Is Ricky Gervais turning into a real life version of David Brent?

Jay, I don't know if you're still reading comments on this post, but I just came across an interview that Alan Sepinwall did with Gervais, in which he comes across--even in print!--much better than he does in the one you cite:
http://sepinwall.blogspot.com/2007/01/talkin-comedy-with-ricky-gervais.html

I'll say again that I think he was probably just taking the piss in the interview you read, and it just didn't come across well in print.

I'm going to ignore this article and the comments and talk about something else since you're all mental.

I thought the shout-out to Patrice O'Neal and Sarah Silverman was pretty cool. Ricky Gervais has good taste in comedians. I didn't see a mention of Jay Black or the random weirdos on TVSquad, though, but that must have just been an oversight.

Its always poplular to attack those people who are famous for doing good work. It only takes time for someone to start it off be others follow. Ive followed Gervais here in Britain for years..his radio show his tv stuff and the podcasts.
Im my opinion he comes across as a normal bloke who has been lucky enough to be successful and its taken years of patiencae and graft to get it.
He doesnt take and crap from people but take a lot of flack at the same time...He invented Brent sso of course there is a lot of him in there.

He also hasnt sold out, doesnt do tv adverts that could make him tonnes of cash.

He is alwso very self deprecating and has that Britich sense of humor that a lot of people outside the UK take and egotastic and full of himself.

As with his shows..you either like him or not ..and you either get him or ..

I get him...there should be more like him in the industry.

The hot air emanating from Ricky Gervais is causing the ozone to thin. That's the extraodinary claim he makes.

I cant believe all you people, there was NOTHING on TV close to what Ricky (and Merchant) did on 'The Office'.
Albeit, Larry David (not so much Seinfeld) did stuff that was similar, but he was basing all that on personal life experience, whereas Ricky invented a whole new character and wrote from that character's viewpoint.

What they did was revolutionary and changed the face of comedy as we know it. For that reason alone he deserves a great deal of slack!

As a Brit who is apparently supposed to treat Gervais as the comedy second-coming (every time I insist to my British friends that the US version of The Office has now surpassed the UK version, I sense I'm one step away from exile), I've been having this same conversation with quite a few people in the past few weeks.

Gervais has done a series of 'Ricky Gervais Meets...' interviews, and so far he has met Larry David, Christopher Guest and Garry Shandling. The Guest and Shandling shows aired over the holidays, and I was interested to watch them as these are two of my most admired comedy minds, and both of them are notoriously elusive.

Gervais spectacularly dropped the ball on both occasions. With Guest, he became an embarassingly OTT Spinal Tap fanboy, asking really quite boring and pointless questions, quoting the movie back to Guest, and having the audacity to compare The Office to Spinal Tap (I'm sorry, they're not even in the same league). With Shandling...well, it was just a train wreck.

The problem with Gervais is that he's milking his success. Right now he's a one-hit wonder. I've heard that he and Merchant have signed a drama deal with HBO, so I'm waiting for that to see if he's got any kind of range whatsoever, or if he's just getting the adulation while he can. People are so quick to hail someone a genius nowadays, but it will be the body of his work over time that will show whether Gervais has the comedy chops to stand with the Guests and Shandlings of this world.

For the record, I agree with others here....I get the feeling that Merchant is the true talent in the outfit. The more I see of Gervais, the more I am convinced of that fact. He should cut down on the public appearances and playing on his image in the media. Genuine talent doesn't tend to need to do that.

Just a side note to Andy G and Harry: If you get the opportunity, see Gervais's pair of one-man shows called "Animals" and "Politics"(you can find them via torrent servers). They show how funny he can be on his own.
I do agree that he was a bit relentless in picking on Karl Pilkington, but that--in the same way the Brent was a jerk--is part of the shtick.
And I've also become a Steve Merchant fan, especially from watching the Extras series.

I am a big fan, but there is something a little off in that interview. He really does come accross as a bit of an arrogant windbag in that inteview, being seemingly a bit too fond of himself.

The Stephen Merchant interview (http://www.quickstopentertainment.com/?p=3066) which deals with much of the same stuff, seems to do so in a much more intelligent, mannered and light-hearted way.

I was studying in London last fall and saw Gervais do stand-up while there, and he did the exact same routine (part of it) on the Daily Show. The whole thing, the mannerisms, all of it was scripted (by him, not Jon). Not a criticism, actually more of a compliment. When I saw the show, there was a lot I thought was ad libbed that turned out to have been entirely planned. Even interaction with the audience.

He was pretty funny last month on Daily Show. Cracked me up, actually. Though I do think he's kind of a jerk, he still makes me laugh. On the other hand, I did get rather sick of his shtick after a while.