Martin Freeman talks The Office

[Ignatius_S]

Freeman is interviewed about various roles here: https://www.peopleewnetwork.com/video/martin-freeman-721aad42-dd3b-4e9f-af5d-72d70775cb6e

Digital Spy has reported what he said about The Office - http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/the-office/news/a855956/martin-freeman-ricky-gervais-the-office-antics/ - but would recommend the full interview.

[saltysnacks]

More evidence that Ricky Gervais is basically David Brent

[Nowhere Man]

Christ, I know he's trying to dress it up to make it sound like it was all a laugh, but you can just imagine how fucking annoying that would be for all the cast and especially crew involved.

Want to get home slightly early or on time after filming? Nah sorry lads, Gervais keeps fucking up takes and acting the fool so you'll all have to stay two hours late.

[Steven]

He's not lying.

Bishop Muzorewa!

[Mango Chimes]

Christ, I know he's trying to dress it up to make it sound like it was all a laugh, but you can just imagine how fucking annoying that would be for all the cast and especially crew involved.

Want to get home slightly early or on time after filming? Nah sorry lads, Gervais keeps fucking up takes and acting the fool so you'll all have to stay two hours late.

I hate to do this, because I very much love all FUCKGERVAISFUCKGERVAISFUCKGERVAIS content, but this is balls. He's known for running sets with unusually reasonable shooting hours, and anyone who doesn't love those clips Steven's posted is some kind of Gervais-esque monster themselves – they're brilliant.

Close this thread, it taints the purity of the genuine and justified ANTIGERVAISGERVAISECUNTGERVAISECUNT threads.

[Cuellar]

Yeah those outtakes from The Office are genuinely hilarious.

And Martin Freeman went all racist that time so he's trash smdh

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Yes, that Bishop Muzorewa outtake is very funny and Freeman is obviously enjoying himself. He's right, Bishop Muzorewa is a hilariously obscure reference to just drop in like that.

Gervais' on-set antics must be frustrating sometimes - Karl Pilkington certainly thought so - but I've always got the impression that people generally enjoy working with him, and as Mango Chimes says, he always lets his cast and crew go home at a reasonable time.

[Fambo Number Mive]

And Martin Freeman went all racist that time so he's trash smdh

When did he go racist? Genuine question. I can't remember.

[Steven]

I remember Opie & Anthony would regularly have Gervais in studio, and one day Gervais happened to be booked last minute on the same day as Martin Freeman, Freeman never turned up and his 'people' phoned in some obviously fake excuse why he couldn't be there. It seemed that he doesn't want to ever be in the same room as Gervais as he'll get treated in the same way as those outtakes, ribbed and ridiculed and not treated as a big celebrity act-or.

[Cuellar]

Well not really racist but you know - PC gone mad, sort of thing

"Multiculturalism hasn't and doesn't help, because rightly or wrongly it polarises people so much," he continues.

"Racism is one thing – and I don't agree with that in any form – but noticing that there are differences is normal and fine and to be encouraged.

"We've reached a state now where it's, 'You shouldn't notice. Why are you noticing he's got a bomb and has a beard and is Muslim and wants to kill your family?"

"There is no country in the world like this. If all of a sudden all the traffic wardens in Ghana were Welsh, they'd really notice and might not love it... We give ourselves a hard time in this country in a sort of mea culpa way. But if we were that racist, people wouldn't come. Very simple."

[Glebe]

"Boring, isn't it..."

[Ignatius_S]

Yes, that Bishop Muzorewa outtake is very funny and Freeman is obviously enjoying himself. He's right, Bishop Muzorewa is a hilariously obscure reference to just drop in like that.

Gervais' on-set antics must be frustrating sometimes - Karl Pilkington certainly thought so - but I've always got the impression that people generally enjoy working with him, and as Mango Chimes says, he always lets his cast and crew go home at a reasonable time.

Freeman in one interview said they weren't paid "a fortune" for The Office but when the show became popular, they got new contracts that meant that they got more from the DVD sales and credited Gervais for that.

Also, I remember that in a RT interview about Extras (think Benjamin Wilson was the writer), a comment was made that Shaun Williamson must be grateful for the work - a notion that Gervais gave very short shrift and said they were very lucky to have him. Always thought that was a class act.

[rm2kmaster]

When did he go racist? Genuine question. I can't remember.

He's not. People are just fucking stupid.

[up_the_hampipe]

He should be glad Ricky was just trying to make him laugh instead of tying him up and torturing him.

[ieXush2i]

I'm guessing he heard an episode of Opie and Anthony for the first time on the way to the studio.

[Chriddof]

I remember that Martin Freeman "PC gone mad" thing, and what he says there is dubious at best. The full interview's on the Daily Mail, so I won't link to it, but in his defence he later added that he left his then-home in Bethnal Green "just after the BNP were elected in 1993. That was a disgrace."

On the other hand, he says that "I wasn't a huge fan of Hitchhiker's Guide" (in general, not just the film) and he wanks on endlessly about how great Mod stuff is, so fuck him. (I'm joking.)

As for Opie & Anthony, it's weird how Chris Morris ended up going on that and apparently ended up getting pretty pissed off with them. I've never listened to that edition so I'm not sure what exactly went down (I've not listened to a lot of that show at all, because it's pretty much wall-to-wall S4C). Not surprising that Gervais was on it.

[ieXush2i]

They wanted a good old laugh about scary brown people. By the time they're seriously talking about how terrible it is that men are portrayed as doofuses in a lot of adverts you can imagine his contempt for them rising. The subsequent interview where he compared them all to the wannabe-terrorists in Four Lions, and that he could have converted them himself were he so inclined was perfect.

[checkoutgirl]

I hate to do this, because I very much love all FUCKGERVAISFUCKGERVAISFUCKGERVAIS content, but this is balls. He's known for running sets with unusually reasonable shooting hours, and anyone who doesn't love those clips Steven's posted is some kind of Gervais-esque monster themselves – they're brilliant.

Close this thread, it taints the purity of the genuine and justified ANTIGERVAISGERVAISECUNTGERVAISECUNT threads.

One man's ruining all the takes is another man's funny japes. I'm more on the side of japes myself and this sniping seems a bit petty. Plenty to have a go at Gervais for but this isn't one of the best. Has anyone ever reported having a bad working experience on a Gervais set?

[saltysnacks]

I hate to do this, because I very much love all FUCKGERVAISFUCKGERVAISFUCKGERVAIS content, but this is balls. He's known for running sets with unusually reasonable shooting hours, and anyone who doesn't love those clips Steven's posted is some kind of Gervais-esque monster themselves – they're brilliant.

Close this thread, it taints the purity of the genuine and justified ANTIGERVAISGERVAISECUNTGERVAISECUNT threads.

Fair play to the man. I don't like Ricky Gervais, but he probably genuinely tries to be a good/nice/cool person.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Gervais is a childish wank for ruining takes but Kemp is a salty prick who takes himself far too seriously these days so fuck 'em both I reckon.

[Twed]

Fair play to the man. I don't like Ricky Gervais, but he probably genuinely tries to be a good/nice/cool person.

And probably is by everyday standards. He just doesn't handle having a platform very well.

[Shaky]

Gervais is a childish wank for ruining takes but Kemp is a salty prick who takes himself far too seriously these days so fuck 'em both I reckon.

Martin Kemp?

[Nowhere Man]

I hate to do this, because I very much love all FUCKGERVAISFUCKGERVAISFUCKGERVAIS content, but this is balls. He's known for running sets with unusually reasonable shooting hours, and anyone who doesn't love those clips Steven's posted is some kind of Gervais-esque monster themselves – they're brilliant.

Close this thread, it taints the purity of the genuine and justified ANTIGERVAISGERVAISECUNTGERVAISECUNT threads.

Gah, I actually meant to edit my initial post after watching the clip yesterday. Yeah after watching it I have to admit it looked like a great laugh. I miss that Gervais. There's a genuineness to him back in The Office/XFM days you rarely see these days.

Makes it all the more frustrating the caricature of himself he turned into.

[Annie Labuntur]

Martin Kemp?

I think he meant Morgan Kemp.

[Annie Labuntur]

Gah, I actually meant to edit my initial post after watching the clip yesterday. Yeah after watching it I have to admit it looked like a great laugh. I miss that Gervais. There's a genuineness to him back in The Office/XFM days you rarely see these days.

Makes it all the more frustrating the caricature of himself he turned into.

As with the proverbial dog returning to its own vomit, he became a much less sympathetic artist when he went back to Twitter after quitting it. No Twitter no Derek, let alone all that atheism dreck.

[Nowhere Man]

As with the proverbial dog returning to its own vomit, he became a much less sympathetic artist when he went back to Twitter after quitting it. No Twitter no Derek, let alone all that atheism dreck.

To me his first big folly was starting out standup after he'd already became famous as a writer/actor. The worst part is he is not anywhere near as good at it as he likes to think he is. That's largely because he only started taking it seriously when he began touring huge arenas to adoring fans. He should have at least tried honing his material in smaller clubs first. Remember that HBO special he did with Jerry Seinfeld, Louis CK & Chris Rock? Almost effectively trying to come across as one of their peers, even though experience wise they all had decades on him. That was pretty excruciating.

[Jockice]

His laugh's changed as well. It seems fairly normal in those Office outtakes.

[Norton Canes]

He should be glad Ricky was just trying to make him laugh instead of tying him up and torturing him

Same thing innit aaaaahhhh

[Weeping Prophet]

They wanted a good old laugh about scary brown people. By the time they're seriously talking about how terrible it is that men are portrayed as doofuses in a lot of adverts you can imagine his contempt for them rising. The subsequent interview where he compared them all to the wannabe-terrorists in Four Lions, and that he could have converted them himself were he so inclined was perfect.

Yeah, the direction of Anthony Cumia's career in particular sort of bears him out on that.

[Utter Shit]

Gervais' on-set antics must be frustrating sometimes - Karl Pilkington certainly thought so - but I've always got the impression that people generally enjoy working with him, and as Mango Chimes says, he always lets his cast and crew go home at a reasonable time.

Spot on. The logical leaps required to get "Freeman didn't like Gervais" from that interview could qualify you for the Olympics.

Is there anyone that has worked with Gervais that has a wholly negative perspective on him? I know Pilkington and that Nigel bloke have understandably taken issue with some of his behaviour as part of an overall picture of being mates with him, but the few times I've seen people talk about working with him, they have been pretty effusive in their praise of him. Doc Brown is one I specifically remember on a podcast (possibly Distraction Pieces or RHLSTP?) tackling the idea that Gervais is a cunt and completely refuting it, and as Ignatius mentioned earlier there are plenty of examples of him ensuring those who work with him are given the respect (and pay) they deserve regardless of their position.

It's quite difficult to square that with the dickish treatment of Nigel, which I would take as immature rather than malicious but still not excusable, but the idea that Gervais is an all-consuming cunt doesn't really stand up when you scrutinise what has been said by those who know him.