get out before that fat little extra gets his face in.
Yep.
It was never meant to be a satire indictment
of modern-day film and TV.
That was just a backdrop. Rather like the backdrop of The Office was selling paper.
It was more about relationships, and so was this.
This is about, you know, people's struggle and getting on and ego and desperation.
You haven't even been in The Bill, have you?
- I don't want to be in The Bill. - You haven't even been in The Bill?
Listen, I don't want to be in The Bill.
- Have you ever been in Casualty? - Yeah.
- The TV show Casualty? - Well, no, but... No.
There was a couple of different ideas we were toying with,
but whilst we still had a certain cachet from The Office,
it seemed silly not to be able to use that.
And the idea of using the stars
was never like to try and be kind of really, sort of "in-jokey",
and let's pat ourselves on the back for having some showbiz mates.
It was just to try and add as much realism to the world as possible.
And because you already had a perception of who they were,
because you thought you knew them from tabloids or whatever else,
then you could play with the image they already had.
And it was like a shortcut to comedy.
You get straight in and they were sort of funny...
Well, that was the important point.
We were getting them because they came with a certain amount of baggage
that we could deconstruct.
And, you know, you notice they all played sort of twisted versions of themselves.
You are guaranteed an Oscar if you play a mental.
We had a list of people we wanted to approach and we knew were fans.
Whenever an A-list celebrity said it in the press
their favourite show was The Office, we made a mental note and we thought,
"We'll call them one day. They can put their money where their mouth is."
And we did, and they all said yes.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
Tell him Uncle Sam's in town.
RICKY: First day of filming was Sam Jackson. We had him for one day.
And we actually weren't in production. So we had to start production a month early.
We had to build the set, get Sam Jackson over,
get all the crew and cast together for one day,
do the day with Sam Jackson, and then pack it all away for a month.
STEPHEN: And it was kind of confusing, it was like a fake movie.
It meant that there was a fake film crew, fake catering, fake lights,
fake directors, everything.
And it was just... It was quite confusing.
We didn't know who was fake, who was real.
I kept getting fooled by the fake catering, didn't I?
Yeah, I know. You were even eating the fake doughnuts.
- The props. - Yeah.
Well, they taste the same. Apparently they were a few days old.
I have to say that working with the fake Ricky Gervais was an absolute joy.
In fact, he was much easier to work with than the real one.
I'm looking forward... I'm actually working on a project with him at the moment.
- Good. -It's really good.
I know you're married
but, if you wanted to, you could be up her like a rat up a drainpipe.
It was so funny. I've never seen a cast and crew just so quiet and respectful
as when someone said,
"Mr Jackson's on his way down from his dressing room."
And he came down with his people and everyone was silent
like a room full of 100 people, just silent.
We were really quiet and everything. We didn't know what to do, you know.
And then Sam just bent down to tie up his shoelace.
And it just took for about 30 seconds,
and everyone was still quiet, just waiting for him to finish.
And I thought I'd break the ice, and I went, "I can't believe he ties his own shoelaces!"
And he said, "I'm slumming it."
- People laughed. - Yeah.
- Nervously, but they laughed. - Nervously, yeah. And then it was fine.
And are you happy with that?
RICKY: We had him for one day, which we thought was mad,
which we thought was going to be so tight.
And because he came along, we told him basically where to sit.
He knew the words. He did it in one take.
I mean, he did it in one take, but, I mean, it was perfection.
Tell him Uncle Sam's in town.
- That's great. - Great. We got that.
And we laughed and went, "Do you want to just do it again?"
- We didn't know what to say. - Yeah.
Because he is the most professional person I've ever worked with.
But then of course, I've only ever really worked with you.
And that's not really any... You know, doesn't really count.
No, but when you get two professionals like me and Sam together,
- it's... - Yeah. Sparks fly.
-It's quick. It's quick work. - Yeah.
That's the sort of people I'm hanging around with now.
It's not just a one-off, we...
- We've known each other for ages. - Let me tell you.
- Let's go to that place we always go to. - I thank him for this opportunity, you know?
I mean, it's like, he always told me that when he made it,
he was gonna pull me up behind him.
Here I am.
- Thank you. - A man of his word.
Sam Jackson. We're mates, just normal mates.
- Friends. - Look at that.
- I know that. - He's got it all going on.
- Ricky, you all right, mate? - I'm carrying...
They're falling through. I'm trying to carry all my pens and pencils around,
but they keep going through my fingers and everything.
It's really weird you should say that,
'cause I think I might have the solution for you right here.
What about like a little sort of pencil case.
- Will that work? - Well, we could have a go, I don't know.
All goes in there.
That seems to be working a treat.
- That is perfect. - Isn't that better for you?
Well, yeah, but how much is this, about £1,000 I imagine, isn't it?
No, no, no, just a couple of quid.
- That's brilliant value as well. - Yeah.
And it solves the problem of...
If you've got a lot of loose pens, then just pop them in there.
We asked 100 people, "Will Les Dennis ever hang on to a bird?"
Our survey said...
We asked 100 people,
"Do you want to go out tonight and watch Les Dennis in panto?"
Our survey said...
After we'd done our one day of filming with Samuel Jackson,
then we went away, and a month later, we came back
and we reconvened at Wimbledon Theatre.
And we filmed with Les Dennis.
- He was a joy, wasn't he? - It was an absolute pleasure.
So funny, so funny.
And so willing to just throw himself in 100%, unbelievable.
RICKY: The stuff we were doing, about him and his life, and that...
And he was making things worse for himself.
He was coming up with other stuff we didn't know about.
No, it was absolutely great.
Apart from me having to dress up as a genie.
- Blimey, what a big puff. -(CAMP VOICE) Cheeky. Hmm.
Now, I don't like even putting on, you know...
- Clothes. - Yeah.
A wig, out of the question. A hat annoys me.
- Yes. - Any sort of makeup.
And in this genie thing, I had to have full-body makeup
and these awful, horrible things with that hat on it.
I thought, "at least it'll look good, I've got a nice tan".
No, I looked like Judith Chalmers. It was...
Whose body did you use for that? For the genie sequence?
- It was awful. - It was particularly...
I was... The shoes were killing me.
I don't know why I do this. I actually don't know why... I hate this.
I don't why I've chosen this as my job.
I hate the lights, I hate the heat, I hate filming, and having to be articulate,
I hate sweating, I hate looking fat on camera.
Is there a job... What job can I do that's basically laying down with air conditioning?
-It's...astronaut? - Yeah.
I'll do that.
Actually, the good thing about the astronaut is,
I like weeing in the clothes you have to wear all day.
Yeah, yeah.
And eating through a straw.
That's it, I'm gonna be an astronaut.
WISHY: Can you help us? We're in danger, the evil Abanazar is after us.
- What makes you think that? - We heard him say he wants to get Aladdin.
Don't we all?
I'm interested to know what the origin of the genie character was.
Well, it's a character I had,
that I filmed, I think for Meet Ricky Gervais, that we didn't use.
I don't know why. It was called Dirty Old Queer.
And it was basically...
Perhaps, if people are unfamiliar with that,
perhaps you'd like to do a little bit of DOQ right now.
- Give us your glasses, then. - Sure.
Hmm.
You're a big boy.
- That's it, actually. - Brilliant.
That's three characters you've done.
You've done David Brent. We all love that.
You've done Andy Millman.
And you've done Dirty Old Queer.
That's extraordinary. You are... It's like being in a room with Peter Sellers.
I've been in that lamp so long I'm bent out of all recognition.
Rick, I imagine a lot of fans are wondering
how you developed the character of Andy Millman,
'cause, you know, it's such a huge break from David Brent.
Yeah, a couple of things. I tried to, well, I thought, all right,
lose Brent, lose Brent, lose Brent, lose Brent, lose the tie.
Right, yeah.
- Shave off the beard. - Sure.
Andy Millman.
Well, no, it worked. I know it worked.
And the transition was huge. I don't think anyone...
It was like, "Wow, is this the same guy playing him? I don't know what's going on."
You know. I thought this was starring Ricky Gervais.
- I'm a chameleon. - Yeah.
-Isn't it? Yeah. - Absolutely.
Slate one, Take one, A and B cameras.
First day of filming, that day at Wimbledon, that went smoothly.
And I was thinking, "Oh, this is a new Ricky.
"This is a new kind of professional, focused Ricky Gervais."
'Cause having had the experience of The Office, I was a bit worried.
And I was thinking, "He seems very kind of focused on it, he's very centred."
Particularly when we're directing together, literally behind the monitors,
he's not in the scene, then he was really paying attention, it was really exciting.
I can concentrate on that now, 'cause it's not... When you're acting and directing,
you're all over the place.
Whereas when we're both behind the monitor,
I've just got one thing to focus on.
Well, you say that, but it lasted about a day, if you recall,
because our cameraman, who was called Martin Hawkins,
now that got Ricky's mind working.
RICKY: It's little Martin Hawkins, or "The Hawk" to his friends.
- Morning. - We call him Martin Hawkins.
And for the next few hours...
- You were just working on bird puns. - Yeah.
Tell Martin he's got a feather in his cap.
Was he winging that?
I knew he wasn't paying attention.
- But you got sucked in... - I got sucked in.
Are we ready to go again?
Could you just tell The Hawk he's got a feather in his cap for that one?
Yeah, but we want to try and claw some time back before lunch, if we can.
But just say it was egg-cellent.
That's the good thing about laziness and unprofessionalism.
It rubs off on people around you.
- Yeah. - Sooner or later.
- I'll bring you down to my level. - It's like cholera.
Can you promise me you're gonna concentrate on this take,
and not just be thinking of bird names?
- I can't promise that. - I know, I can tell.
I can't promise it.
Oh, God. He knew what I was thinking.
- All right? - Yeah.
I also know it's... Apart from he had a funny name, "Hawk",
which I think he liked towards the end, the nickname "The Hawk",
he also looked like Wolfie Smith's mate in Citizen Smith.
STEPHEN: It is uncanny. It does, it looks just like him, yeah.
RICKY: That's Kate Winslet there, of Titanic.
Hi.
I remember panicking leading up to film with Kate Winslet,
because there's a line in the show
that she's been nominated four times and never won an Oscar.
And she was up for an Oscar, wasn't she?
About a few weeks before the show we were going to film with her.
And we were going, "I hope she doesn't win one."
I was actually watching it, going, "Please don't give Kate Winslet an Oscar."
- That would ruin the line in the script... - One joke.
...that we could change in 30 seconds.
But luckily, Rick, she wasn't the best actress that year, and she didn't get the Oscar.
(COUGHING)
(WOMEN GASPING)
With the film sequences,
we were always trying to make them feel as real and as convincing as possible,
just, again, to add some credibility and some reality to the show.
And when Kate Winslet came over, we had this cellar built,
so that we could have her kind of hiding these Jewish refugees.
As we were filming, we were really getting into it.
And Ricky was there kind of off-camera,
just explaining how he wanted them to react, so he'd be saying, you know...
They're coming down the stairs now.
"And they're coming to the door. Oh, they're going away.
"And then someone coughs."
And everyone was really getting into it.
And this was working really effectively for the first couple of takes.
Then, of course, Ricky got bored.
They're going away.
This time, someone farts.
We only had Kate Winslet for a small window of time,
but that makes no difference to him when he's got a thought in his head.
- That's Ben Stiller. - Yeah.
All right? That's Ben Stiller. That's who you're dealing with
when you do a project with Ricky Gervais, okay?
You get the second-best comedy actor in the world in it as well.
One and two, they're right here.
We had Ben Stiller for two days, and it rained on those two days.
STEPHEN: Yeah, it was a nightmare.
I don't think he'd ever filmed in Britain before.
RICKY: I know. STEPHEN: And he stood around in mud.
RICKY: Just think of that.
The only example he's got of filming in Britain is a rainy day near Slough,
with me complaining about my cheese toasty.
Nerd? I'm a nerd?
Yeah, okay, I'm a nerd.
What was interesting, I noticed,
was that we had these real extras, obviously, working there,
and sometimes we'd ask Ben to improvise a scene,
and he'd just start incorporating these extras into it.
They threw themselves into it, they were mad.
RICKY: Our real extras on this, our real supporting artists in Extras were great.
Well, the sequence where Ben is showing
how he wants a woman to be kind of brutalised by some soldiers
and he's ramming a gun in her face, she was just an extra there on that day,
and she's down on her knees and he's pointing a gun at her.
She went with it, she was just reacting.
Boom, you jam her in the mouth, break her jaw on the first one.
Boom! Second one nose, okay. Her jaw's broken,
she's swallowed her teeth, blood's coming out, all right?
Then you smack her again across the side, breaking the neck.
RICKY: That was funny, that day.
Getting an old lady down in mud and battering her with the end of a rifle.
- Yeah. - That's comedy.
That's comedy.
If you wanna work with me.
What do you mean, the Mitchell brothers? You know his name is Ross Kemp.
Inevitably, the focus of the press when the show came out
was on the guest appearances by the stars.
But for us, the kind of key relationship, the key dynamic
was between Andy and Maggie.
What bit's confusing you?
The brothers.
In a sense, we wanted quite a traditional sort of double act.
Yeah, it was quite Laurel and Hardy.
It's that sort of "blind leading the blind" type of thing,
where she's even more, sort of, useless and stupid than me.
Is that confusing you, too? Do you think we've landed in the future?
Shut your face.
You want that feeling that they're okay,
'cause, you know, at least they've got someone to talk to, really.
Yeah, at least they've got each other.
Erm...
I'm not wearing anything.
(CREW LAUGHING)
You?
STEPHEN: We spent ages casting to try and find someone...
We wanted to find someone who was fairly new, a fairly new face.
But they had to come straight in and play loads of scenes, you know, opposite Ricky.
I'm not wearing anything.
No, you're not wearing anything?
Hey, both of us are not wearing anything.
I imagine it was quite daunting for her to come in and act with Hollywood A-listers.
Also, the way we work, we throw things at people, don't we, quite a lot?
And we change our minds.
We don't literally throw things at them.
- No. No. - Not tennis balls or...
But there was one scene we had to do where she was cleaning up her flat
in Episode 6, and we said, "Okay, just clean up".
And after about five minutes, we all sneaked away.
RICKY: A crew of 50 people.
We crept away and hid.
STEPHEN: Well, it was because she was really getting into the cleaning.
We just left the cameras running, and she went on and on,
and she basically cleaned the whole flat.
And there's 50 grownups hiding and giggling.
(CREW CHUCKLING SOFTLY)
- All at the license-fee payer's expense. - Yeah.
- What a crazy guy... - If you wanna work with me.
(RICKY LAUGHING)
RICKY: I can't believe how long you went on.
I was getting quite into it.
I know, that's what we thought. That's why we all left the building.
That cooker's a terrible state.
What's happening there? You look like you're having a nightmare.
- What have you got there? - I've got my press cuttings for the show.
You're not gonna go out in the windy weather with them, are you?
I'm going out now, it's really windy. I know, but what can I do about it?
It's funny you should mention that, because I don't think that you've seen these.
-It's a ring binder. - All right.
So all you need is to just hole-punch them, mate.
And you could, you know, use that handy section and just slip them in there.
That is excellent.
- Is that available to buy that? -It's available to buy.
Again, you're probably wondering, "Is that thousands of pounds?"
But it's just a couple of quid.
What, just, a picture and you get the thing
and you get the ring binder and you get the word The Office?
- Yeah. - Just for a few quid?
- That's brilliant. - Amazing, isn't it?
I'm sure that would go really well. Students would love that, I imagine.
You know, or people that work in offices.
- So, extraordinary value. - Brilliant.
- Right, thanks. - Off you go, mate.
See you later.
- All right, why did I put this on? - That's going to show up the sweat, isn't it?
- No, it's just that it's so warm. - What, a t-shirt?
I mean, unless you sit there naked,
I don't know how much cooler you can get, you're wearing a t-shirt.
And, I suspect, no pants, if I know you.
- We're in an air-conditioned room. - Oh, God.
We're not, though, are we? Turned off, isn't it?
- Okay. - All right.
Sweets.
- Sweet. Since when do you say sweet? - Look.
Oh, sweets. I thought you meant "sweet" as in "bitchin'".
No. I saw...just noticed some sweets and had to say it out loud!
- Like a child. - Do you want one?
No. Not yet.
- Have a sweet if you want a sweet. - No. Just go.
I don't want you looking at the sweets, thinking, "I wish I could have a sweet".
Extras. Is that... There's a plane now, is that a problem?
This is like a scene from Fantasy Island if I say it.
(FOREIGN ACCENT) The plane.
Right. Okay.
There's a cracking cultural reference for anyone over 50.
- Good. Right? - Oh, God.
Okay, getting hot now. Quick.
- I've only got about a minute... - Sweets.
Hot. Sweets. Lights. Extras.
Well, don't use that, Rick.
If you're gonna fan yourself with anything, look at that. Look at the extra...
Throw away your old impromptu fans.
-It's brilliant. - Only a couple of quid as well.