Ricky Gervais has never been shy about his appreciation for Woody Allen and the influence the director had on his work. On several occasions, Gervais has cited Allen’s 1972 film Play It Again, Sam as one of his all-time favorites. He’s referenced it as the kind of movie he’d like to make, and credited Allen with bringing “modern comedy to the cinema.” “Play It Again, Sam was the first time I’d seen the central character be an idiot and be the winner at the same time,” Gervais said. “And Allen introduced naturalism into his comedy, and fused romance with personal problems and comedy better than anyone else.”
He elaborated on his feelings about Allen’s work in a 2016 interview. “I remember Annie Hall, thinking, ‘That’s the first time I’ve seen somebody laugh at a joke that was meant to be funny,’” Gervais told Collider at the time. He went on to say, “I just think that wisecracking, he invented that—well, Groucho [Marx], Groucho did the wisecracker where it wasn’t always good to be the cleverest person in the room, but then Woody Allen took it on and carried it through.”
You’d think after everything we’ve just told you that if Allen came calling, Gervais would jump at the opportunity to work with one of his heroes. However, in a 2007 interview with The Independent, Gervais said that the exact opposite happened. “I was offered a part in a Woody Allen film,” the comedian revealed. “I won’t tell you which one, but when I saw the rest of the cast—other British people on telly—I just pulled out of it. I thought, ‘That’s no fun,’” he continued. “This is the Woody Allen who doesn’t know. He thinks these people are all good because he likes the accent. Woody Allen isn’t Woody Allen anymore.”
When asked about Gervais’s comments later that same year, Allen acknowledged that he was “charmed by British accents—definitely.” He was a little confused by what Gervais was talking about, though. “I don’t know what [Gervais] means,” Allen said. “I have no idea what picture we offered him. He may be 100% right for all I know.” It’s still unclear which movie Gervais was referring to. Still, Allen did a few films in the early 2000s featuring British actors, including Melinda and Melinda, Match Point, Scoop, and Cassandra’s Dream, so it’s a safe bet that Gervais was probably considered for a role in one of those.
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