Ricky Gervais, a Hit at 'The Office'

By Liane Hansen

Published January 25, 2004 at 12:00 AM EST

In The Office, British comedian Ricky Gervais plays David Brent, a buffoonish, self-involved but affable office manager at a dismal paper supply company called Wernham Hogg, in the London suburb of Slough. Gervais created the faux documentary and co-writes and directs the series, which appears on the BBC and has a small cult following on BBC America.

The 61st annual Golden Globe Awards ceremony is tonight, and Gervais is up for a Golden Globe award in the Lead Actor category. He speaks with NPR's Liane Hansen.

Liane Hansen

Liane Hansen has been the host of NPR's award-winning Weekend Edition Sunday for 20 years. She brings to her position an extensive background in broadcast journalism, including work as a radio producer, reporter, and on-air host at both the local and national level. The program has covered such breaking news stories as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the capture of Saddam Hussein, the deaths of Princess Diana and John F. Kennedy, Jr., and the Columbia shuttle tragedy. In 2004, Liane was granted an exclusive interview with former weapons inspector David Kay prior to his report on the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The show also won the James Beard award for best radio program on food for a report on SPAM.