Ricky Dene Gervais is an English comedian, actor, director, producer, and singer. A philosophy graduate from University College London, he began his career as a singer, failing which he joined University of London Union as an assistant events manager, working there for eight years. Concurrently, for a brief period, he also acted as the manager of the newly formed band, Suede. Eventually, he turned to comedy, joining the new radio station Xfm as head of speech, where he met his long-time collaborator, Stephen Merchant. The duo first came to the limelight with the mockumentary, ‘The Office’, winning several prizes for it. It was followed by the equally successful ‘The Ricky Gervais Show’ on Xfm and ‘Extras’ on BBC Two. As his fame spread internationally, he began to receive offers from Hollywood, starring in films like ‘Ghost Town’ and ‘Muppets Most Wanted’. He also wrote, directed and starred in films like ‘The Invention of Lying’, ‘Cemetery Junction’ and ‘Special Correspondents’. He was a host at the Golden Globe Awards ceremony numerous times and was named on the Time 100 list of the world's most influential people in 2010.