Ricky Gervais has revealed that his iconic David Brent dance from the BBC sitcom The Office was so physically strenuous that it could have led to a medical emergency. The comedian, who co-created the show with Stephen Merchant, made the admission while celebrating the 25th anniversary of the series with a countdown of his 25 favourite Brent moments on his YouTube channel.
Top three moments revealed
Gervais ranked the dance as his number one moment, followed by a training role-play scene and Brent's song "Freelove Freeway" in second and third place respectively. Reflecting on the dance sequence, he explained that it was pieced together from three separate takes. The first take caused the crew to laugh, the second made Gervais himself laugh, and the third was completed successfully. The final version was edited to appear as a single continuous take, using shots of bewildered onlookers.
"I sort of knew the type of thing I was gonna do. It's totally improvised, obviously. I quite like the fact that it looked nearly real. Some of them looked a bit like dance moves, and I can't believe how low I got when I did the crab, I couldn't do that now," Gervais said.
Physical toll and health risk
Gervais admitted that additional takes could have been dangerous due to his physical condition at the time. "I remember after I filmed it, I was sat in a corner on a chair and they were fanning me. I was, I think I was the blobbiest I've ever been. I think I was like 14 stone, no muscles to speak of, just a blob, and you know, there was a small chance of heart failure," he revealed.
He added that crew members were genuinely concerned by his heavy breathing after the performance. "Tom Cruise jumps off buildings. Do I want to do a little dance? I'll have go. It would f***ing kill me now. I'm glad I recorded it to show I did it once," Gervais said.
Other anniversary celebrations
The BBC also aired a programme titled Remember... The Office, featuring cast members Martin Freeman and Mackenzie Crook reflecting on their time on the show. Freeman, who played Tim Canterbury, noted that while the writing was brilliant, the actors contributed small improvisations that enhanced the scenes. "The writing on it that they did was brilliant. But you only need to know us a little bit or know the process of it. We're also in there, you know? It doesn't mean it's a co-credit. Doesn't mean it's improvised, but it's nicely loose," Freeman said.
Freeman also recalled having a positive feeling about the show from the very beginning. "At the read-through, I remember thinking, 'This script is really good, it's brilliant'," he explained.
Legacy of The Office
Despite its massive success, the original UK version of The Office consisted of only two series and several Christmas specials. It went on to inspire an award-winning US adaptation starring Steve Carell, which ran for nine seasons. The full countdown of David Brent moments is available to watch on Ricky Gervais' YouTube channel.
