Ricky Gervais is paying tribute to his “beautiful” canine co-star in TV series After Life .
The Office and Extras star revealed on Wednesday (22 January) that the German shepherd who played his on-screen dog Brandy in the Netflix show has died.
Gervais said that he “hit it off straight away” with Vislor Antilly, who made the show his “favourite filming experience of all time”.
Vislor Antilly, also known as Anti, appeared in all 18 episodes of After Life, a show about a man grieving his wife’s death. In the show, Brandy helps Gervais’s suicidal character Tony come to terms with his loss.
Anti also appeared in Hollywood films Edge of Tomorrow and The Midnight Sky, which was directed by and starred George Clooney, as well as British TV shows Doc Martin and The Capture.
But it was After Life her owners considered her crowning achievement, with her bio reading: “Vislor Antilly is an animal actor, stunt performer and charity advocate. She played Brandy in After Life by Ricky Gervais and has a very silly tummy.”
The canine’s owners retired Anti in 2024 after a role in the ITV series Midsomer Murders.
News of Anti’s death was announced on an Instagram page dedicated to the dog, reading: “Vislor Antilly, After Life’s Brandy, has sadly passed away. We already miss her terribly. Sleep well xxx.
“She died peacefully at her home in Oxfordshire at the age of 13.”
Gervais wrote in response: “This is such sad news. Anti was a beautiful soul.” He then shared a photo of himself with Brandy, writing on his social media pages: “Sad News. Anti, who played Brandy in After Life, has died. She was 13 and a very good girl.”
In August 2024, the comedian celebrated an After Life milestone as the series became “the most-watched British sitcom in the world”.
Gervais added in a follow-up post: “The more successful you become, the more criticism you get. The more criticism you get, the more you work. The more you work, the more successful you become. Cheers.”
After Life started on Netflix in 2019 and ran for three seasons, the final one of which aired in 2022. The show co-starred Kerry Godliman, Tony Way, Tom Basden and Ashley Jensen.
