Gervais has another hit, despite himself

For a guy who claims he doesn't want to be famous, Ricky Gervais made a colossal mistake.

If he truly wanted a one-way ticket to obscurity, he should have chalked up his landmark creation, "The Office," as a fluke, waved goodbye to Hollywood and spent the rest of his life serving pints in a London pub.

Instead, he went ahead and created "Extras," another BBC series that's almost as cringe-worthy and sidesplitting as its predecessor. The misadventures of Andy Millman, an ambitious bit player who remarkably -- or regrettably -- gets a chance to star in his own BBC sitcom, wraps up today with an 80-minute special featuring appearances by Clive Owen, Gordon Ramsay and George Michael, all willing and able to lampoon the egocentric side of show business.

Together, "The Office" and "Extras" might be the best one-two sucker punch in TV history, one that confirms the star/creator's status as a living legend -- whether he likes it or not.

Gervais, in New York to film a starring role in "Hollywood Ghost Town," chatted with us by phone to talk about all things entertainment, including David Bowie, the Beckhams and Steve Carell.

Q In the new holiday special, Millman gives a speech about how the Victorian freak show never went away: It just transformed into things like "Big Brother." That sounds like you talking, not the character.

A Yeah, that's me, I'm afraid. I see it all the time. People are always aiming at the wrong thing, like getting a few more series on the telly or getting another article in the paper that day or selling a few more T-shirts with their catch phrases on them. They're never happy. I never wanted to be the most talked-about person, the most photographed and do all the strange things that come along with that. I mean, when do Posh and David Beckham say they're famous enough? I believe their relationship is real, but don't they want a night off? Doesn't she want to sit around in sweatpants, eating pasta and dribbling on herself? I'm eating pasta right now and dribbling.

Q What sacrifices have you had to make in the name of being a celebrity -- other than this interview?

A I don't count this. I want people to watch my work. I'll talk about it until the cows come home. What I won't do is go to premieres of other people's films just to get my profile up. I won't do celebrity game shows. I won't sell my story to the press. I don't want to be seen with the right people. I just don't do it.

Q For "Extras," you've gotten many famous people to portray themselves as self-centered jerks. Why do they do it?

A They get it. They get to play with their image. It's also because we work so fast. We shot the new special in 18-hour days over two weeks on a sitcom budget. I don't want to win awards for lighting. If you're worried about tracking, symmetry and how your hair looks, you're going to miss something else.

Q Who was the best celebrity you had on the show?

A I got to collaborate with my hero, David Bowie. I called him on the phone and said that I wanted to have a song poking fun of Andy and he said, 'Oh, I'll do a 'Life on Mars' kind of thing,' and we came up with that number about a "poor chubby little loser."

Q George Michael is terrific in the special.

A Wasn't he great? He's such a natural actor. The thing I like about him is that when he gets caught doing something wrong, he doesn't curl up in a ball and he doesn't say, "I'm sorry." He says, "I'm gay, what are you? What's the problem?" He doesn't back down.

Q Do you think you'll do another sitcom?

A I don't think so. What's left? I might look around five years from now and have an idea. With "The Office," it was definite that we wouldn't do another season, but it's not a definite no with "Extras." I had such a good time filming this, it was so painless, that I sneakily might want to do another one. Wouldn't it be fun to have Andy Millman make it in Hollywood? Maybe we should have had him go there before.

Q Speaking of Hollywood, it was a shame that you weren't there to collect your Emmy for best actor earlier this year. On the plus side, we got to see Steve Carell come up and "steal" the award for himself.

A I wasn't there not because I thought we wouldn't win, but because I was playing Royal Albert Hall. What a brilliant bloke Steve is. It's boring enough if you win, but he had just lost and then he did that. Lovely man.

njustin@startribune.com • 612-673-7431