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David Brent is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...

in the

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television

mockumentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...

The Office ''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries. The original series of ...

'', portrayed by the show's co-creator, co-writer and co-director

Ricky Gervais Ricky Dene Gervais ( ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms ''The Office'' (2001–2003), '' Extras'' (2005–2007), and '' An Idiot Abroad' ...

. Brent is a white-collar office middle-manager and the principal character of the series. He is the general manager of the

Slough Slough () is a town and unparished area in the unitary authority of the same name in Berkshire, England, bordering west London. It lies in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4 ...

branch of Wernham Hogg paper merchants and the

boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, ...

of most other characters in the series. Much of the comedy of the series centres on Brent's many idiosyncrasies, hypocrisies, self-delusions and overt self-promotion.

Character

Brent is presented as an employer who wholeheartedly believes that his employees love him, whereas in fact, aside from

Gareth Keenan Gareth Keenan (born 17 April 1971) is a fictional paper salesman on BBC's comedy ''The Office'', portrayed by Mackenzie Crook. Gareth is a self-important team leader proud of his alleged Lieutenant status in the Territorial Army. He spends his d ...

, they actually resent him. This is best noticed in the Series 1 finale, where Brent betrays his staff and accepts a promotion to higher management, saving his own skin from the inevitable downsizing that will befall the Slough branch as a consequence. Brent later fails a medical examination which makes him unable to take the position, but he insists to his employees that he failed it on purpose to save the branch. Despite being the manager, Brent is totally spineless when it comes to confrontation. This is best seen through the character of Chris Finch, who Brent views unconditionally as his best friend despite his appalling attitude towards women and his many chances at ridiculing Brent as well as his staff. Brent's inability to stand up for himself or his staff members properly and professionally often results in him lashing out at his employees, pointing out their weight or age if his own is brought to ridicule. In the second season, manager of the Swindon branch Neil Godwin is given Brent's promotion. Neil is shown to be everything that Brent is not, which provokes Brent's insecurity and jealousy. Neil effortlessly bonds with Brent's staff and earns their trust, perhaps best shown when a payroll issue is brought to Neil's attention, essentially going over Brent's head. Brent's dismissive attitude to key issues such as this culminates in a later confrontation with Neil and Jennifer when Brent fails to produce a report he promised to do. When given an official warning, Brent recklessly challenges Neil in an effort motivated by his hurt pride, stating that his removal from managing the Slough branch would result in a staff uprising. This however proves to be totally baseless, as when Neil and Jennifer announce that Brent will be made redundant, his staff are shown to be completely unconcerned and even relieved by the news. Despite his unlikeable nature, Brent is not wholly perceived as insufferable. Instead, Brent is shown as the increasingly tragic figure of the series; a lonely man without any friends, goals or achievements who would rather please everybody around him even if it is met at his own expense. Of these key moments where sympathy is garnered for Brent, perhaps one of the most crucial scenes is when Brent begs Neil and Jennifer to reconsider firing him, after a secondary role as a motivational speaker falls through. In the Christmas special, Brent is shown to be working as a travelling salesman following his dismissal from Wernham Hogg, but he remains emotionally attached to his old workplace and constantly visits the office during working hours, eventually resulting in Neil banning him from the premises. He earns additional income on the side from Z-list celebrity appearances at various club nights trading on the minor fame the documentary series has given him, but he is frequently met with heckles and abuse from the crowds and gradually hits an emotional low. He is allowed to attend the Wernham Hogg Christmas party that ends the special, at which he meets a blind date who genuinely enjoys his company and says she would go out with him again. In higher spirits, Brent is later shown bonding with his former colleagues and finally succeeds in making them laugh when they take a group photo together.

Appearances outside ''The Office''

In 2002, Gervais wrote an in-character piece for the

BBC website BBC Online, formerly known as BBCi, is the BBC's online service. It is a large network of websites including such high-profile sites as BBC News and BBC Sport, Sport, the on-demand video and radio services branded BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds, t ...

on "what makes a winner" of the FA Cup. He said, "Managing a Premiership football team is a bit like running a successful paper merchant. There's a lot of similarities. I have to pick the right team, I have to lead by example, I have to instil trust and discipline." Gervais and Stephen Merchant (who co-created the show and the Brent character) put together two videos for

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

in the UK entitled ''The Office Values'', in which Brent Brent is brought in as a motivational speaker. In the videos, Brent repeatedly shows a deep hatred for

Bill Gates William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate and philanthropist. He is a co-founder of Microsoft, along with his late childhood friend Paul Allen. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions ...

, at one point calling him a litterbug. Additionally, Brent plays a guitar song about the ills of technology versus the human condition, elaborates upon his desire for a comedy show (such as by impersonating Max Wall) and repeatedly makes fun of Jeff (Merchant's character), calling him a dweeb and a

nerd A nerd is a person seen as overly intellectual, obsessive, introverted or lacking social skills. Such a person may spend inordinate amounts of time on unpopular, little known, or non-mainstream activities, which are generally either highly tec ...

for using the big word "erroneous". This culminates in an appraisal in which Jeff repeatedly insults Brent, calling him an idiot, ill-informed, ill-educated and a shaved baboon in a suit, among others. Intended as internal training videos, the two videos were leaked online in August 2006 and Microsoft was reportedly unhappy about the leak. At

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

on 1 July 2007, Ricky Gervais performed as David Brent at the

Concert for Diana Concert for Diana was a benefit concert held at the newly built Wembley Stadium in London, United Kingdom in honour of Diana, Princess of Wales, on 1 July 2007, which would have been her 46th birthday. 31 August that year brought the 10th ann ...

. Alongside

Mackenzie Crook Paul James "Mackenzie" Crook (born 29 September 1971) is an English actor, comedian, director and writer. He played Gareth Keenan in ''The Office'', Ragetti in the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' films, Orell in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'', ...

as Gareth, Gervais performed a rendition of the song "

Freelove Freeway "Free Love Freeway" is a song written by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, who starred in the British comedy series ''The Office''. Gervais first performed the song as David Brent in Series 1, Episode 4 (titled ''Training'') of the show. From 20 ...

" from episode four of ''The Office''. In 2009, Ricky Gervais appeared on ''

Inside the Actors Studio ''Inside the Actors Studio'' is an American talk show that airs on Ovation. The series premiered in 1994 on Bravo where it aired for 22 seasons and was hosted by James Lipton from its premiere until 2018. It is taped at the Michael Schimmel Cente ...

'', in which the host

James Lipton Louis James Lipton (September 19, 1926 – March 2, 2020) was an American writer, lyricist, actor, and dean emeritus of the Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University in New York City. He was the executive producer, writer, and host of the B ...

asked if he could interview Gervais in character as David Brent for a brief period in the show. Gervais went on to perform a shortened version of the song "

". Brent made two brief appearances in the American version of ''

''. In the season 7 episode "

The Seminar "The Seminar" is the fourteenth episode of the seventh season of the American comedy television series ''The Office'', and the show's 140th episode overall. Written by Steve Hely and directed by B. J. Novak, the episode aired January 27, 2011 o ...

", he meets his American counterpart Michael Scott (

Steve Carell Steven John Carell (; born August 16, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He played Michael Scott (The Office), Michael Scott in ''The Office (American TV series), The Office'' (2005–2011; 2013), NBC’s adaptation of the The Office (B ...

) while coming out of an elevator the latter is waiting for. Unsurprisingly, the two are seen to develop an instant rapport. David learns that Michael manages the

Scranton Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U ...

branch of Dunder Mifflin (the paper company that is the equivalent of Wernham Hogg in the UK series) and asks if there are any jobs available there, but is told there are no openings at the moment. In the final episode of the same season, "

Search Committee "Search Committee" is the two-part finale of the seventh season of the American television comedy series ''The Office''. It comprises the 151st and 152nd episodes of the series overall and the 25th and 26th episodes of the seventh season. It o ...

", Brent appears (via pre-recorded video resumé) as an interviewee for the Scranton manager's job, following the Michael Scott character's departure from the show several episodes earlier. In addition to appearing in the latter episode, Gervais contributed to the script. In March 2013, the BBC broadcast a mini-episode called "The Office Revisited" for

Comic Relief 2013 Red Nose Day 2013 is a fundraising event organised by Comic Relief. A number of run-up events took place and the main event consisted of a live telethon broadcast on BBC One and BBC Two from the evening of Friday 15 March 2013 to early the follow ...

, a charity fund-raising event. After ten years, Gervais revived the character for his YouTube channel in the web series "Learn Guitar with David Brent." In each episode he plays the guitar, gives tips on how to play and answers fan questions. Among the songs he has played are "Freelove Freeway", "Spaceman", "Ooh La La" and "Life on the Road". On 5 August 2014, it was announced that Gervais would reprise the role of Brent for a film titled '' David Brent: Life on the Road'', which features the character as he tours the UK with his band

Foregone Conclusion ''Foregone'' is the upcoming fourteenth studio album by Swedish heavy metal band In Flames. The album is set to be released on 10 February 2023 through Nuclear Blast and was produced by Howard Benson. It is the first album by the band to feature ...

. The film was released in August 2016. In August 2016, David Brent and Foregone Conclusion released the album ''Life on the Road''. On 13 August 2016, Gervais appeared on the

Dermot O'Leary Seán Dermot Fintan O'Leary Jr. (born 24 May 1973) is an English broadcaster who currently works for ITV and BBC Radio 2. His radio career began when he worked as a disc jockey at Essex Radio, but he is best known for being the presenter of ''T ...

show on

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

to publicise this album. Gervais was initially interviewed as himself and then after a short music interlude, O'Leary interviewed David Brent about the album release, and gave a stripped back acoustic session, playing the tracks "Life on the Road" and "Slough".

Influence

Dan Coop of the British band

Does It Offend You, Yeah? Does It Offend You, Yeah? are a British dance-punk band from Reading, Berkshire. They played what was to be their final show on 12 December 2015 at the Electric Ballroom, Camden Town. In September 2021, they announced a new album, titled ''We ...

has said that the name of the band came from a line spoken by David Brent, when he says, 'My drinking — does it offend you, yeah good?'

References

External links

david brent: renaissance man clips
(requires

RealPlayer RealPlayer, formerly RealAudio Player, RealOne Player and RealPlayer G2, is a cross-platform media player app, developed by RealNetworks. The media player is compatible with numerous container file formats of the multimedia realm, including MP ...

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Brent, David Comedy television characters Television characters introduced in 2001 Fictional English people Fictional guitarists Fictional managers Fictional singers British male characters in television The Office (British TV series) characters

Character

Appearances outside ''The Office''

Influence

See also

References

External links