Do people not realise that the whole up his own arse thing is all part of the comedy? It's the character he plays to the world. Only people who know him will know if he's like that in 'real life'
Are you a close personal friend of his? If not how can you possibly say its only a character, while simultaneously saying only his friends will know if thats really him or not, you really can't have it both ways.
Also yes, he might be different in private, that doesn't make his character any less of a **** whose not particularly funny and irritating, had his moments, done some nice writing but really in terms of standup and actually performing himself, very very poor.
I thought he was VERY poor in invention of lying, as in its a good idea for a film, VERY poorly thought out, completely inaccurate in so many parts(theres an underlying concept that supposedly dictates why everyone is like they are, but theres numerous bits they screwed up) and its simply very not funny for the most part and very up its own arse, maybe not surprisingly.
Ghost Town has its moments, but its the same tired old character, unable to interact with people in general but grows up towards the end.
In the end he's the same old same old, and theres only so much you can take.
The american office is frankly funnier, better actors, better comedians but after 6 series its incredibly tired, the guy playing Brent is having the same(but better paid and more successful) career, he's stuck playing the same character in every film, and his character in the tv show is tired and boring most of the time. Infact the American Office's Michael is getting closer to the painfull to watch Brent with every episode.
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