caption birth_place height name birth_date image article_title birth_name occupation
merchant in november 2009 hanham , bristol , england 6 ft 7 in stephen merchant 24 november 1974 stephenmerchantaltnov09.jpg stephen merchant
 stephen james merchant actor comedian , director , writer , television presenter ,
stephen merchant

stephen james merchant -lrb- born 24 november 1974 -rrb- is an english writer , director , radio presenter , comedian , and actor .
he is best known for his collaborations with ricky gervais , as the co-writer and co-director of the popular british sitcom `` the office '' , co-writer , co-director , and co-star of `` extras '' , and co-host of `` the ricky gervais show '' in its radio , podcast , audiobook , and television show forms .
`` the ricky gervais show '' in radio form won a bronze sony award .
merchant appeared as himself in the bbc series `` life 's too short '' , which he co-wrote and co-directed .
he also voiced the character wheatley in the popular 2011 video game `` portal 2 '' , co-developed the sky1 travel series `` an idiot abroad '' , and performs as a stand-up comedian .
he has won three bafta awards , four british comedy awards and an emmy award .
he recently starred in a role on a show he created , wrote , and directed , called `` hello ladies '' .
his most recent project is starring in his first play by english playwright richard bean , `` the mentalists '' , which is in london at wyndham 's theatre in july and august 2015 .
