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S THIS KABBALAH?" giggles Ricky Gervais, tugging on one of the many pieces of patently secular strings adorning Chris Martin's left wrist. Martin
shoots him a withering look. This is how it is when the Coldplay singer
meets the man behind Extras and The Office. There's lots of mickey-taking.
Gervais mocks Martin. And Martin mocks Martin, too. "I've got a jumper -
would you like to borrow it?" offers Martin in response to Gervais
complaining he feels cold.
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"What's it like?" asks Gervais.
"It's got a big C and a G on the front and a picture of some apples," drawls
Martin.
They'd only bumped into each other briefly before - sharing the bill at a
2004 Make Trade Fair concert - but sounded each other out on the telephone
prior to this meeting.
Together, they chat away amiably enough, Gervais having brought along a copy
of his new children's book, More Flanimals, as a gift, possibly a small
bribe in his war of attrition to get Martin to agree to appear in his next
TV show. For his part, Martin is bright-eyed and
bushy-haired, having just stepped off a plane from America, where he's
enjoying his first downtime in many months.
They've plenty in common: Coldplay formed at London's UCL university, not
long after Gervais vacated his post as the institution's entertainment
manager to join XFM, where he met Stephen Merchant and went on to write The
Office. This year, they've both risen to the challenge of following up
hugely successful endeavours. Gervais's Extras starred a bevy of Hollywood
A-listers and was enthusiastically received by fans and critics alike.
Coldplay's X&Y elevated the band to a whole new league and is one of 2005's
defining albums. Both are loved by America.
And, as we shall see, they share something of a soft spot for This Is Spinal
Tap, too.
Chris Martin: I want to start like this: let me tell you the story of
Coldplay. Two young men who prove that, with resilience and determination,
anything's possible. In 1998, me and my best friend Jonny [Buckland] worked
as cleaners on
Tottenham Court Road. We used to have to clean people's apartments. They'd
all left for America - they were short-term lets - so they'd always leave
food and, cos we didn't have much money, we would eat the rest of their
cornflakes and listen to Ricky on XFM.
Ricky Gervais: Really?
CM: Before you got fired. [Gervais actually took voluntary redundancy.]
RG:: That's a lovely story.
CM: It proves that, even when you're a cleaner and a washed-up DJ, you can
still get somewhere.
Why did you agree to do this?
CM: [Spaced comedian] Simon Pegg is one of my best friends and he's never
allowed me to see other comedians. Especially because The Office got more
awards than Spaced. Unfairly. But Simon's in America now, so that's why
we're meeting. He's doing Mission: Impossible 3. He's gone big-time.
RG:: Is he? I was offered that.
CM: Don't say that.
RG:: I was, yeah. [Director] JJ Abrams wanted me to be in it, but I couldn't
because I was doing ...
CM: Why are you saying this? So he's taken the part you turned down?
RG:: Oh, I bet he has ... no! No, we don't know that. At all. It was probably
the other part they had for an English comedian.
Chris, did you watch Extras?
CM: [Sulkily] Uh-huh. l've seen three of them.
RG:: Q need more than that. God, I was hoping this was going to be good ...
CM: But you can't say Simon's taken your part.
RG:: I didn't say that. He said that! I said I was offered Mission:
Impossible 3 ...
CM: So it was a different part?
RG:: Of course it was! We've got nothing in common. Don't be so sensitive.
CM: Aren't you friends with Simon? You came up together. He's the face of
British comedy. You're more the body [laughs). I think Extras is better than
The Office. That's my opinion.
RG:: I want that as the headline to this piece!
"I think Extras is better than The Office - Chris Martin. Coldplay. World's
Biggest Band."
Would you be willing to be in the next series of Extras, Chris?
CM: No. You can't do adverts and you can't do acting if you're a singer.
RG:: We only just started work [on the second series of Extras] this week and
you're the first person I've called and asked. Think of that. I've got other
ideas, you know.
CM: It's an ego rub. I was watching Hook, you know, the Steven Spielberg
film [featuring Gwyneth Paltrow, aged 19], and 10 minutes in a detective
arrives to investigate a break-in, and the detective is Phil Collins. And
that was just after you offered us that part. And I thought, "No." This year, you both had to follow up huge successes. How do you think it
went?
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