Andy Millman
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Andy Millman is a fictional actor and a character from the BBC/HBO co-production Extras. He is played by Ricky Gervais. Millman's dream to become an actor – he left his steady day job at Natwest in Wokingham in order to pursue it - is endlessly frustrated by the fact that his agent Darren Lamb (Stephen Merchant) is incompetent, circumstances seem to conspire against him, and the only work he can get is as a film extra. His best friend is fellow extra Maggie Jacobs (Ashley Jensen), but her fervent desire to help, coupled with a lack of tact and subtlety, means that she more often than not causes him just as much trouble.
At the end of Season 1, Millman successfully managed to sell a sitcom called When the Whistle Blows, which was a commercial but not a critical success.
In contrast to Gervais' other famed role as David Brent, who, through his desire to be liked by those around him comes off as pathetic, Millman often makes little or no attempt to be liked - often being downright rude - but frequently comes across as being a much more likeable character than Brent. This may be due to his increased sense of self-awareness and intelligence; when compared to Brent, Millman is all too aware of when he has stepped over the line and become genuinely offensive (although this doesn't stop him from causing genuine offence). Also unlike Brent, who was largely in denial about the world around him, Millman is a more bitter and cynical character with a more realistic appraisal of the world and how it works. Whereas Brent was based on a former boss of Gervais, Millman's personality is more autobiographical in origin.[1]
A running joke is that Millman did not lose his virginity until the age of 28, and to a woman who looked like Ronnie Corbett (who turns up in a later episode as himself). Andy's arch-nemesis throughout the programme is Greg Lindley-Jones, who also started out as an extra before finding success in a number of productions and becoming a well-respected actor, much to Andy's annoyance.
