Characters of Extras

The British television sitcom Extras centres on the main characters of Andy Millman, Maggie Jacobs and Darren Lamb, in addition to several more recurring characters.

Portrayed by Ricky Gervais, Andrew "Andy" Millman is the lead character of Extras. Andy'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 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, but her staunch desire to help, coupled with a lack of tact and intelligence, means that she more often than not causes him just as much trouble.

At the end of Series 1, Millman successfully managed to sell a sitcom called When the Whistle Blows, which proves to be 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 a downright curmudgeon - 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 understanding; 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 depressed and misanthropic 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.

A running joke is that Millman did not lose his virginity until the age of 28 (although the first time this is mentioned, Maggie says he was 22), and to a woman who looked like Ronnie Corbett (who turns up in a later episode as himself). Andy's 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.

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