Ricky Gervais (born 25 June 1961, Reading, England) is a comedian, writer, actor and director who first broke through with the BBC mockumentary The Office (2001), which he co-created and starred in alongside Stephen Merchant. The show became the most successful British comedy of all time, broadcast in over 90 countries and remade 13 times, including the long-running US version. Beyond television - which also includes Extras, Derek and the Netflix drama After Life - Gervais has built a parallel career as a sell-out arena stand-up, with four Netflix specials (Humanity, SuperNature, Armageddon, Mortality) and a Guinness World Record for the highest-grossing single comedy performance in history, set at the Hollywood Bowl.
Ricky Gervais' adult animated Netflix series Alley Cats, which he created, wrote, directed and voices, premiered on August 7, 2026.
Gervais announced his new world stand-up tour 'Legend', running from autumn 2026 through end of 2027, with Netflix already having purchased the resulting special.
His fourth Netflix stand-up special, Mortality, filmed at the London Palladium, began streaming globally on December 30, 2025.
Gervais received the 2,813th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on May 30, 2025, in the Television category.
At the end of his Mortality tour, Gervais donated £2.43 million to worldwide animal charities.
