Gervais plays bit-part actor Andy Millman in Extras

Gervais, who co-wrote and starred in TV comedies The Office and Extras, will play a man convinced his awful film is going to bag an honour.

Written and directed by Spinal Tap star Christopher Guest, the film will also feature American Pie's Eugene Levy.

Filming is due to get under way in October, Gervais' spokesman confirmed.

Internet rumour

The comic's character commissions a film which is known to be dreadful, about the Deep South during the 1940s.

But an internet rumour begins that it is in the running for awards, and the cast are led to believe that glory days are just around the corner.

The action in the new film is expected to be widely improvised.

Guest, who also made the dog show spoof Best In Show, is married to actress Jamie Lee Curtis.

Gervais' US success

"We all know many people who have been through this reality, and how it changes them. This happens to be an area I know something about. It's a virus," Curtis told Variety magazine about Hollywood's awards season.

Gervais became well-known in the US after he won two Golden Globe awards for The Office in 2004.

Several Hollywood stars - including Samuel L Jackson and Ben Stiller - featured in the first series of his BBC Two comedy Extras.

It deals with the lives of bit-part actors who are envious of more established stars and their careers.