15 / 54
15
FEATURE
DVD
&
BD
to them. However, Gervais emits
his trademark chuckle when I ask
whether he’s a prolific songwriter.
“I don’t sit at home with a guitar
on my lap all day twiddling – I
have the odd idea. These songs
were written over a few years. I
wrote a couple for
The Office
... I wrote
Equality
Street
for a Comic Relief sketch on the ten year
anniversary, and then I did a couple of gigs and
wrote a few more. Finally, I wrote some more
specifically for the film. So it was quite gradual
and organic.
“I suppose I’ve written 15 songs over 15
years, so I certainly wouldn’t
say I’m prolific, but it’s great
fun doing them and it had to
be real,” he continues. “The
joke isn’t that they are terrible
songs or comedy songs or
badly performed, the joke is
that it’s a middle-aged tampon
rep singing songs that he
knows nothing about. He
believes in them, and that’s
what’s funny. He believes he’s
helping the Native Americans;
he believes he’s sorting out
the prejudice to the disabled.”
Watching Brent remains an uncomfortable,
even excruciating, experience that still leaves
you shifting awkwardly in your seat. It’s like
the unexplainable calm that preludes a traffic
accident; the inability to reach out and prevent
what is about to happen. Of course, this visual
discomfort is accentuated with the realisation
that there’s a little bit of David Brent in us all.
“The first time you watch David Brent, you go,
‘Oh my god, what a prat! Thank god I’m not like
that,’” laughs Gervais. “Then you realise, actually
"If at first you don't
succeed, remove all
evidence you ever tried."
“Put the key of despair into
the lock of apathy. Turn the
knob of mediocrity slowly
and open the gates of
despondency - welcome to a
day in the average office.”
“Eagles may soar high, but
weasels don't get sucked
into jet engines.”
“I know an alcoholic and
it’s no laughing matter –
particularly for his wife.
She’s got alopecia, so not a
happy home life.”
“Who says famine has to be
depressing?”
“You have to be 100%
behind someone, before you
can stab them in the back.”
“Accept that some days you
are the pigeon and some
days you are the statue.”
“There's no 'I' in 'team'. But
then there's no 'I' in 'useless
smug colleague', either. And
there's four in 'platitude-
quoting idiot'. Go figure.”
I’ve done that. We’re all a bit like Brent because
what I put into him are the things that we all
care about. We all want to be loved; we all want
to be popular; we all want to think we’re making
a bit of a difference every day. I just magnified
that and made him desperate for all those things.
And that’s what we see in him. We see all those
things that we care about.”
As well as his amiability,
Gervais is an intelligent and
engaging man to interview,
and it’s obvious during
our conversation that he
thoroughly enjoyed returning
to the role. Whether it’s
delivering acerbic asides as
host of the Golden Globes, or
his active and erudite presence
on social media, his fast wit is
an indelible talent. Stand-up is
his next focus and something
he’s hopeful he’ll bring Down
Under – a location he’s yet to visit.
“I think stand-up is me at my most honest,
which is what you should do,” says Gervais.
“You should always be trying to
tell the whole truth more and
more. The older I get I think
the truth is everything. You
know what, don’t give a f-ck
what people think about it,
or whether they like the truth,
you’ve just got to f–ing say it.”
We're all a bit like
Brent because
what I put into him
are the things we
all care about
•
David Brent:
Life on the
Road
is out Dec 14