'A beautiful soul': Ricky Gervais heartbroken over death of After Life co-star
23 January 2025, 08:02
Ricky Gervais has paid tribute to his After Life character's dog following the animal's death at the age of 13.
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Vislor Antilly "Anti", a German shepherd, played Brandy through three seasons of the Netflix comedy about a local newspaper reporter dealing with the death of his wife.
Gervais said: "This is such sad news. Anti was a beautiful soul.
"We hit it off straight away and she helped make After Life my favourite filming experience of all time.
"I'm so glad that I told her a hundred times a day that she was a very good girl."
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Born April 2011 in Herefordshire, at the home of West Bromwich-based Vislor Dog Training Centre, Antilly was raised by trainers Travis and Ashley Foster, who appeared in Sir Christopher Nolan's Batman: The Dark Knight.
She visited them on set at 10 weeks old, and later went on to be in Tom Cruise film Edge Of Tomorrow, Michael Fassbender-starring Trespass Against Us and alongside George Clooney in The Midnight Sky.
Clooney went on to cast Antilly in the 2023 film he directed, The Boys In The Boat, and the dog also appeared in BBC's The Capture, ITV's Doc Martin and Britain's Got More Talent, and Channel 4's 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown.
Her final stunt on camera was released in July 2024 in the Midsomer Murders episode The Debt Of Lies, where she played a retired police dog who detains the murderer before retiring.
Antilly retired from film and TV after that, and lived in Oxfordshire.
A statement said: "Vislor Antilly, known to most people worldwide as Brandy, Ricky Gervais' loyal sidekick in the Netflix smash hit After Life, has passed away peacefully at her home in Oxfordshire at the age of 13."
In After Life, Gervais as local journalist Tony is often seen walking Brandy, who stops him from taking his own life.
The show began in 2019, and also starred David Bradley, Ashley Jensen, Tom Basden, Tony Way, Kerry Godliman, Roisin Conaty and Diane Morgan, before finishing with a third season in 2022.
