Andy Millman

**Andrew 'Andy' Millman** is the protagonist of the television series *Extras*. He is portrayed by Ricky Gervais.

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 the first season, Andy successfully managed to sell a sitcom called *When the Whistle Blows*, which proves to be a commercial but not a critical success.

## Biography

### Background

Andrew Millman was born on June 25, 1961 in Reading, England. He did not lose his virginity until he was aged 28, and it was to a woman who looked like Ronnie Corbett. From 1986 to 1999 he worked at a NatWest branch in Wokingham before abandoning this job at the turn of the century to pursue his dream as an actor. He owns his own house and is not burdened by a mortgage, so decides he can afford to "live on a pittance". Despite his lack of success in the acting field, he likes to assert to strangers that he is a successful actor and only does extra work for "pocket money".

He hired Darren Lamb as his agent around 2000, who later proved to be incompetent; however, Andy remained loyal to Darren because for whatever reason he "couldn't bear" the thought of firing him, believing he'd be "devastated".

Also prior to 2005 and shortly after entering the acting scene, Andy met fellow aspiring actor Maggie Jacobs. He originally liked her because she was "so stupid it amused him", and the two developed a strong platonic friendship through banter and humorous 'would you rather' questions.

Around this time he also met Greg Lindley-Jones, an actor who started out as an extra like Andy and Maggie, but thanks to heavy financial support from his parents found success in a number of productions and became a well-respected actor, much to Andy's chagrin. Due to Greg's snootiness and arrogance the two then became frenemies, often clashing with each other when they met by chance on production sets or in public.

By the beginning of the events of *Extras*, Andy is unmarried and single. He was previously in a relationship with *Holby City* star Patricia Potter, whom he broke up with because, unbeknownst to her, he found her "boring". Years later this comes back to bite him when Potter learns this and publicly humiliates him on stage whilst accepting a BAFTA award.

## Appearances

### Season 1

* Ben Stiller
* Ross Kemp and Vinnie Jones
* Kate Winslet
* Les Dennis
* Samuel L. Jackson
* Patrick Stewart

### Season 2

* Orlando Bloom
* David Bowie
* Daniel Radcliffe
* Chris Martin
* Sir Ian McKellen
* Jonathan Ross

## Personality

In contrast to Ricky Gervais' other famed role as David Brent (from *The Office*) who, through his desire to be liked by those around him comes off as pathetic, Andy 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, Andy 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, Andy 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, Andy's personality is more autobiographical in origin.

Andy has stated that he is a firm Atheist, although he once pretended to be Catholic to get close to a romantic interest.

## Filmography

This section details the known filmography of Andy Millman.

**Film**

**Television**

**Stage**

## References

1. ↑ S1:E2
2. ↑ S1:E2 (2005) Andy states that Darren has been his agent for five years.
3. ↑ S1:E1
4. ↑ S1:E3
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 S1:E2
6. ↑ S1:E4