Ricky Gervais
Ricky Dene Gervais is a Britishcomedian, actor, director, producer, musician and writer. Ricky, along with siblings Larry, Marsha, and Bob, was born and raised in the suburb of Whitley in Reading, Berkshire, England. His father, Lawrence Raymond 'Jerry' Gervais, a Franco-Ontarian, emigrated while on foreign duty during the Second World War from London, Ontario, Canada. Jerry met Ricky's mother, Eva Sophia M., during a blackout, and they settled in Whitley. She died aged 74 of lung cancer. Ricky has stated that his upbringing and childhood were stable and trauma-free, with a high level of honesty and openness between his family members. He claims that his family, "much like The Waltons", made fun of each other regularly.
Ricky attended Whitley Park Infants and Junior Schools and received his secondary education at Ashmead Comprehensive School, before moving on to University College London in 1979. He arrived to study biology but changed to philosophy after only two weeks and earned an upper second-class honours degree in the subject. It was also during his time at UCL that he met Jane Fallon, with whom he has been in a relationship since 1982.
Ricky achieved mainstream fame with his television series The Office and the subsequent series Extras, both of which he co-wrote and co-directed with friend and frequent collaborator Stephen Merchant. In addition to writing and directing the shows, he also played the lead roles of David Brent in The Office and Andy Millman in Extras. Ricky has also starred in a number of Hollywood films, assuming leading roles in Ghost Town and The Invention of Lying. He has performed on four sell-out stand-up comedy tours, written the best-selling Flanimals book series and starred with Merchant and Karl Pilkington in the most downloaded podcast in the world as of March 2009, The Ricky Gervais Show.
He has won a multitude of awards and honours, including seven BAFTA Awards, two British Comedy Awards, two Emmy Awards, one Golden Globe Award and the 2006 Rose d'Or, as well as a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination. In 2007 he was voted the 11th greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups and again in the updated 2010 list as the 3rd greatest stand-up comic. In 2010, he was named on the Time 100 list of the world's most influential people. Gervais hosted both the 2010 and 2011 Golden Globe Awards.
Ricky currently lives in Hampstead, having moved from Bloomsbury, with his girlfriend of 29 years, producer and screenwriter Jane Fallon. He says they chose not to legally marry because "there’s no point in us having an actual ceremony before the eyes of God because there is no God" or have children because they "didn’t fancy dedicating 16 years of our lives. And there are too many children, of course".
He told Kirsty Young that he is an atheist during a 2007 interview for Desert Island Discs, later stating he lost his faith at age eight, and in June 2008 he became an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society. In December 2010, he wrote an editorial for the Wall Street Journal defending his lack of faith.
I find it fascinating that someone who says they were raised in such a healthy environment 1) "lost his faith" at 8 years old; and 2) is so filled with bitterness that it spilled out in front of thousands at the Golden Globe Awards. Obviously there is a ton we are unaware of. But GOD KNOWS. So please pray for Ricky this week. Pray that our God will reveal Himself to Ricky and bring him joy that passes understanding in a personal relationship with Himself.
--Heidi