birth name	Ricky Dene Gervais
birth date	June 25, 1961
birth place	Reading, Berkshire, England
medium	Stand up, Television, Film, Books, Radio, Podcast
nationality	British
genre	Observational comedy, Insult comedy, Cringe comedy, | subject British culture, Everyday life, Self-deprecation, Obesity, Body image, Celebrities, Relationships, Sex, Current events, Religion
influences	Steve Coogan, Chris Langham, Garry Shandling, Jerry Seinfeld, Larry David, Woody Allen, Laurel and Hardy, Christopher Guest
influenced	Kevin Bridges, Robin Ince
active	1983–present
alma mater	University College London
domesticpartner	Jane Fallon (1982–present)
notable work	''The Office''''Extras''''An Idiot Abroad''
website	rickygervais.com }}

Ricky Dene Gervais (; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, director, radio presenter, producer, musician, and writer.

Gervais achieved mainstream fame with his television series ''The Office'' and the subsequent series ''Extras'', both of which he co-wrote and co-directed with friend and frequent collaborator Stephen Merchant. In addition to writing and directing the shows, Gervais also played the lead roles of David Brent in ''The Office'' and Andy Millman in ''Extras''. Gervais has also starred in a number of Hollywood films, assuming leading roles in ''Ghost Town'' and ''The Invention of Lying''. He has performed on four sell-out stand-up comedy tours, written the best-selling ''Flanimals'' book series and starred with Stephen Merchant and Karl Pilkington in the most downloaded podcast in the world as of March 2009, ''The Ricky Gervais Show''.

He has won a multitude of awards and honours, including seven BAFTA Awards, five British Comedy Awards, two Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and the 2006 Rose d'Or, as well as a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination. In 2007 he was voted the 11th greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups and again in the updated 2010 list as the 3rd greatest stand-up comic. In 2010 he was named on the ''TIME'' 100 list of the world's most influential people. In 2010, Gervais became the first person to host the Golden Globe Awards in 14 years, and did so again in 2011.

Early life

Gervais, along with siblings Larry (born 1945), Marsha (born 1948), and Bob (born 1950), was born and raised in the suburb of Whitley in Reading, Berkshire. Gervais's father, Lawrence Raymond 'Jerry' Gervais (1919–2002), a Franco-Ontarian, emigrated while on foreign duty during the Second World War from London, Ontario, Canada. Jerry met Gervais's mother, Eva Sophia M. (née House; 1925–2000), during a blackout, and they settled in Whitley. She died aged 74 of lung cancer.

As of 17 April 2009, children of Canadian-born parents generally received Canadian citizenship, meaning that Gervais is, in addition to being British, a Canadian citizen.

During Xfm London's ''The Ricky Gervais Show'' and in further newspaper interviews with ''The Independent'', Gervais noted that he believes his birth was unplanned due to the age difference between his youngest sibling and himself. During one interview with ''The Independent'', Gervais tells the author that even his mother admitted his birth was unplanned. He has claimed that his father was "drunk when he filled in the birth certificate", leading to the unusual spelling of his middle name.

Gervais has stated that his upbringing and childhood were stable and trauma-free, with a high level of honesty and openness between his family members. He claims that his family, "much like The Waltons", made fun of each other regularly.

Gervais attended Whitley Park Infants and Junior Schools and received his secondary education at Ashmead Comprehensive School, before moving on to University College London in 1979. He arrived to study biology but changed to philosophy after only two weeks and earned an upper second-class honours degree in the subject. During his time at UCL, he met Jane Fallon, with whom he has been in a relationship since 1982.

Music

In 1983, during his final year as a student at UCL (University College London), Gervais and his friend Bill Macrae formed a pop duo, Seona Dancing. They were signed by London Records, which released two of their singles—"More to Lose" and "Bitter Heart". The singles failed to break the top 40—with "More to Lose" charting at number 117 and "Bitter Heart" peaking at 70 in the UK singles charts. Despite not being successful in the UK, Seona Dancing did manage to score a hit in the Philippines with "More to Lose".

According to the 20 December 2003 broadcast of the Ricky Gervais Show, Gervais later had a band called the Sacred Hearts, which Ian Camfield described as Gervais's Bon Jovi phase.

Radio

Gervais later worked as an events manager for the University of London Union (ULU), where he continued working until he took a similar job as "head of speech" at Xfm London.

Needing an assistant, Gervais interviewed the first person whose ''curriculum vitae'' he saw. The CV belonged to Stephen Merchant. During the interview at a local pub, Merchant agreed to do "all the boring stuff" because of his experience in media studies while Gervais "mess[''ed''] around". In 1998 Gervais was made redundant when the station was taken over by the Capital Radio group.

Gervais was music adviser for the BBC drama ''This Life'', which was being produced by his girlfriend, Jane Fallon. He and Merchant also contributed sketches to BBC Radio 1's ''The Breezeblock'' in 1999 and 2000.

After the first series of ''The Office'', Gervais and Merchant returned to Xfm in November 2001 for a Saturday radio show. The show ran intermittently until January 2004 with breaks of 1–3 months between new shows. This was when the pair first worked with Karl Pilkington, who produced the shows and later collaborated with them on their series of podcasts.

Podcast

On 5 December 2005 ''Guardian Unlimited'' began offering free weekly podcasts featuring Gervais, Merchant, and Pilkington. Throughout January and February 2006 the podcast was consistently ranked the number-one podcast in the world; it appeared in the 2007 Guinness World Record for the world's most-downloaded podcast, having gained an average of 261,670 downloads per episode during its first month. On 20 February 2006, after the conclusion of the twelve-podcast series, it was announced that all future episodes would be available from Audible.com at a "nominal fee" (later, these had to be called audiobooks in accordance with iTunes policy). Two more series—-each with six podcasts—-were released between February and September 2006.

In late 2006 three more free podcasts were released. Together called "The Podfather Trilogy", they debuted individually at Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. These three were known by Ricky and Steve as "The Fourth season". In October 2007 another free full-length podcast was released through iTunes; this podcast was originally given out for free during a performance of Gervais's Fame tour in London. On 25 November 2007 Gervais, Merchant, and Pilkington released another free full-length podcast, which lasted just over an hour.

In August 2008 Gervais, Merchant, and Pilkington recorded their fifth season of audiobooks, totalling 4 chapters, which were released on 16 September 2008. These audiobooks were described as the 'guide to...' series, covering several topics. As of May 2011, there are 12 "Guides" in total: Medicine, Natural History, Arts, Philosophy, The English, Society, Law & Order, The Future, The Human Body, The Earth, The World Cup 2010 & Comic Relief. The conversations typically begin on topic, but constantly stray away from the topic at hand.

Television

Gervais has contributed to the BAFTA-winning ''The Sketch Show'' (ITV), penning several sketches. His mainstream-TV debut came in September 1998 as part of Channel 4's "Comedy Lab" series of pilots. His one-off show ''Golden Years'' focused on a David Bowie–obsessed character called Clive Meadows. Gervais then came to much wider national attention with an obnoxious, cutting persona featured in a topical slot that replaced Ali G's segments on the satirical Channel 4 comedy programme ''The 11 O'Clock Show'' in early 1999, in which his character used as many expletives as was possible and produced an inordinate amount of politically incorrect statements. Among the other regular featured comedians on the show was Mackenzie Crook, later a co-star of ''The Office''. Two years later, Gervais went on to present his own comedy chat show for Channel 4 called ''Meet Ricky Gervais''; it was poorly received and has since been mocked by Gervais himself. ''The Independent'' newspaper has described Gervais as "obsessed by his own celebrity", but adds, "Who wouldn't want to be Peter Lawford in a comedy Rat Pack?" in reference to ''Ricky Gervais Meets...''; the article, however, also describes him as "a very funny man" who "created one of the great sitcoms". ''The Guardian'''s Chris Tryhorn explained the "few gripes" he had with ''Extras'', "particularly in the second series". "You can forgive Gervais a certain arrogance after the success of ''The Office'', but..." He remarks on the confused tone of the series, taking in the clash between the broad comedy of characters Barry (Shaun Williamson) and Darren (Stephen Merchant), and the apparent parody of this style with ''When The Whistle Blows'', and "given their total indulgence of Gervais, the BBC is portrayed as interfering, its comedy department run by a rather crudely stereotyped gay couple".

Throughout this time, Gervais also wrote for the BBC sketch show ''Bruiser'' and ''The Jim Tavare Show'', and he had cameo roles in Channel 4's sitcom ''Spaced''; it is speculated that the cameo is indeed ''The Office'' character David Brent. However, both series of ''Spaced'' finished airing before ''The Office'' premiered. Gervais also appeared in a few of Channel 4's 'Top 100...' list programmes, and he voiced the character of Penguin in Robbie the Reindeer's ''Legend of the Lost Tribe''. His voice was redubbed for the US market.

On 5 January 2006 he interviewed Larry David in a one off special, ''Ricky Gervais Meets... Larry David''. On 25 and 26 December of the same year Channel 4 aired similar specials in which he interviewed the actor/comedian Christopher Guest and comedian Garry Shandling. There are no plans for further episodes of "Meets...", although editions with John Cleese and Matt Groening were recorded in 2006 for broadcast in 2007. A source claimed, "The Shandling experience put him off for good".

Gervais guest-starred in an episode of ''The Simpsons'' entitled "Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife", which aired on 26 March 2006 in the United States, on 23 April 2006 on satellite station Sky One in the United Kingdom (first appearing on terrestrial television in 2010), and on 18 July 2006 in Australia. He is the only British comic to write and star in a ''Simpsons'' episode. The episode was the highest rated in Sky One's history, arguably because of its extensive promotion, which revolved around the angle that Gervais was the episode's sole writer (and the first guest star on the show to also receive a writing credit for the episode of his appearance). Gervais clarified the extent of his input in a joint interview (with Christopher Guest) for ''Dazed and Confused'' magazine (January 2006): "No, all I did was put down a load of observations on an email and they made it look like a ''Simpsons'' script. I'm going to get the credit, but I think everyone in the industry knows it was a joint effort". Asked in a separate interview about how his idea for the episode (in which Homer swaps Marge on a game show) came about, Gervais replied:

I've always been fascinated with reality game shows but I think it was my girlfriend's idea. We watch ''Celebrity Big Brother'' at the moment, we watch ''I'm a Celebrity, Get Me out of Here...'' we watch all those reality TV shows — ''The Office'' came out of those docu-soaps".

Gervais, a longstanding ''Simpsons'' fan, presented a segment to mark the show's 20th anniversary on BBC Two's ''The Culture Show'' on 16 June 2007. Recently on Gervais's blog it was announced that he will be returning to ''The Simpsons'' and will feature him doing a skit based on his recent controversial performance at the 2011 Golden Globes. It is unknown if he will be writing the episode this time around.

Gervais has also guest-starred on ''Alias'' (appearing in the third-season episode "Façade") as Daniel Ryan, a former Royal Navy bomb-disposal specialist turned rogue Irish Republican Army bomb-maker. He has said about the appearance, "I did an episode of ''Alias'', and I can't watch it. Me being serious. I can't watch it".

Gervais made a cameo appearance on ''Saturday Night Live'' in a ''Digital Short'' during which he claims that ''The Office'' was adapted from a Japanese program of the same name (with Steve Carell reprising his role as Michael Scott). The sketch re-creates scenes from the American and British pilot episode with Japanese elements (although in an exaggerated way). "It's funny", Gervais laughs at the end, "because it's racist".

In January 2009 Gervais was interviewed by James Lipton for Season 15 of BravoTV's ''Inside the Actors Studio''.

In January 2010 he hosted the 67th Golden Globe Awards, making him the first master of ceremonies since 1995. He stated:

"I have resisted many other offers like this, but there are just some things you don't turn down."

His performance as host received a mixed response with positive reviews from the ''New York Daily News'' and the Associated Press, but also some negative comments from industry bible, ''The Hollywood Reporter''.

Gervais was a guest judge on Jerry Seinfeld's NBC show ''The Marriage Ref'' alongside Larry David and Madonna. On 1 April 2010 Gervais made his first appearance on ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' on ''NBC''.

As of April 2011 he has made 18 guest appearances on the ''Late Show With David Letterman'' on the CBS network.

In April 2010 it was announced that Gervais and Stephen Merchant will be writing a new show, called ''Life's Too Short'', which they described as, "A cross between ''Extras'' and ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' and ''One Foot in the Grave'' but with a dwarf. That is out and out funny." The show will star actor Warwick Davis as himself, as well as Gervais and Merchant.

In June 2010 it was announced that Gervais had been cast in the upcoming Season 8 of ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' playing himself.

''The Office''

In August 1999, while on a BBC production course, Stephen Merchant had to make his own short film. He chose to make a docu-soap parody, set in an office. This sketch later formed the basis of the interview episode. With help from Ash Atalla, Merchant passed this tape on to the BBC's Head of Entertainment Paul Jackson at the Edinburgh Fringe, who then passed it on to Head of Comedy Jon Plowman, who eventually commissioned a full-pilot script from Merchant and Gervais.

The first six-episode series of ''The Office'' aired in the UK in July and August 2001 to little fanfare or attention. Word-of-mouth, repeats, and DVDs helped spread the word, building up huge momentum and anticipation for the second series, also comprising six episodes, in September 2002. The second series topped the BBC Two ratings, and the show then switched to BBC One in December 2003 for its final two special episodes.

''The Office'' has since been remade for audiences in France, Germany, Quebec, Brazil, and the United States. Gervais and Merchant are producers of the American version, and they also co-wrote the episode "The Convict" for the show's third season. The original UK version is currently airing on Adult Swim on Fridays, and prior to the show's airing, Gervais appears as himself talking about the episode that will air. In one of those segments Gervais claimed the episode "Training" to be his favourite.

''Extras''

''Extras'' had its debut on the BBC on 21 July 2005; it received its premiere on HBO in the United States in September 2005. Written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the sitcom ran for twelve episodes and starred Gervais as Andy Millman, a background artist. Millman is more self-aware and intentionally humorous than Gervais's ''The Office'' character David Brent.

Guest stars on the first series of ''Extras'' include Ross Kemp, Les Dennis, Patrick Stewart, Vinnie Jones, Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Stiller, Kate Winslet, and Francesca Martinez. A second series began on 14 September 2006 in the UK and featured appearances by Daniel Radcliffe, Dame Diana Rigg, Orlando Bloom, Sir Ian McKellen, Chris Martin, Keith Chegwin, Robert Lindsay, Warwick Davis, Ronnie Corbett, Stephen Fry, Richard Briers, Patricia Potter, Sophia Myles, Moira Stuart, David Bowie, Kate Winslet, Robert De Niro, and Jonathan Ross.

A Christmas special of Extras aired on 27 December 2007 in the UK and on 16 December 2007 in the US, featuring guest appearances by George Michael, Clive Owen, Gordon Ramsay, Jonathan Ross, and David Tennant.

On 10 June 2006 Gervais and Merchant were seen in a specially-filmed promotional sketch for the second series, in the middle of BBC One's World Cup football coverage. This time Gervais did not perform his famous dance. Instead, Merchant did a take-off of the Crouch Dance, recently popularised by England striker Peter Crouch.

Some have suggested that Gervais is influenced by ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' and ''The Larry Sanders Show'' in making ''Extras'', particularly in the format of celebrities making fools of themselves or subverting their public personas, and in the Gervais joke of someone making inappropriate remarks in front of a member of a minority. He has interviewed both Larry David and Garry Shandling, creators of these shows, on ''Ricky Gervais Meets...''

''Extras'' was awarded the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy on 14 January 2008. Gervais also won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.

In February 2007 British ventriloquist Keith Harris refused an invitation to appear on the second series of ''Extras'', claiming that Gervais "wanted me to be a racist bigot" and describing the script as "pure filth". When asked about Harris's refusal on ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'', Gervais claimed that Harris simply "didn't get it". Keith Chegwin, who assumed the role offered to Harris, said "the people who didn't get it probably think Johnny Depp really is a pirate."

''The Ricky Gervais Show'' (HBO / Channel 4 animated series)

''The Ricky Gervais Show'' is an animated TV show that debuted on US cable network HBO on 19 February 2010. In the UK, the first season began airing on 23 April 2010 on Channel 4. The show was developed using original podcast recordings from ''The Ricky Gervais Show'' starring Gervais, Stephen Merchant, and Karl Pilkington. After receiving a loyal and enthusiastic following in the US, Cable channel HBO recommissioned the show for a second season, due to air in 2011.

The original audio show was broadcast in November 2001 on radio station Xfm, and aired in weekly periods for months at a time throughout 2002, 2003, 2004, and mid-2005. In November 2005 ''Guardian Unlimited'' offered the show as a podcast series of 12 shows. Throughout January and February 2006 the podcast was consistently ranked the number one podcast in the world; it appeared in the 2007 Guinness World Record for the world's most downloaded podcast, having gained an average of 261,670 downloads per episode during its first month. By September 2006, according to the BBC, the podcasts of the series had been downloaded "nearly 8 million" times.

Stand-up comedy

Gervais made some attempts at stand-up in the late 1990s, but his first successful show took place at the Cafe Royal, as part of the 2001 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Titled ''Rubbernecker'', the show also featured Jimmy Carr, Robin Ince, and Stephen Merchant.

Gervais later toured the UK in 2003 with his stand-up show ''Animals''. The ''Politics'' tour followed a year later. Both of these shows were recorded for release on DVD and television broadcast. The third part of the themed live trilogy, ''Fame'', took place in 2007. It started in Glasgow in January and ended in Sheffield in April. Blackpool reported selling out of tickets within 45 minutes of them going on sale. More dates were added. ''Newsnight Review'''s panel saw ''Animals'' during its Bloomsbury run and covered it in January 2003. They were not favourable, with ''Private Eye'' editor Ian Hislop being the most explicit in his criticism. After this, Gervais closed each show by calling Hislop an "ugly little pug-faced cunt". Further coverage on ''Newsnight Review'' has been overwhelmingly favourable, with the panelists playing themselves in promos for the second series of ''Extras''. Panel regulars Germaine Greer, Mark Kermode, and Mark Lawson also appeared as themselves reviewing ''When The Whistle Blows'' in a series episode. Critic Mark Lawson is a great admirer of Gervais and Merchant, having interviewed them extensively for television, print ''Front Row'', and the Edinburgh International Television Festival.

''Fame'' was the subject of some controversy in January 2007 when Gervais told a story, ostensibly about how people will do anything to become famous, to a Scottish audience. The story referred to a question asked of Gervais five years earlier by a reporter: what could someone do to become famous like you? To which he replied, "Go out and kill a prostitute". He followed up with the punch line, "I won't do that bit in Ipswich", referring to the December 2006 murders of five prostitutes in Ipswich. The joke drew criticism from the father of victim Tania Nicol: "These days, they want to make a joke out of anything. I feel he's just being uncaring, quite honestly". Gervais defended himself: "I do want people to know that that happened five years ago and is not related to anything now. That is the problem with comedy, a joke that is funny today can be a terrible ''faux pas'' tomorrow".

Gervais's latest show is entitled ''Science'', with an eleven date tour that commenced in August 2009 at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre in Glasgow. The DVD for this show was released on 15 November 2010. In November 2009 he headlined the sixth annual New York Comedy Festival at Carnegie Hall, New York.

On the ''This Morning'' show Gervais revealed that he had already began writing his fifth stand-up routine and is titled ''People''. Recently on Gervais' online blog and in the Huffington Post he has retitled the tour and will now be called ''Humanity''.

GTA4

Ricky Gervais stars as a comedian on Grand Theft Auto 4 and he is in the Comedy Club and CNT in the video game along with another comedian in GTA4 Katt Williams.

DVD releases

!Title	!Released	!Notes
	17 November 2003	Live at the Bloomsbury Theatre, London
	15 November 2004	Live at the Palace Theatre, London
	12 November 2007	Live at the HMV Hammersmith Apollo, London
	22 November 2010	Live at the HMV Hammersmith Apollo, London
	TBA

Books

''Flanimals''

Gervais released a children's book in 2004, ''Flanimals'' (illustrated by his friend Rob Steen), which depicted nonsense animals. After the success of this book, he released its sequel ''More Flanimals'' in 2005, with ''Flanimals of the Deep'' coming the next year. A new Flanimals book, ''Day of the Bletching'', was released in October 2007. ''Flanimals: Pop Up'' was also published in 2009.

There is a wide range of ''Flanimals'' merchandise available, including dolls and gift cards. A six-part ''Flanimals'' TV series has been commissioned by ITV, although Gervais had previously claimed signing a Hollywood movie deal so that a franchise could be developed. "That way it stands a chance of being the next Dr. Seuss or ''Mr. Men''".

Other books

''The Office'' scripts have been released in book form, with Series 1 issued in 2002, and the remaining episodes following in 2003.

In late 2006 the ''Extras'' script book was released, as well as ''The World of Karl Pilkington'' presented by Gervais and Merchant. These were essentially transcripts of Xfm/podcast routines performed by the three.

Film

Gervais's film career has included small roles as the voice of a pigeon in 2005's ''Valiant'', as a studio executive in 2006's ''For Your Consideration'', as museum director Dr. McPhee in 2006's ''Night at the Museum'' and its sequel ''Night at the Museum 2'', and as "Ferdy the Fence" in the 2007 film ''Stardust''. His role in ''Night at the Museum'' has proven to be one of Gervais's most popular roles, with the movie grossing $570 million worldwide.

Gervais starred in ''Ghost Town'', which was released on 19 September 2008, and was in Lowell, Massachusetts during May 2008 filming his next project, ''The Invention of Lying'', starring himself, Jennifer Garner, Rob Lowe, and Jason Bateman, with appearances by Louis C.K., Tina Fey, Jeffrey Tambor, Roz Ryan, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Edward Norton. The comedy, released in 2009, was co-written and co-directed by Gervais and Matt Robinson.

Gervais and co-writer Stephen Merchant made a film called ''Cemetery Junction'', set in 1970s England, about class, love and fulfillment. The film was released in April 2010.

He has been cast as Mole in the 2012 adaption of The Wind in the Willows, featuring effects by Weta Workshop in New Zealand.

Other appearances

On 2 July 2005 Gervais appeared at the Live 8 event held in Hyde Park, London, where he performed his famous dance. He produced a series of short films for the cause, linked acts from the studio with Jonathan Ross, and also introduced the group R.E.M..

Gervais also has a role in the video game ''Grand Theft Auto IV'', as himself, appearing in his role as a comedian in a comedy club, and as an interviewee on radio station ''We Know The Truth''. For this, a special 3-minute act was written, recorded and fully motion-captured.

He appeared on an episode of Sesame Street in which Elmo is looking to get to sleep and he's the celebrity from "Celebrity Lullabies" who sings about the letter "N" to help. He uses soft words like "Put your nightcap on" but when he gets to the chorus it's the rock song version of "Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na" which wakes Elmo up with each chorus.

Gervais has also hosted the 2010 and 2011 Golden Globe Awards. His 2011 hosting of the awards was controversial for his edgy jokes that were at the expense of many of the nominees. His jibes were described as setting "a corrosive tone" by one critic, though some celebrities were seen crying from laughter, leaving the overall reaction to be 'mixed'.

Boxing

In 2002 Gervais took part in a charity boxing match against entrepreneur Grant Bovey — known only to the public due to his relationship with TV personality Anthea Turner. On his Saturday afternoon radio show on Xfm London Gervais and partners Merchant and Pilkington had discussions on both Gervais's attitude towards boxing and training in general, as well as his likelihood of victory against Bovey. Initially, Merchant had questions as to why Gervais was participating in the event, due to his dislike of slight pain and his inexperience with fitness in general.

Gervais was trained for the three-round contest by famous boxing trainer brothers Frank and Eugene Maloney, at their Fight Factory gymnasium. It was the second televised charity boxing match, the first being Bob Mortimer against Les Dennis, for Comic Relief. The fight was televised by the BBC, and Gervais came out on top by a split decision verdict. Gervais later said that the experience was the 'most difficult thing' he had ever done. He donated his £5,000 prize money to the training of a Macmillan nurse.

Concert for Diana and Live Earth

On 1 July 2007 Gervais performed at the Concert for Diana in Wembley Stadium, a music event celebrating the life of the Princess of Wales. Towards the end of the event — after a pre-recorded introduction from Ben Stiller — Gervais appeared along with fellow ''Office'' star Mackenzie Crook. They performed ''Free Love Freeway'', a song previously heard in the fourth episode of series one of ''The Office''. Due to a technical problem, Gervais then had to fill time until he was able to re-introduce Elton John to close the show, so he did the David Brent dance again, as well as singing the "Little Fat Man" song as performed by David Bowie in episode two of the second series of ''Extras''.

On 7 July 2007 Gervais appeared at the UK leg of Live Earth at Wembley Stadium, London. Gervais introduced Rob Reiner appearing in the guise of spoof film director Marty Di Bergi, who in turn introduced Spinal Tap.

In July 2007, following Gervais's appearance at the memorial concert for the Princess of Wales, ''The Guardian'' ran a column by ''Daily Mirror'' television critic Jim Shelley entitled "Call Me Crazy... But Has Ricky Gervais Lost It?" The following week, ''The Guardian'' noted that Gervais had responded with "an exhilaratingly foul-mouthed tirade" on his website, concluding with the words, "Yes I am resting on my fucking laurels you cunt!" In this video Gervais mocked Jim Shelley typing the words "Resting on his laurels" as Gervais jokingly lashed out by stating he was resting on his laurels and that he was not going to make another show for television, quipping "What's the point? What is there to beat?".

Personal life

Gervais currently lives in Hampstead, having moved from Bloomsbury, with his girlfriend of 29 years, producer and screenwriter Jane Fallon. He says they chose not to legally marry because "there's no point in us having an actual ceremony before the eyes of God because there is no God" or have children because they "didn't fancy dedicating 16 years of our lives. And there are too many children, of course". In August 2008, they bought a second home on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City.

Gervais is a fervent supporter of animal rights, and has been a fan of wildlife documentaries since he was a child. He has spoken out against fox hunting and bullfighting, and wrote to Gordon Brown urging him to stop the use of black bear fur as caps for the Foot Guards.

He told Kirsty Young that he is an atheist during a 2007 interview for ''Desert Island Discs'', later stating he lost his faith at the age of eight, and in June 2008 he became an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society. In December 2010 he wrote an editorial for the ''Wall Street Journal'' defending his lack of faith.

Accolades and awards

Gervais has received many awards for his work on ''The Office'', most notably two Golden Globes (one for acting, one for the show itself), as well as numerous British Academy Television Awards and British Comedy Awards, amongst others.

Gervais received an honorary award at the annual Rose d'Or ceremony in Switzerland on 29 April 2006. The award is given to "an individual who has made an exceptional contribution to the global entertainment business".

On 16 September 2007, Gervais won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his role of Andy Millman on ''Extras''.

!Awarding Body/Event	!Awarded
BAFTA>BAFTA Awards		* 2007 Best Comedy Performance	* 2004 Best Comedy Performance	* 2004 Best Situation Comedy ''The Office'' (UK)	* 2003 Best Comedy Performance	* 2003 Situation Comedy Award ''The Office'' (UK)	* 2002 Best Comedy Performance	* 2002 Situation Comedy Award ''The Office'' (UK)
! British Comedy Award		* 2008 Best TV Comedy Actor	* 2004 Writer of the Year Ricky Gervais & Stephen Merchant	* 2002 Best Comedy Actor	* 2002 Best Television Comedy ''The Office'' (UK)	* 2001 Best New Television Comedy ''The Office'' (UK)
! Broadcasting Press Guild Awards		* 2003 Writer's Award for: ''The Office'' (UK)	* 2002 Writer's Award for: ''The Office'' (UK)
! Emmy Awards		* 2007 Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series ''Extras''	* 2006 Emmy Outstanding Comedy Series ''The Office'' (U.S.)
! Golden Globe		65th Golden Globe Awards>2008 Best Television Comedy or Musical (TV) ''Extras''	61st Golden Globe Awards>2003 Best Actor — Musical or Comedy (TV) ''The Office'' (UK)	* 2003 Best Television Comedy ''The Office'' (UK)
! Peabody Awards		* 2004 Peabody Award ''The Office'' (UK)
! Rose d'Or		* 2006 Honorary Rose for Exceptional Contribution to the Global Entertainment Business
! Royal Television Society		* 2003 Best Comedy Performance for: ''The Office'' (UK)
! Satellite Awards		* 2008 Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical ''Ghost Town''
! Television Critics Association		* 2004 Individual Achievement in Comedy ''The Office'' (UK)
! Writers Guild of America		* 2007 Best Comedy Series ''The Office'' (U.S.)

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role	Notes
2001		Bouncer
2005		Bugsy	Voice role
		Martin Gibb
''Night at the Museum''	Dr. McPhee
2007		Ferdy the Fence
2008		Dr. Bertram Pincus	Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
	''Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian''	Dr. McPhee
''The Invention of Lying''	Mark Bellison	Also Writer/Producer/Director
2010		Len Taylor	Also Writer/Executive Producer/Director (with Stephen Merchant)
	''Spy Kids: All the Time in the World''	Argonaut	Voice Only
	Cameo	post-production
2012		Mole	Voice Onlypre-production

Television

''Comedy Lab'' ''Bruiser (TV series) ''The Sketch Show'' ''The Office (UK TV series) ''Alias (TV series) ''Kelsey Grammer Presents: The Sketch Show'' ''Extras'' ''The Simpsons'' ''Ricky Gervais: Out of England-The Stand-Up Special'' ''Sesame Street'' ''Louie (TV series) ''Life's Too Short'' ''Family Guy'' ''Talking Funny'' ''Afterlife''

style="background:#B0C4DE;"	Year	Programme	Role	Notes
1998	''The 11 O'Clock Show''	Various
1999	|	Clive Meadows	Episode: "Golden Years"
rowspan="2">2000	Bruiser'' ||	Recurring	6 episodes
''Meet Ricky Gervais''	Himself
rowspan="2"	2001	|	Various	(Unknown episodes)
''Spaced''	Dave
	2001–2003	The Office'' ||	David Brent	14 episodes including 2 Christmas specials<	Also writer, director
	2004	Alias'' ||	Daniel Ryan	Alias (season 3)>Façade"
2005	|	Various	(Unknown episodes)
	2005–2007	|	Andy Millman	13 episodesAlso writer, director, executive producer
2006	|	Charles Heathbar	Also WriterEpisode: "Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife"
2008	|	Himself	(written by)
2009	|	Himself	3 episodes
rowspan="2">2010–	''The Ricky Gervais Show'' ||	Himself	with Karl Pilkington & Stephen Merchant
''An Idiot Abroad''	Himself
2010	Louie'' ||	Dr. Ben	2 episodes
rowspan="4"	2011	|	Himself	with Stephen Merchant & Warwick Davis
''The Office (U.S. TV series)	The Office''	David Brent
''The Simpsons''	Himself
''Curb Your Enthusiasm''	Himself
	|	Billy Finn	Episode: "Be Careful What You Fish For"
	|	Himself	With Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock and Louis C.K.
rowspan="4"	2012	|	God	With Clyde Phillips

Video games

style="background:#B0C4DE;"	Year	Title	Role	Notes
2008	''Grand Theft Auto IV''	Himself

References

Interviews

Time Magazine (2008). ''Renaissance Man: Ricky Gervais'' by Joel Stein

The Independent, et al. (2005). ''Ricky Gervais: My life as a pure superstar'' Electronic Version Independent News Media: United Kingdom

The Guardian Newspaper, et al. (2005). "''Second Coming''" Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007: United Kingdom

External links

in 2004

Ricky Gervais at the Oxonian Society video

Behind the scenes of The Office on BBC

Ricky Gervais's video interview on Big Think

Video interview & acceptance speech of Ricky Gervais winning Sir Peter Ustinov Award for Comedy @ Banff World TV Festival 2010

Category:1961 births Category:Living people Category:20th-century actors Category:21st-century actors Category:20th-century writers Category:21st-century writers Category:Alumni of University College London Category:BAFTA winners (people) Category:Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe (television) winners Category:British people of French-Canadian descent Category:Emmy Award winners Category:English atheists Category:English comedians Category:English comedy writers Category:English film actors Category:English film directors Category:English people of Canadian descent Category:English people of French descent Category:English podcasters Category:English radio DJs Category:English radio personalities Category:English screenwriters Category:English television actors Category:English television directors Category:English television producers Category:English television writers Category:English voice actors Category:People from Reading, Berkshire Category:The Office (U.S. TV series) Category:Writers Guild of America Award winners

be:Рыкі Джэрвейз da:Ricky Gervais de:Ricky Gervais es:Ricky Gervais fr:Ricky Gervais hr:Ricky Gervais id:Ricky Gervais it:Ricky Gervais he:ריקי ג'רווייס la:Ricardus Gervais nl:Ricky Gervais ja:リッキー・ジャーヴェイス no:Ricky Gervais pl:Ricky Gervais pt:Ricky Gervais ru:Джервейс, Рики sq:Ricky Gervais fi:Ricky Gervais sv:Ricky Gervais tl:Ricky Gervais tr:Ricky Gervais uk:Рікі Джервейс

birth name	William John Neeson
birth date	June 07, 1952
birth place	Ballymena, Northern Ireland
citizenship	American
alma mater	Queen's University Belfast
spouse	Natasha Richardson (m. 1994–2009; deceased)
religion	Roman Catholic
occupation	Actor
years active	1973–present }}

Liam John Neeson, OBE (born 7 June 1952) is an Irish actor who has been nominated for an Oscar, a BAFTA and three Golden Globe Awards.

He has starred in a number of notable roles including Oskar Schindler in ''Schindler's List'', Michael Collins in ''Michael Collins'', Peyton Westlake in ''Darkman'', Jean Valjean in ''Les Misérables'', Qui-Gon Jinn in ''Star Wars'' (the film ''Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace'' and an episode of ''Star Wars: The Clone Wars''), Alfred Kinsey in ''Kinsey'', Ras Al Ghul in ''Batman Begins'' and the voice of Aslan in ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' film series. He has also starred in several other notable films, from major Hollywood studio releases (eg. ''Excalibur'', ''The Dead Pool'', ''Nell'', ''Rob Roy'', ''The Haunting'', ''Love Actually'', ''Kingdom of Heaven'', ''Taken'', ''Clash of the Titans'', ''The A-Team'', ''Unknown'') to smaller arthouse films (eg. ''Deception'', ''Breakfast on Pluto'', ''Chloe'').

He was born in Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland and educated at Saint Patrick's College, Ballymena Technical College and Queen's University Belfast. He moved to Dublin after university to further his acting career, joining the renowned Abbey Theatre. In the early 1990s, he moved again to the United States, where the wide acclaim for his performance in ''Schindler's List'' led to more high-profile work. He is widowed and lives in New York with his two sons.

Early life

Neeson was born June 7, 1952 in Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, and is the son of Katherine Kitty (née Brown), a cook, and Bernard "Barney" Neeson, a caretaker at the local Catholic boys' primary school (Ballymena Boys All Saints Primary School). He was raised Roman Catholic and was called Liam, short for William, after the local priest. He was the third child in the family and the only boy among four siblings; his sisters are Elizabeth, Bernadette, and Rosaline. At age nine, Neeson began boxing lessons at the All Saints Youth Club, and later became Ulster amateur senior boxing champion. At age eleven, Neeson first stepped on stage. His English teacher gave him the lead role in a school play, which he accepted because the girl he was attracted to would be starring. From then on, he kept acting in school productions for the following years. His interest in acting and decision to become an actor was also influenced by minister Ian Paisley, whose church Neeson would sneak into. Neeson has said of Paisley that "He had a magnificent presence and it was incredible to watch this six foot-plus man just bible-thumping away...It was acting but it was also great acting and stirring too."

Neeson was enrolled in 1971 as a physics and computer science undergraduate student at Queen's University Belfast in Belfast, Northern Ireland, before leaving to work for Guinness.

Liam found a talent for football while in University. He was spotted by Seán Thomas at Bohemian F.C.. There was a club trial in Dublin. He only played one game as a substitute against Shamrock Rovers and was not offered a contract to continue playing.

Career

1978–1999

After leaving university, Neeson returned to Ballymena where he worked in a variety of casual jobs, from a fork-lift operator at Guinness to a truck driver. He also attended teacher training college in Newcastle for two years before again returning to his home town. In 1976, Neeson joined the Lyric Players' Theatre in Belfast where he performed for two years. He got his first film experience in 1977, playing Jesus Christ and Evangelist in the religious film, ''Pilgrim's Progress'' directed by Ken Anderson. Neeson moved to Dublin in 1978 after he was offered a part in a production at the Project Arts Centre. The play was Ron Hutchinson's "Says I, Says He", a drama about The Troubles in Northern Ireland. Neeson acted in several other Project productions and joined the Abbey Theatre. In 1980, filmmaker John Boorman saw him on stage, acting as Lennie Small in ''Of Mice and Men'', and offered him the part of Sir Gawain in the upcoming Arthurian film, ''Excalibur''. After ''Excalibur'', Neeson moved to London, where he continued working on stage, small budget films and television series. He lived with the actress Helen Mirren at this time, whom he met working on ''Excalibur''. Between 1982 and 1987, Neeson starred in five films; most notably alongside Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins in 1984's ''The Bounty'' and Robert De Niro and Jeremy Irons in 1986's ''The Mission''. He also starred as a guest actor in the third season of the television series ''Miami Vice'' in 1986.

In 1987, Neeson made a conscious decision to move to Hollywood in order to star in high-profile roles. That year, he starred alongside Cher and Dennis Quaid in ''Suspect''. The role brought Neeson critical applause, but it was 1990's ''Darkman'' that would bring his name to public attention. Although the film was successful, Neeson's following years would not give him the same recognition. In 1993, he joined ''Ellis Island'' co-star and future wife Natasha Richardson in the Broadway play ''Anna Christie''. (They also worked together in ''Nell'', released the following year.) He recited the Van Morrison song "Coney Island" on the 1994 Van Morrison tribute album, ''No Prima Donna: The Songs of Van Morrison''. A single was also released with Neeson's version.

Director Steven Spielberg, impressed by his performance in ''Nell'', offered him the coveted role of Oskar Schindler in the film about the Holocaust, ''Schindler's List''. His critically acclaimed performance later earned him a nomination for a Best Actor Oscar; however, the award went to Tom Hanks for his performance in ''Philadelphia''. Neeson also garnered BAFTA and Golden Globes nominations for ''Schindler's List''.

''Schindler's List'' established Neeson as a widely sought-after leading actor. He later starred in period pieces ''Rob Roy'' (1995) and ''Michael Collins'' (1996), the latter earning him another Golden Globe nomination and a win for Best Starring Role at the Venice Film Festival. Neeson went on to star as Jean Valjean in the 1998 adaptation of Victor Hugo's ''Les Misérables'' and in ''The Haunting'' (1999) as Dr. David Marrow.

''Star Wars''

In 1999, Neeson starred as Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, in director George Lucas' ''Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace''. As it was the first ''Star Wars'' film to be released in over sixteen years, it was surrounded by a large amount of anticipation from the media. Neeson's connection to the ''Star Wars'' films started in the Crown Bar, Belfast. Neeson stated to Ricki Lake, "I probably wouldn't have taken the role if it wasn't for the advice of Peter King in the Crown during a Lyric reunion." ''The Phantom Menace'' was an enormous box-office success and remains the most financially successful ''Star Wars'' film unadjusted for inflation. Qui-Gon's voice, provided by Neeson, would later be heard during a brief scene in ''Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones'' (2002). Qui-Gon was supposed to make an appearance in ''Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith'' (2005) as a Force Ghost, and Neeson had hinted at involvement. However, he was ultimately unable to appear due to a motorcycle injury, and his character is only mentioned in the film. In 2011, he reappeared as the voice of Qui-Gon in the animated television series ''Star Wars: The Clone Wars''.

2001–present

Neeson narrated the 2001 documentaries ''Journey Into Amazing Caves'' and ''The Endurance: Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure''. After being nominated for a Tony Award for his role opposite Laura Linney in ''The Crucible'', Neeson teamed up with Harrison Ford in Kathryn Bigelow's submarine thriller ''K-19: The Widowmaker'' (2002) as Captain Mikhail Polenin and appeared in Martin Scorsese's ''Gangs of New York'' (with Leonardo DiCaprio, Brendan Gleeson, Cameron Diaz and Daniel Day-Lewis). He also played a recently widowed writer in Richard Curtis' ensemble comedy ''Love Actually'' (2003). His role as Alfred Kinsey in ''Kinsey'' again put Neeson up for nomination for a Golden Globe Award but he lost out to Leonardo DiCaprio for ''The Aviator''. In 2004, Neeson hosted an episode of the NBC sketch show ''Saturday Night Live''. He starred as a redneck trucker, Marlon Weaver, in an "Appalachian Emergency Room" sketch and a hippie in a one-off sketch about two stoners (the other played by Amy Poehler) who attempt to borrow a police dog in order to find their lost stash of marijuana. Despite vowing not to play any characters who were Irish stereotypes, Neeson did play a stereotypically Irish man named Lorken McArdle in the home makeover show parody "You Call This A House, Do Ya?" In 2005, Neeson played Godfrey of Ibelin in Ridley Scott's epic adventure ''Kingdom of Heaven'', Ra's al Ghul, one of the main villains in ''Batman Begins'', and as Father Bernard in Neil Jordan's adaptation of Patrick McCabe's novel, ''Breakfast on Pluto''. Also in 2005, he voiced the role of a kindly priest on ''The Simpsons'', who converted Bart and Homer to Catholicism. That same year, he gave his voice to the lion Aslan in the blockbuster fantasy film ''The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe''. A year later, he narrated the documentary ''Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity''. Following a noticeable lull in his acting career, Neeson starred in the 2008 hit ''Taken'', which brought his image back into the public eye and resulted in his casting in many more mainstraim Hollywood movies.

In 2007, Neeson starred in the American Civil War epic ''Seraphim Falls'' alongside Pierce Brosnan and Anjelica Huston.

Neeson's voice is featured in the video game ''Fallout 3'' as the main character's father, James. The executive producer of the game, Todd Howard, said "This role was written with Liam in mind, and provides the dramatic tone for the entire game". ''Fallout 3'', the third game in the Fallout series, has been extremely well received by critics and shipped 4.7 million copies by the end of 2008, the year it was released.

In the director's commentary of the 2007 ''Transformers'' DVD, Michael Bay said that he had told the animators to seek inspiration from Liam Neeson in creating Optimus Prime's body language.

Neeson appeared as Alistair Little in the BBC Northern Ireland/Big Fish Films television drama ''Five Minutes of Heaven'', which tells the true story of a young Protestant man convicted of murdering a Catholic boy during The Troubles.

He starred in the action film ''Taken'' in 2008, which was a French film also starring Famke Janssen and Maggie Grace. It is based on a script by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen and was directed by Pierre Morel. Neeson plays a retired Central Intelligence Agency operative from their elite Special Activities Division who sets about tracking down his teenage daughter after she is kidnapped for sexual slavery while traveling in Europe. ''Taken'' was a huge worldwide box office hit, grossing $223,882,658 worldwide and making almost $200,000,000 more than its initial budget. He again gave his voice to Aslan in ''The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian'' (2008).

Neeson has wrapped filming the psychological thriller ''After.Life'' with Christina Ricci and Justin Long. He also provided a voice for Hayao Miyazaki's anime film ''Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea'', which received an August 2009 release.

In 2010, Neeson played the Greek God Zeus in the remake of the 1981 film, ''Clash of the Titans''. The film went on becoming a huge box office hit and grossing $475 million worldwide.

Neeson also starred in the erotic thriller ''Chloe'', theatrically released by Sony Pictures Classics on March 26, 2010. ''Chloe'' had enjoyed commercial success and became director Atom Egoyan's biggest moneymaker ever. Later the same year, he played John "Hannibal" Smith in the spin-off movie from the TV series ''The A Team''.

In 2010, Neeson voiced the character Aslan again in the sequel ''The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader''. In late 2010, Neeson stated, "Aslan symbolises a Christlike figure, but he also symbolises for me Mohammed, Buddha and all the great spiritual leaders and prophets over the centuries"; this disappointed many fans of the series, who felt that he was "destroying the author's legacy to be politically correct".

In 2011, Neeson starred in ''Unknown'', a German British American co-production of a French book, it was filmed in Berlin in early 2010. It has been compared to ''Taken'', which was set in Paris. Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, the film enjoyed box office success in the United States. It was largely funded by Dark Castle entertainment with smaller amounts coming from the Berlin film agency

He has played several characters based on real people, including Schindler, Collins, and Kinsey.

He was also set to reunite with director Steven Spielberg and star as Abraham Lincoln in the film based on the book ''Team of Rivals'' by Doris Kearns Goodwin. In preparation for the role, Neeson visited Washington, D.C., Springfield, Illinois where Lincoln lived prior to being elected, and read Lincoln's personal letters. He also visited Ford's Theatre, where the President was shot. However in July 2010 Neeson said in an interview with GMTV “I’m not actually playing Lincoln now. I was attached to it for a while, but it’s now I’m past my sell-by date.” He was later replaced in the role by two-time Academy Award winner, Daniel Day-Lewis.

Director Lee Daniels has confirmed that Neeson will play former U.S. president Lyndon B. Johnson in Daniels' developing film ''Selma'', which is about Martin Luther King, Jr., Johnson, and the civil rights marches.

Neeson also starred as Ben Ryan in the drama ''Before and After'' alongside Meryl Streep. This film was about how a family dealt with the aftereffects of a murder their son was accused of committing.

It was announced in July 2010 that Neeson would guest-star on the new Showtime series ''The Big C''.

It was announced that Liam Neeson would reprise his role as Ra's Al Ghul for the film: ''The Dark Knight Rises''. While a younger version of his character is played by Josh Pence. He narrated the first trailer for the film that was released in July of this year.

Personal life

Neeson was married to actress Natasha Richardson from 3 July 1994 until her death on 18 March 2009, when she suffered a severe head injury in a skiing accident at the Mont Tremblant Resort in the Canadian province of Quebec. Richardson and Neeson have two sons: Michael and Daniel. Neeson lives in Millbrook, New York. In August 2004 Neeson and his wife purchased an additional 16 acres next to their estate.

A heavy smoker earlier in his career, Neeson has since quit smoking. When he took the role of Hannibal for the 2010 film adaptation of ''The A-Team'', Neeson had reservations about smoking cigars (which is a signature trait of the Hannibal character) in the film due to being an ex-smoker, but agreed to keep that personality trait of Hannibal intact for the film. In August 2009, Neeson stated on ABC's ''Good Morning America'' that he had been naturalized as a United States citizen.

Neeson is a fan of Liverpool F.C.

In March 2011, Neeson was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for ''UNICEF''.

Honours and awards

Neeson was offered the 'Freedom of the Town of Ballymena' by Ballymena Borough Council, but because of objections made by members of the Democratic Unionist Party regarding his comments that he had felt like a 'second-class citizen' growing up as a Catholic in the town, he declined the award, citing tensions. Neeson continues to practice the Catholic faith and has raised his children as Catholics. He has also expressed admiration for The ''Spiritual Exercises'' of Saint Ignatius Loyola.

He was appointed as Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in her 1999 New Year's Honours List. The American Ireland Fund honoured Liam Neeson with their Performing Arts Award for the great distinction he has brought to Ireland at their 2008 Dinner Gala in New York.

Filmography

! Year	! Film	! Role	! Notes
1978		Evangelist and Jesus Christ
1979		Greatheart
1981		Gawain
1982	''Merlin and the Sword''	Grak	alternate title ''Arthur the King''
1983		Kegan
	''The Bounty''	Charles Churchill
''Ellis Island''	Kevin Murray	TV mini-series
		Michael Lamb
		Fielding
''Duet for One''	Totter
		Carl Anderson
''A Prayer for the Dying''	Liam Docherty
		Martin Falcon
	Martin Brogan
''The Dead Pool''	Peter Swan
	Leo Cutter
1989		Briar Gates
	''Darkman''	Peyton Westlake/Darkman	Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Actor
''The Big Man''	Danny Scoular
1991		Tony Aaron
	''Husbands and Wives''	Michael Gates
	Will
''Shining Through''	Franz-Otto Dietrich
		Ethan Frome
''Ruby Cairo''	Dr. Fergus Lamb	released on video as ''Deception''
''Schindler's List''	Oskar Schindler	Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Nominated — Academy Award for Best ActorNominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading RoleNominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture DramaNominated — London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
1994		Dr. Jerome 'Jerry' Lovell
1995		Robert Roy MacGregor
	Ben Ryan
		Jean Valjean
	Narrator
		Dr. David Marrow
''Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace''	Qui-Gon Jinn	Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Actor
		Charlie Mayo
''The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition''	Narrator
2001	''Journey into Amazing Caves''	Narrator
	''K-19: The Widowmaker''	Mikhail Polenin
''Gangs of New York''	'Priest' Vallon
''Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones''	Qui-Gon Jinn	voice only, uncredited
''Evolution: What About God?''	Narrator
	''Love Actually''	Daniel	Nominated — Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast
''Coral Reef Adventure''	Narrator
2004		Alfred Kinsey	Irish Film and Television Awards#Awards in acting 3
	''[[The Simpsons''	Father Sean
''Batman Begins''	Henri Ducard/Ra's al Ghul	Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor
	Father Liam
''The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe''	Aslan	voice
	''Seraphim Falls''	Carver
''The Birth of Christ''	Narrator
	''The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian''	Aslan	voice
	Peter
''Fallout 3''	James (Dad)	Video game (voice)
	Bryan Mills
	''Five Minutes of Heaven''	Alistair Little
	Fujimoto	voice (English dub; original Japanese version 2008)
''After.Life''	Eliot
	David
		Zeus
	Narrator
	John "Hannibal" Smith
''The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader''	Aslan	voice
''The Next Three Days''	Damon	Special Appearance
''The Wildest Dream''	Narrator
		Dr. Martin Harris
	Qui-Gon Jinn	Special Guest Voice, Season Three episodes ''Overlords'' and ''Ghosts of Mortis''
		Ottoway	Post-production
''Wrath of the Titans''	Zeus	Post-production
	Admiral Shane	Post-production
''The Dark Knight Rises''	Ra's al Ghul	filming
	''Taken II''	Bryan Mills	Pre-production

References

External links

ITV Local Interview at premiere of Taken

The American Ireland Fund Performing Arts Award 2008

Liam Neeson Interview for "The A Team"

Liam Neeson is Today's Greatest Action Hero

Category:1952 births Category:Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Category:Bohemian F.C. players Category:Immigrants to the United States from Northern Ireland Category:Film actors from Northern Ireland Category:Television actors from Northern Ireland Category:Irish film actors Category:Irish television actors Category:Irish voice actors Category:Living people Category:Expatriates from Northern Ireland in the United States Category:American people of Irish descent Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire Category:People from Ballymena Category:People from County Antrim Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States

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name	Stephen Merchant
birth name	Stephen James Merchant
birth date	November 24, 1974
birth place	Bristol, England
occupation	ActorDirectorWriterRadio presenter Comedian
yearsactive	1998–present
height	6 ft 7 in }}

Stephen James Merchant (born 24 November 1974) is an English writer, director, radio presenter, comedian, and actor. He is best known for his collaborations with Ricky Gervais, as the co-writer and co-director of the popular British sitcom ''The Office,'' as the co-writer, co-director and a co-star of ''Extras'', and as the co-host of ''The Ricky Gervais Show'' in its radio, podcast, audiobook and television-show forms. ''The Ricky Gervais Show'' in radio form has won a bronze Sony Award. He is also due to be appearing in the new TV series ''Life's Too Short''. He voiced the character Wheatley in the popular 2011 video game ''Portal 2''.

Early life

Merchant was born in Bristol, England, the son of Jane Elaine (née Hibbs), a nursery nurse, and Ronald John Merchant, an insurance representative. He attended Hanham High School. As he has described in Xfm London shows and podcasts, Merchant was a very shy child, tending to focus more on school work as opposed to sport. His school yearbook predicted that he would enjoy success. Merchant has also described his relatively normal childhood, which is often contrasted with that of his friend Karl Pilkington. Merchant is a graduate of the University of Warwick, and a former film reviewer on the student radio station, Radio Warwick, where he began his broadcasting career. The station's 1995/96 yearbook tipped him for great things: Members of Merchant's "posse" included film critic James King, Dan Warren, Neil the Maskell and Geraint the Welshman. Recently, a number of tapes of "The Steve Show", recorded at the time, have been rediscovered and are being distributed on various Merchant fansites. He graduated with a first class degree in Film and Literature in 1996.

Career

Pre-2001

Merchant began his career performing stand-up comedy at Bristol's Comedy Box, where, he recalls, "The first week I did really well ...The second week I died on my arse. I realised that stand-up was not that easy after all." He also appeared as a contestant on a 1997 episode of the TV game show ''Blockbusters'' and worked for a short time as a DJ for Radio Caroline.

Merchant met Ricky Gervais for the first time in 1997, when Gervais (then in the position of "Head of Speech" at the London radio station Xfm) hired Merchant as his assistant. (Gervais said later that he had called Merchant for an interview simply because it was the first CV handed to him.) Merchant and Gervais hosted a Saturday afternoon radio show together from January through to August 1998, when both of them left XFM as it was bought by the Capital Radio Group. In the same year, Merchant was a finalist at the Daily Telegraph Open Mic Awards.

Merchant did a total of 7 years on XFM 104.9. The Saturday show never had a large audience; Gervais says "It's a tin pot radio station... It's not even the biggest radio station in the building." Merchant created the features 'Hip Hop Hooray', 'Make Ricky Gervais laugh' and 'Song for the Ladies.'

After leaving XFM, Merchant began a production course at the BBC. As part of his coursework, he enlisted Gervais to perform in a 30-minute short film, "Seedy Boss," which became the earliest inspiration for their sitcom ''The Office''. They collaborated on a sitcom pilot called ''Golden Years'' featuring a manager suffering a mid-life crisis; the pilot aired on Channel 4's ''Comedy Lab'' series in September 1998, but failed to find further success.

2001–03 (''The Office'' and return to XFM)

In summer 2001, BBC Two aired the first series of ''The Office'', co-written and co-directed by Merchant and Gervais and starring the latter as paper sales office manager David Brent; the show initially received low ratings. Beginning in September, Merchant and Gervais returned to Xfm as co-hosts of ''The Ricky Gervais Show'', another Saturday afternoon program, which led to their fruitful relationship with producer Karl Pilkington.

They took a break from the radio show in mid-2002 in order to film the second series of ''The Office'', which aired that autumn; in addition to writing and directing the show, Merchant made a cameo performance in the episode "Charity" as a friend of Gareth Keenan's character known by the name Oggy or Ogmonster. (Merchant's father also appears in multiple episodes as an office handyman named Gordon.) Merchant also directed a sitcom pilot called ''The Last Chancers'', which aired on ''Comedy Lab'' in November 2002 and became a five-part series broadcast in December on E4.

Merchant and Gervais continued to host ''The Ricky Gervais Show'' through 2003, taking another break to film the ''Office'' Christmas special, which aired that December. The radio show went off the air indefinitely in January 2004. During 2004, Merchant appeared in a recurring role as a chef on ''Garth Marenghi's Darkplace'' and in a cameo on ''Green Wing'', and served as a script associate on the Chris Morris and Charlie Brooker sitcom ''Nathan Barley''. The same year, ''The Office'' aired in the U.S to critical acclaim. It went on to win the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy which both Merchant and Gervais accepted.

This was followed in 2005 by a 4th series of the radio show, consisting of six episodes.

US series of ''The Office''

In March 2005, the American version of ''The Office'' premiered, with Merchant and Gervais credited as executive producers. They would later co-write the third-season episode "The Convict", and Merchant would direct the fifth-season episode "Customer Survey".

Podcast series

In December 2005, with sponsorship by ''The Guardian'', Merchant, Gervais and Pilkington began recording a weekly podcast (also called ''The Ricky Gervais Show''). Throughout its first series (through 20 February 2006), the podcast was consistently ranked the most popular in the world, and was certified as the most-downloaded of all time by Guinness World Records. Two more series and three special instalments (the "Podfather Trilogy") were recorded in 2006, with the final episode released on Christmas Eve. In late 2008, they recorded four more podcasts and began a series of audiobooks examining Pilkington's perspective on various subjects.

''Extras''

In July 2005, following a brief return of the XFM radio show (filling in for Adam and Joe), Gervais and Merchant's new sitcom ''Extras'' premiered on BBC2. The series features Merchant in a supporting role as Darren Lamb, the incompetent agent to struggling actor Andy Millman, played by Gervais. Series 2 of ''Extras'' aired in late 2006, followed by a Christmas special in December 2007; all three instalments aired on HBO in the United States. Merchant won a 2006 British Comedy Award for Best TV Actor for his performance as Lamb.

''The Steve Show''

In January 2007, Merchant began hosting his own radio show on BBC 6 Music, airing weekly on Sunday afternoons. Instead of comedy, ''The Steve Show'' focused on music and particularly "new music," defined by Merchant as "music you've not heard before." Many of the songs on the show were suggested by listeners or co-presenters. In addition to Merchant, the show featured several of his friends, including his housemate Dan, his childhood friend Harry, and actor Rufus Gerrard-Wright (who also appeared in an episode of ''Extras''). A spring search for a "she-J" resulted in the addition of former ''Byker Grove'' actor Sammy T. Dobson joining the ensemble. "The Steve Show" aired for four seasons and concluded in May 2009; the presenters continue to contribute to a music blog called the Steve Show Posse.

''Stand-up''

Merchant will begin his first nationwide tour of the UK, ''Hello Ladies...'', in September 2011, with a stop in New York as well.

Other work

Merchant has played small roles in the films ''Hot Fuzz'' (2007), ''Run Fatboy Run'' (2007), and ''The Invention of Lying'' (2009), the latter starring Ricky Gervais. He has a supporting role in the 2009 film ''Tooth Fairy''. On television, Merchant made a cameo appearance in a non-speaking role on the sixth season premiere of ''24''; he also starred as a sports commentator in the unaired pilot ''No Skillz''. Additionally, Merchant provides the voice-over in 2009 advertisements for Barclays and Waterstone's.

In 2009, Merchant and Gervais collaborated on the film ''Cemetery Junction'', set in working-class England in the 1970s. The film was released in April 2010 to generally mixed to positive reviews.

In September 2010, Merchant produced a television show alongside Ricky Gervais starring Karl Pilkington called ''An Idiot Abroad''.

In July 2010, filming finished for the pilot of ''Life's Too Short'', written by Ricky Gervais and Merchant, who will both cameo alongside the show's star, Warwick Davis. In 2011, he lent his voice to the CGI film ''Gnomeo and Juliet'', and had a role in the Farrelly brothers' comedy ''Hall Pass''.

In January 2011, Stephen appeared at the 'Free Fringe Benefit' at the Bloomsbury Theatre, London. A show of stand-up to benefit the Free Fringe at the Edinburgh Comedy Festival, alongside comedians Jeremy Hardy, Michael Legge, Robin Ince, Mitch Benn, Isy Suttie, Bennett Arron, Andy Zaltzman and founder Peter Buckley Hill. He also stated on the recent free podcast ''The Ricky Gervais Guide to...Comic Relief'' that he will be touring his first solo stand up tour later in the year.

On ''Film 2011'''s Questionnaire feature, broadcast on 2 March 2011, Merchant described his favourite film as ''The Apartment'' (1960), his guilty pleasure as ''Con Air'' (1997), the film he cried at as ''The Bridges of Madison County'', and the film he didn't get as ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy.

Merchant provides the voice of Wheatley in Valve's 2011 video game ''Portal 2'', a role which earned him widespread acclaim among reviewers. While he states his work on the project as "exhausting", Merchant is also "very pleased by the response people have had to it. What I was really pleased by how people seemed to respond to it in the way they do with a movie they've enjoyed, or a TV show they've enjoyed."

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role	Notes
2007	''Hot Fuzz''	Peter Ian Staker
2007	''Run Fatboy Run''	Man with Broken Leg
2009	''The Invention of Lying''	Man at the Door
2010		Tracy
2010		Dougie Boden	Also Writer/Director
2010	''Jackboots on Whitehall''	Tom	Voice Only
2010		Holyrood Footman
2011		Gary
2011	''Gnomeo and Juliet''	Paris	Voice Only
2012	''Movie 43''	Donald

Television

Year	Show	Role	Notes
2002	''The Office''	The Ogg Monster	Writer/Director
2004	''Garth Marenghi's Darkplace''	Chef	Episode 2 – Cameo
2004	''Green Wing''	Lab Technician	Episode 6 – Cameo
2005	''Extras''	Darren Lamb	Writer/Director
2010–	''An Idiot Abroad''	Himself
2010–		Himself
2011	''Life's Too Short''	Version Of Himself	Writer/Director
2011	''Ronnie Corbett's Comedy Britain''	Himself	Guest

Game

Year	Game	Role	Notes
2011	''Portal 2''		Voice Only

Awards

!Awarding Body/Event	!Awarded
! BAFTA Awards		* 2002 Situation Comedy Award ''The Office''	* 2003 Situation Comedy Award ''The Office''	* 2004 Situation Comedy Award ''The Office''
! British Comedy Award		* 2006 Best TV Comedy Actor ''Extras''
! Broadcasting Press Guild		* 2002 Best Writer ''The Office''	* 2003 Best Writer ''The Office''
! Emmy		* 2006 Outstanding Comedy Series ''The Office''
! WGA Award		* 2007 Best Comedy Series ''The Office''

Personal life

Merchant spent two years dating digital advertising producer Claire Jones, although their relationship reportedly ended in 2009. Merchant is an atheist.

Appearance

Merchant's considerable height (6ft 7in; 2.01 m) has been a source of humour and teasing throughout his life. He made a cameo appearance in ''The Office'', playing a character nicknamed the Ogg-Monster, whom David Brent called "a big lanky goggle-eyed freak". His height, and also dance moves, have attracted comments from several sources. The ''Daily Mail'' newspaper described him as a "giant albatross hopping on stilts" as he danced in a London pub (although Merchant denied this during an episode of the ''Ricky Gervais Show'', stating that he did not take to the dance floor on that occasion). While discussing what the Daily Mail had said on the show, friend and collaborator Ricky Gervais has likened him to an "upright lizard being given electro-shock treatment" and a "stick insect with glasses" or ''Beaker'' from ''The Muppet Show''. Radio producer and co-host of Merchant, Karl Pilkington, has described his moves as a "bit of weird art" in the past, while British comic and broadcaster Russell Brand has likened him to a "graceful grasshopper". Merchant has commented that he prefers to liken himself to fellow tall man and English football player, Peter Crouch who is also six foot seven inches. Merchant impersonated Crouch in a BBC sketch broadcast as part of the pre-match build-up to England's opening game at the 2006 World Cup.

References

External links

Stephan Merchant's official website

Steve's BBC 6Music site

The Steve Show's post-6Music site

Stephen interviewed on BBC Radio Five Live

6Music homepage

Xfm: Stephen Merchant Biography

RaW: Radio Warwick

''Tall man, taller success story'' – interview in ''The Telegraph'' – 8 August 2005

Interview with Barbara Ellen in The Observer Magazine – 5 November 2006

Radar Online interview – 11 January 2007

An Englishman abroad

Stephen Merchant interview

Stephen Merchant interviewed by Sophie Elmhirst on ''New Statesman''.

Category:1974 births Category:Alumni of the University of Warwick Category:BAFTA winners (people) Category:Emmy Award winners Category:English comedy writers Category:English podcasters Category:English radio DJs Category:English radio personalities Category:English television actors Category:English television directors Category:English television producers Category:English television writers Category:English video game actors Category:English voice actors Category:Living people Category:The Office (U.S. TV series) Category:People from Bristol Category:Writers Guild of America Award winners Category:English stand-up comedians Category:English atheists

be:Стывен Мерчэнт da:Stephen Merchant de:Stephen Merchant nl:Stephen Merchant no:Stephen Merchant pt:Stephen Merchant ru:Мерчант, Стивен sv:Stephen Merchant

name	Warwick Davis
birth name	Warwick Ashley Davis
birth date	February 03, 1970
birth place	Surrey, England
occupation	Actor
years active	1983–present
spouse
website	http://www.warwickdavis.co.uk }}

Warwick Ashley Davis (born 3 February 1970) is an English actor. Davis is known for playing the title characters in ''Willow'' and the ''Leprechaun'' series of films; other prominent roles include Wicket W. Warrick in ''Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi'', Professor Filius Flitwick and the late Griphook in the Harry Potter movies, Marvin the Paranoid Android in ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'', as well as Nikabrik in the Walden Media version of ''Prince Caspian'' and Reepicheep in the BBC television versions of ''Prince Caspian'' and ''Voyage of the Dawn Treader'' and Mr Glimfeather the owl in ''The Silver Chair''. Davis has his own sit-com directed by Ricky Gervais 'Life's Too Short'. Davis has a condition resulting in dwarfism, and stands at tall.

Early life

Davis was born in Surrey, England to an insurance broker and his wife. Davis also has a younger sister. He was educated at the City of London Freemen's School. When Davis was 11, his grandmother heard a radio advert calling for people who were 4 ft. tall or shorter to be in ''Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi''. To Davis, who was a fan of the Star Wars movies, it was a dream come true.

On the set of Star Wars, Mark Hamill bought Davis every single Star Wars figure he didn't have.

Career

He was originally cast as an extra Ewok, but when Kenny Baker, who was originally going to be Wicket, fell ill, George Lucas picked Warwick to be the new Wicket after seeing how he carried himself as an Ewok. Davis based his Ewok movements on his dog, who would tilt his head from side to side whenever he saw something strange. During production on the film, Davis made a "short" mockumentary film about his experience as Wicket, titled ''Return of the Ewok'', made with help from ''Return of the Jedi'''s first assistant director, David Tomblin. The unreleased film was a fictional look at his decision to become an actor and act in the movie and his transformation into Wicket the Ewok. Davis reprised his role in the ABC made-for-TV movies ''Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure'' and ''Ewoks: The Battle for Endor''.

In 1987, Davis was called to Elstree Studios in London to meet with Ron Howard and George Lucas to discuss a new movie project called ''Willow'', which was written with Davis specifically in mind. ''Willow'' was his first opportunity to act with his face visible. He co-starred with Val Kilmer in the film, which received a Royal Premiere before the Prince and Princess of Wales. He then moved to television to be in the BBC television adaptation of the classic ''The Chronicles of Narnia'', specifically in ''Prince Caspian'', ''The Voyage of the Dawn Treader'' (as Reepicheep), and ''The Silver Chair'' (as Glimfeather) and an episode of ''Zorro'' filmed in Madrid.

In 1993, he played the villainous Irish goblin in ''Leprechaun''. He then returned to the ''Star Wars'' universe, playing three roles in ''Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace'': Weazel, a gambler sitting next to Watto at the Podrace; Wald, who was Anakin's Rodian buddy; and Yoda in scenes where Yoda was walking.

Davis played the role of Professor Filius Flitwick in the ''Harry Potter'' films. Davis played a white-mustached Flitwick in the first two movies, and then a black-haired unnamed chorus conductor (presumably Flitwick but not credited as such) for the third installment of the series. In the fourth movie, Flitwick is younger looking, with short, brown hair and a trimmed mustache. In addition to playing Flitwick, Davis played the role of the goblin Griphook in ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'', despite the role being played previously by fellow dwarf actor Verne Troyer. (Note that Davis's name is misspelled in the closing credits of Hallows Part One as "Davies".)

In 2004, Davis played the character "Plates," in indie film, "Skinned Deep," directed by Special Effects artist Gabriel Bartalos.

In 2006, Davis appeared, alongside fellow ''Harry Potter'' star Daniel Radcliffe, in an episode of BBC's comedy series ''Extras'' as a satirical version of himself.

Davis starred in the film version of ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'', as the "body" of Marvin the Paranoid Android (the voice was provided by Alan Rickman). In December 2006, Davis starred in the pantomime Snow White and the Seven Dwarves at Manchester Opera House, and again in 2007/8 at the New Wimbledon Theatre.

Davis appeared in ''The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian'', in which he played Nikabrik the Dwarf, adding to his previous involvement in TV adaptations of the ''Chronicles of Narnia'' series. He also appeared as a contestant on the 2007 series of Children in Need reality show Celebrity Scissorhands.

Other

In addition to his acting career, Davis is the co-founder, with fellow dwarf actor Peter Burroughs, of a talent agency (Willow Management, founded in 1995) that specialises in representing actors under five feet tall. As of 2004, his agency also began representing actors over seven feet tall who had also suffered from being confined to "niche" roles.

In April 2010 Davis published his autobiography, ''Size Matters Not: The Extraordinary Life and Career of Warwick Davis'', with a foreword by George Lucas.

Davis will star as himself in an upcoming show titled ''Life's Too Short'', written by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, who will star as well.

Personal life

Unlike most dwarfs (70%) who have a condition called achondroplasia, Davis' dwarfism is caused by an extremely rare genetic condition called spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita (SED). He has said the only real drawback to being small was the associated health problems. Of his own dwarfism, Davis has said "As you get older, you can suffer from painful hips, and our joints wear a lot quicker than for people of average height".

Davis's family includes a wife and two children, who live in Yaxley near Peterborough. His wife, Samantha (b. 1971) has achondroplasia, as do his children Annabel (b. 1997) and Harrison (b. 2003). Samantha is the daughter of his business partner Peter Burroughs, and the sister of actress Hayley Burroughs.'''''

Filmography

! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1982	''Return of the Ewok''		(unreleased film)
1983	''Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi''	rowspan=3
1984	''Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure''
1985	''Ewoks: The Battle for Endor''
		Goblin Corps
''The Princess and the Dwarf''
1987	''Conor Finans Adventures in Naas''
1988		Willow Ufgood
1989		Reepicheep
1990		Glimfeather
1991		Don Alfonso	US. TV series filmed in Spain
1993
1994	''Leprechaun 2''
1995	''Leprechaun 3''
		Grildrig	television miniseries
''Leprechaun 4: In Space''	Leprechaun
1997		Pechet
1998	''A Very Unlucky Leprechaun''	Lucky
	''Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace''	Yoda(live action suit)
''The New Adventures of Pinocchio''	dwarf
''The White Pony''	Edgar Rod
	''The 10th Kingdom''	Acorn the Dwarf	television miniseries
''Leprechaun: In the Hood''	Leprechaun
		Saturday
''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)''	Professor Flitwick / Goblin Bank Teller
2002		Professor Flitwick
2003	''Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood''	Leprechaun
		Oberon
	Professor Flitwick
''Skinned Deep''	Plates
		body of Marvin the Paranoid Android
	Professor Flitwick
''Small Town Folk''	Knackerman
	himself
2007		Professor Flitwick
	''Agent One-Half''	Agent One-Half
''The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian''	Nikabrik
''Invasion of the Not Quite Dead''
		Professor Flitwick
	Santa's Elf
				Grettir	Series 3, Episode 8: "The Eye of the Phoenix"
''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1''	Griphook	(Closing credits name him Warwick Davies)
					''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2''	Griphook/Professor Flitwick
''Life's Too Short''	Himself	Lead role

References

External links

Warwick Davis Interview at www.sci-fi-online.com

Willow Management

Interview with Liam Swann (MCM BUZZ)

Category:1970 births Category:Living people Category:Actors with dwarfism Category:English child actors Category:English film actors Category:English stage actors Category:English television actors Category:People from Epsom Category:People from Yaxley Category:People educated at City of London Freemen's School

da:Warwick Davis de:Warwick Davis es:Warwick Davis fr:Warwick Davis gl:Warwick Davis it:Warwick Davis he:ווריק דייוויס lt:Warwick Davis hu:Warwick Davis ms:Warwick Davis nl:Warwick Davis ja:ワーウィック・デイヴィス no:Warwick Davis nds:Warwick Davis pl:Warwick Davis pt:Warwick Davis ru:Дэвис, Уорик fi:Warwick Davis sv:Warwick Davis

name	Too $hort
background	solo_singer
birth name	Todd Anthony Shaw
alias	$hort Dawg, Short Dizzle
born	April 28, 1966Los Angeles, California, U.S.
origin	East Oakland, Oakland, California, U.S.
genre	Hip hop, dirty rap, R&B;, alternative rap
occupation	Rapper, songwriter, actor, producer, Youth UpRising mentor
years active	1980-present
label	Jive, Up All Nite, Porter House
associated acts	Ant Banks, MC Breed, Rappin' 4-Tay, Lil' Jon, E-40, Travis Porter, Git Fresh, Snow, George Clinton, Wiz Khalifa, Cee Lo Green, 2pac
website	}}

Todd Anthony Shaw (born April 28, 1966), better known by the stage name Too $hort, is an American rapper, producer, and actor who started his career at the age of fourteen in East Oakland, Oakland, California.

Career

In the early 1980s, Shaw produced custom songs (called "special requests") for people with his high school friend, Freddy B. In 1985, Too Short had his first release, ''Don't Stop Rappin''' which, along with the following three releases, featured raw, simple drum beats from a LinnDrum drum machine. In the early 1990s his beats came from mostly a TR-808 and from mid-to-late 2000s, a TR-909 was used. In 2005, Too Short and Freddie B. formed the label Dangerous Music to regionally distribute his music. Dangerous Music became Short Records, and then Up All Nite Records. With his 1989 release, ''Life Is...Too Short'', he began used replayed established funk riffs (rather than samples) with his beats.

Subsequent work was primarily collaborative, including work with Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G., and Scarface. One of his noticeable collaborations during this period was on the track "The World Is Filled..." on the classic Notorious B.I.G. album Life After Death; he comes in on the third verse after Diddy and Biggie. Being featured on the album introduced him to a wider audience as well, due to his typical style contrasting greatly with the Mafioso theme of the album. He also appeared on TWDY's hit single "Player's Holiday" from their 1999 debut album ''Derty Werk'' as well as the Priority Records compilation ''Nuthin but a Gangsta Party''. After these appearances, he began working on his eleventh album, ''Can't Stay Away''. The album included guest appearances by 8Ball & MJG, Jay-Z, Jermaine Dupri, Sean Combs, E-40, Daz Dillinger, Lil' Jon, Soopafly, Scarface and B-Legit. Too Short relocated to Atlanta in 1994, but he did not begin working with a more diverse variety of Southern artists until 2000, when he collaborated with Lil Jon. With the 1999 release of ''Can't Stay Away'', Too Short fully came out of retirement and released a number of new albums within the next few years, most of them taking on a crunk or Dirty South type sound, as he had become involved in the Southern rap scene. However, he didn't totally give up on his trademark funk grooves or sexually explicit style. New albums released 2000-2003 were ''You Nasty'' (2000), ''Chase the Cat'' (2001), ''What's My Favorite Word?'' (2002), and ''Married to the Game'' (2003). These albums all charted fairly well, as they all were in the top 71 of the Billboard Hot 200, but they didn't do quite as well as Too Short's earlier 1990s releases as none of them reached the top 10.

In 2004, his earlier 1990 single "The Ghetto" appeared on popular videogame ''Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'', playing on West Coast hip hop radio station Radio Los Santos and the children's television program, ''Sabrina: The Animated Series'', is an 1999 American animated television series based on Archie Comics character, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. Given that this was an incredibly popular game at the time, the featuring was acclaimed as a success for Too $hort, both in publicity and in the fame generated by the song.

For his next album, 2006's ''Blow the Whistle'', Too Short now took advantage of the new hyphy rap music that was emerging out of his original home base in Oakland. This saw somewhat of a resurgence for Too Short as it peaked at #14 on the Billboard 200, much better than each of his previous three releases. However, his subsequent releases, such as 2007's ''Get Off the Stage'', have not been as successful. On October 7, 2008 Too Short was honored by VH1 at the fifth annual "Hip-Hop Honors" along with Cypress Hill, De La Soul, Slick Rick and Naughty By Nature.

In 2009, Too Short recorded for Daz Dillinger, Lil' Jon, Soopafly, Scarface and B-Legit. and continues to tour to this day. In 2011, the rapper was featured on Wiz Khalifa's song "On My Level". He featured in Snoop Dogg's 2011 album, Doggumentary in the song Take U Home.

Up All Nite Records

Too Short runs his own record label—Up All Nite Records. Artists on the label include The Pack, Dolla Will, Boo Ski, Eyob Fantay and Li'l J & Boi Payton, FX. In addition to creating Up All Nite Records, Too Short has been a mentor at Youth UpRising, a group serving at-risk youths for several years.

Too Short in film

Too Short played the role of Lew-Loc in the film ''Menace II Society''.

Too Short has also worked in the adult film industry, with the 2003 film Get In Where You Fit In.

Too Short was an interviewee in ''American Pimp.''

In 2005 Too Short starred in and performed the music for ''America's Sexiest Girls''.

Too Short has also appeared in an episode of ''The Game''.

Too Short made a cameo appearance in Jay-z's video for the hit single Big Pimpin'.

Discography

; Studio albums

1983: ''Don't Stop Rappin'''

1985: ''Players''

1986: ''Raw, Uncut, and X-Rated''

1987: ''Born to Mack''

1989: ''Life Is... Too Short''

1990: ''Short Dog's in the House''

1992: ''Shorty The Pimp''

1993: ''Get in Where You Fit In''

1995: ''Cocktails''

1996: ''Gettin' It''

1999: ''Can't Stay Away''

2000: ''You Nasty''

2001: ''Chase the Cat''

2002: ''What's My Favorite Word?''

2003: ''Married to the Game''

2006: ''Blow the Whistle''

2007: ''Get off the Stage''

2010: ''Still Blowin'''

2010: ''Respect the Pimpin'''

2012: ''Untitled'' January 24th

; EPs

2010: ''Respect the Pimpin'''

; Collaboration albums 2011: ''The History Channel'' with E-40 (Summer 2011)

References

Mixtapes: Pimpin' Inc.

External links

Too Short site by record label Jive Records (requires Flash)

Too Short interview

Too Short interview with GSlaps.com

Category:1984 births Category:Living people Category:African American rappers Category:Jive Records artists Category:People from Oakland, California Category:Rappers from the San Francisco Bay Area

da:Too $hort de:Too Short es:Too $hort fr:Too $hort ko:투 숏 hr:Too Short it:Too $hort pl:Too $hort pt:Too Short fi:Too Short sv:Too Short