Mackenzie Crook's Evolution from The Office to Small Prophets
In a revealing interview, actor and writer Mackenzie Crook opens up about his creative journey, his new BBC Two series Small Prophets, and how he moved away from the "cruel" humour that defined his breakthrough role in The Office. Crook, who shot to fame as Gareth Keenan in Ricky Gervais's groundbreaking mockumentary, has consciously shifted towards what he describes as "gentle comedy" in his subsequent work.
A Quarter Century On: From Gareth to Gordon
In Small Prophets, Crook plays Gordon, the manager of a massive DIY store in a six-part series that premieres on BBC Two. The character bears striking similarities to his iconic Office role, prompting comparisons to "Gareth grown up" according to Crook himself. "Pedantic and jobsworthy, he could be Gareth grown up, just with more disappointment, without the West Country accent," Crook observes. Interestingly, he initially wrote Gordon as a monster but found himself growing fond of the character by the series' conclusion.
The Heart of Small Prophets: Magic Realism and Middle Age
The true protagonist of Small Prophets is Michael, portrayed by Pearce Quigley in what Crook describes as a "comically, subtly heartbreaking" performance. Michael is a fiftyish, bearded twitcher and hoarder who works at the DIY store and visits his father Brian, played by Michael Palin, daily. The character grapples with a significant personal tragedy—his girlfriend Clea disappeared without trace seven years earlier—yet maintains a quiet dignity about his loss.
Crook admits to being "a little bit obsessed by being middle-aged," a theme that permeates the series. "It crept up on me. Everything seems to have been 20 years ago. It's a surprise to find myself with grownup children," he reflects with characteristic humour, before adding with mock gravity: "'Grownup children' is a horrible expression."
The series takes a magical turn when Michael's father reveals he knows how to grow homunculi—miniature, fully formed humans who must tell the truth when questioned. Brian hopes these creatures might reveal what happened to Clea. The resulting narrative blends the mundane realities of suburban life with extraordinary supernatural elements, creating what Crook describes as "fabulous" magic realism.
From Cruelty to Gentle Comedy
Crook's creative philosophy has evolved significantly since his Office days. "After The Office, I wanted to write something that wasn't cruel humour, that didn't have a cringe factor," he explains. "And in doing so, I stumbled upon my genre—gentle comedy." While he acknowledges the term might sound "both unfunny and as if you're trying not to offend anyone," he stands by the approach, preferring to "downplay stuff" rather than dictate audience reactions.
Reflecting on rewatching The Office recently, Crook describes experiencing what sounds like "a PTSD flashback" during particularly awkward scenes. "My heart just sank, because I knew something awful was coming up," he recalls of one episode where David Brent and Gareth Keenan's handling of a fire drill becomes excruciatingly uncomfortable viewing.
The Personal Journey: From 'Small Paul' to TV Royalty
Crook's path to fame wasn't without its challenges. Born Paul Crook, he changed his name when registering with Equity and found himself typecast as "the weird-looking bloke" following The Office's success. "You've put that on me; I don't think I do look weird," he recalls thinking at the time. "You're thinking of Gareth, and now you can't see past Gareth."
These days, Crook finds greater satisfaction in writing, editing and directing than acting. "Acting I'm not that fussed about. It's fun. But I'm not that into it any more," he admits, adding that he's "never been convinced" by his own performances, particularly in The Office where he feels he appears to be "in a different show to everyone else."
Creative Influences and Idiosyncratic Vision
Small Prophets draws from diverse influences, ranging from surrealists like David Lynch and Michel Gondry to classic British sitcoms like The Good Life and Ever Decreasing Circles. Crook particularly values the "lack of cynicism, their lack of cruelty" in these older shows.
The series continues Crook's tradition of creating what he calls "sad escapism"—stories about lonely people to whom extraordinary things happen. "I've always been fascinated by stories of lonely people," he explains. "And I've also been fascinated by stories of ordinary people that something extraordinary happens to, and turns their life upside down."
This approach previously found success in Detectorists, which developed a devoted following thanks to what Crook attributes to BBC creative freedom. "It was so low stakes that they didn't have to meddle with it, they just let me go away and do whatever," he recalls. With Small Prophets, the stakes are "a little higher" due to the magic realism elements, but Crook maintains his commitment to unresolved narratives and authentic character development.
Technical Choices and Creative Philosophy
Notably, the homunculi in Small Prophets are created using stop-motion animation rather than CGI—a deliberate choice to evoke nostalgia and "put some magic into it." Crook, who doesn't believe in the supernatural, nevertheless maintains a fascination with unexplained phenomena dating back to childhood magazines about ghosts and spontaneous human combustion.
"I remember as a kid getting The Unexplained magazine—pictures of ghosts and spontaneous human combustion—and wanting to believe it, wanting stuff to exist that you can't explain," he reveals. This childhood fascination with magical possibilities informs his creative vision, blending the ordinary with the extraordinary to create what might indeed be his distinctive genre: gentle, magical comedy about lonely people finding unexpected connections.
Small Prophets represents another chapter in Mackenzie Crook's evolving creative journey—from the cringe comedy that made him famous to the gentle, magical storytelling that now defines his work. The series premieres on BBC Two, offering viewers another opportunity to experience Crook's unique blend of melancholy, magic, and subtle humour.
