Movie extras ‘didn’t recognize Ricky Gervais’

Acting extras on ‘David Brent: Life On The Road’ did not recognize Ricky Gervais.

The 55-year-old comedian has reprised the role of David for his new movie – but co-star Ben Bailey Smith has revealed that the other members of Ricky’s on-screen band did not recognize the award-winning star.

He shared: "We filmed a scene where the band are performing at a student night and there were real students in the crowd.

"Between takes I was talking to them and there was a moment when I overheard them saying to each other ‘who’s that guy?’"

Ben, who plays a rap star in the movie, said the extras had not heard of Ricky’s acclaimed sitcom ‘The Office’, nor did they recognise him from his stint presenting the Golden Globes.

Ben told the Daily Star Sunday: "They were saying ‘He’s that guy off Channel 4 called David or Derek or something’. I told them he was from ‘The Office’ and they were saying ‘Oh that American show’.

"I explained he actually created the original ‘The Office’. Then one of them said ‘Oh yeah, my uncle goes on about that sometimes’. I couldn’t believe they didn’t know ‘The Office’."

Meanwhile, Ricky – who is also releasing the film’s soundtrack as an album – has warned that the movie may be the last fans see of his most iconic on-screen character for some time.

He said: "This film is going to be the next two years of my life. It comes out here [in the UK], then Australia, then the rest of the world.

"I’ll spend two years promoting it and the album. Then I’ll lay him to rest for a while, like I did with ‘The Office’."