Photo: Courtesy of Tim Oliver

Ricky Gervais’ BBC Two comedy series Office became a global sensation, not only changing the comedian’s life. It changed Tim Oliver’s life. Since 2004, the year after the popular series premiered in the UK, Oliver has been performing as an impersonator of David Brent and, to this day, makes a living pretending to be one of the most iconic comedy characters of all time.

Oliver is hired for almost every event imaginable: hen parties (called “bachelorette parties” in the UK), weddings, promotional videos, awards ceremonies, corporate speeches. Showcasing the results of his work tiktok And instagramThey have 51.5k and 13.6k followers respectively. He is different from many of his peers with his dedication to his profession. Many lookalikes will show up and look doppelgänger, but Oliver spends hours impersonating Brent and quoting favorite routines. Office and improvises in character.

According to Oliver, Gervais knows what he’s doing. They met in 2014 when Oliver was working as Gervais’ stunt double. Most Wanted Muppetsand Oliver’s website contains a quote Gervais: “Tim is the best!” (Gervais himself is no stranger to the world of lookalikes. In 1998, before the fame that came with it.) Officeco-wrote and starred in a TV episode (In that film, he played a middle-aged man who believes he can make it in show business as a David Bowie impersonator.) Oliver, whose voice and demeanor sound strikingly similar to Brent even when he’s not on stage, talked about his odd demeanor earlier this month. My 20-year career playing the character and what it’s like to make a living as someone else.

When and why did you start this business?
I started in 2004. Before that, I was running an events company. I had an assistant, Sophie, and she said: “Have you seen that TV show? Office Monday night on BBC Two? You sound just like the guy in that movie.” So I watched it and said, “No, I’ll never do that.” But I finally managed to do it and I love it. I thought, It would be a crime not to do anything about it. I hope it never ends. Well, it will end; I think it’s coming soon.

Has Instagram and TikTok helped your profile?
Yes. The last two years have been crazy with TikTok and Instagram. And LinkedIn too — because LinkedIn is very much a business-to-business system; David Brent is exactly at this point. Honestly, David Brent fits in just about anywhere. I’ve even done a wake-up call before. I think I’m busier than ever.

How does it feel to do this professionally? It sounds crazy when you describe it as a profession to others.
This is so weird. People approach me on the street and ask, “Are you Ricky?” or whatever, it’s very strange and hard to get used to at first. When people get to know you you’re almost gone, Phew, I still look like him. I can still make some money from this. I can shut it down – I have kids and I’m married – but sometimes I say things and think: Oh my God, I sounded just like Brent back then. To be fair, I think I’ve turned into him.

Is it frustrating or weird to be so dependent on one person and their career?
It’s always in the back of your mind as a bit of a concern because you don’t really know the celebrity. I met him and became his twin. You just hope nothing happens that could ruin your career.

Gervais was criticized for what he did routines about trans people. Do you think you are protected because you have a closer relationship with Brent than with Gervais?
This is a very good question and one that crosses my mind often. I often have to adjust what I say in different environments. When Office it turned out, it was a different time, hence most of what was said Office Back then, you couldn’t sing them as an entertainer in a real-life setting – at a conference, at a wedding, or whatever. Because it’s not like standing on stage and being Ricky, people have paid hundreds of pounds to see you, there’s thousands of people there and he just says what he wants and it’s great.

I did something Office I tested in an office in central London a few years ago. I used the word “transvestite”, you cannot use that word now. This young HR girl told me and people heard it through the microphone. Frankly, he didn’t know the character that well, so he said, “Oh, you can’t say that word.” They were all waiting for me to say something Ricky was going to say, so as he walked away I said, “Oh, sorry, ginger.” She had long red hair, and when I said that, everyone started laughing. Because I was in character, it went really well. Then her boss came up to me and said, “Thank you for humiliating her a little bit because she’s being very, very anal about everything.” That’s the only time I’ve ever really experienced something like that, because I adjust depending on the environment I’m in at the time. Ricky is currently worth half a billion pounds, so he’s probably saying: “If I get cancelled, it won’t affect me at all.” However, I need to be rehired, so I need to continue to be good.

Do you ever break character? How hard is it when you don’t have a script?
If there are a lot of people and you’re there for two hours, you won’t tend to break character because there are a lot of different people to talk to while mingling and mingling. When there is a small group of people like a deer, they are interested You; They want to ask you questions. It would be rude if you answered these personal questions as Brent. That’s why I always step out of character. Even when I answered their questions out of character, they said, “You’re in character, aren’t you?” they say.

I shot a television program called. similar, and I was its main character. The production company hired a Robert De Niro and a Tom Cruise from America and they were Method. We were in the green room so we would all start talking to each other about our lives. They definitely don’t break the character. They were great at what they did, but when they left we were all pretty disappointed that we couldn’t talk to them about their real lives.

Have you witnessed some pretty intimate moments – at bachelorette parties, for example?
It wasn’t like they really broke down and didn’t end up getting married. There are obviously some awkward moments, because boys are boys. I do what’s called the “Mr. and Mrs. Quiz” at bachelorette parties. Sometimes the fiancé is included in a video of himself answering some of the questions the men ask, and they are very personal. They might say something like: “Where was the weirdest place you had sex together?” And the man would say: “Oh, we did that in the train car once.” But his fiancée said: “Oh, no, it was in my dad’s basement by the wine rack.” And they say: “Oh… don’t remember that.” Brent understands this and makes everyone laugh.

Your voice sounds a lot like Ricky’s. Have you researched whether you are from the exact same area?
I’m from Sussex and he’s from Berkshire, so I’d say things like, “Ooh, let me tell you something,” whereas he’d say, “Let me break it down for you.” There are small differences between us. People always ask me, “Is that your real voice?” he asks. And I say, “No – no, I’m from Glaswegian in real life.”

Can you comfortably tell us how much money you make?
I never talk about money. I am good. It allows me to drive a nice car, live in a house, and go on vacation.

How much writing is done?
There are so many materials and I personalize them. When Ricky won the Golden Globe, a lot of people hired me as the host, not as David Brent, but as Ricky. They would give me a bunch of crap to upper management and I would rip it off of them. People love it when you take the mickey out of people in authority. I’m writing this more in Ricky’s style. It’s nice to be able to write something down and then present it in a funny way.

Are you close with your other peers?
I continued in 2010 Britain’s Got Talent with six others who looked alike, and we were the Chippendoubles; There was me, David Beckham, Gordon Ramsay, Will Smith, Mr T, Simon Cowell and Daniel Craig. We have a Chippendoubles WhatsApp where we all communicate on a daily basis. We all come to London whenever we can and go out to meet up and have dinner or something. It’s a very nice community, a similar community. Everyone knows everyone because it’s so small.

Do you have any idea what Gervais thinks about you?
He is happy with everything. I try to make sure he’s aware of anything I do that might become slightly public. Many times I’d think I might do something really bad and then I’d say: “Ricky, if you want me to step off the stage, pay me what you owe me; I just want £5 million.”