Russell Edward Brand
[1] (born 4 June 1975) is an English comedian, actor, columnist and presenter of radio and television. Brand achieved mainstream fame in the UK for presenting a Big Brother
spin-off, Big Brother's Big Mouth
, and for his radio show, among other television series and award ceremonies. He has also appeared in a number of films, including the romantic comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall
, St Trinian's
, and Bedtime Stories
. He is noted for his flamboyant style, and he has described himself as resembling "an S&M Willy Wonka". He is also noted for various controversies that have surrounded him in the British media, such as the 2008 prank calls that led to his resignation from the BBC.
|
RUSSELL BRAND TICKETS
|
Early life
Russell Brand was born in
Grays,
Essex,
England, the only child of Barbara Elizabeth (
née Nichols) and Ronald Henry Brand, a
photographer.
[2] His parents separated when Brand was six months old. His mother raised him on her own, giving Brand a somewhat isolated and lonely childhood.
[3] Before Brand turned 17, his mother suffered three bouts of
cancer. Brand also stated during an interview on
National Public Radio's
Weekend Edition Saturday
that he had "a strange relationship with his father, whom he saw sporadically and who took him to visit prostitutes during a trip to the
Far East".
[4]
Brand made his theatrical debut at the age of 15 playing
"Fat Sam"
in a
school production of
Bugsy Malone
, which prompted him to become an actor. He began working as an
extra and applied to study at the
Italia Conti Academy. He was accepted, and Essex council funded his tuition for an introductory year, with potential funding for three additional years. Brand joined the academy in 1991. During this time he began smoking marijuana, became
bulimic, and eventually took
LSD. Brand was expelled during his introductory year for his behaviour. Afterward, Brand had small acting roles in the children's show
Mud
and in
The Bill
. Then in 1995, Brand applied for the
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and
Drama Centre London and was accepted to Drama Centre. By this point he was a
heroin addict and an alcoholic. He was expelled in the final term of his last year for smashing a glass over his head and then stabbing himself in the chest and arms because of poor reactions to one of his performances. After leaving Drama Centre, Brand decided to focus on comedy and began writing material with
Karl Theobald, whom he met at Drama Centre. They formed a short-lived double act,
Theobald and Brand on Ice
.
Career
Stand-up
Brand's first significant stand-up appearance was at the
Hackney Empire New Act of the Year final in 2000. Although he finished fourth, his performance attracted the attention of an agent, Nigel Klarfeld of Gagged and Bound Comedy Ltd.
[5] That year, he also made his
Edinburgh debut as one-third of the stand-up show
Pablo Diablo's Cryptic Triptych
, alongside ventriloquist
Mark Felgate and Anglo-Iranian comic
Shappi Khorsandi.
Brand appeared in a sketch and performed stand-up at the 2006
Secret Policeman's Ball
. In March 2007, he co-hosted an evening of the Teenage Cancer Trust gigs with
Noel Fielding. In December 2007, Brand performed for
HM Queen Elizabeth II and
HRH Prince Philip as an act in the
2007 Royal Variety Performance. Back in 2004, he also took his first one-man show, the confessional
Better Now
to the Edinburgh Festival, giving an honest account of his heroin addiction. He returned the following year with
Eroticised Humour
. He launched his first nationwide tour,
Shame
, in 2006. Brand drew on embarrassing incidents in his own life and the
tabloid press's treatment of him since he became famous. The show was released on DVD as
Russell Brand: Live
. His second nationwide tour in 2007, was called
Russell Brand: Only Joking
and released on DVD as
Russell Brand: Doin' Life
.
While in the U.S., Brand began performing stand-up and recorded a special for
Comedy Central titled
Russell Brand in New York
, which aired in March 2009.
[6] Brand began touring the UK, America and Australia from January to April 2009 on a tour called
Russell Brand: Scandalous
.
[7]
Presenting
Brand's first presenting role came in 2000 as a
VJ on the music channel
MTV. He presented
Dance Floor Chart
, touring nightclubs in Britain and Ibiza, and hosted the teatime request show
Select
. However, Brand was fired after coming to work dressed as
Osama bin Laden the day after the
September 11, 2001 attacks and bringing his drug dealer to the MTV studios.
[8]After leaving MTV, Brand starred in
RE:Brand
, a British documentary and comedy television programme that aimed to take a challenging look at cultural taboos. It was conceived, written and hosted by Brand, with the help of his comic partner for many projects,
Matt Morgan. The series was shown on the now-defunct digital satellite channel
UK Play in 2002. In 2004, he hosted
Big Brother's Eforum
on
E4, a sister show to
Big Brother 5
. The show gave celebrity guests and the public the chance to have their say on the goings-on inside the
Big Brother
house. For
Big Brother 6
, the show's name changed to
Big Brother's Big Mouth
. Following
Celebrity Big Brother 5
, Brand said he would not return to host the
Big Brother 8
series of
Big Brother's Big Mouth
. In a statement, Brand thanked all the producers for "taking the risk of employing an ex-junkie twerp" to front the show. Of his time presenting the show, he said, "The three years I've spent on
Big Brother's Big Mouth
have been an unprecedented joy."
[9] Brand hosted a one-off special called
Big Brother According to Russell Brand
, in which Brand took a surreal, sideways look at
Big Brother
through the ages. On 8 January 2008, Brand was the fifth celebrity to "hijack" the Big Brother house,
[10] in the
E4 show
Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack
. Brand next returned to MTV in the spring of 2006 as presenter of the chat show
1 Leicester Square
, which initially aired at 8 p.m. on Sundays before being shifted to a post-watershed time of 10 p.m. on Mondays, allowing for a more adult-oriented theme. Guests have included
Tom Cruise,
Uma Thurman,
The Mighty Boosh, and
Boy George. A second series began in September 2006 on MTV UK. After
Big Brother 7
finished, Brand presented a debate show called
Russell Brand's Got Issues
, on digital channel
E4. The viewing figures for the first episode were seen as disappointing, being beaten by nearly all of E4's main multi-channel rivals despite a big publicity and promotional campaign for the show.
The poor ratings prompted the network to repackage the show as
The Russell Brand Show
and move it to
Channel 4.
[11]
The first episode was broadcast on 24 November on
Channel 4,
[12] and it ran for five weeks.
Brand presented the 2006
NME Awards. In response to his act,
Bob Geldof called him a "cunt," to which Brand replied, "Really it's no surprise he's [Geldof] such an expert on famine. He has after all been dining out on "
I Don't Like Mondays" for 30 years."
[13] Brand hosted the
2007 BRIT Awards and presented
Oasis with an "Outstanding Contribution to Music" award at the event.
[14] He also hosted one hour of
Comic Relief. On 7 July 2007, he presented at the
UK leg of
Live Earth at
Wembley Stadium, London.
On 12 December 2007,
BBC Four aired
Russell Brand On the Road
, a documentary presented by Brand and
Matt Morgan about the writer
Jack Kerouac and his novel
On the Road
. So Brand returned to Channel 4 to host
Russell Brand's Ponderland
, in which he discussed topics like childhood and science through stand-up comedy. The show first aired on 22 October 2007, and it continued for the next five nights. A second series began on 30 October 2008, drawing more than a million viewers, and was broadcast every Thursday night for four weeks, plus a Christmas special that aired in December.
Brand was later announced as the host of the 2008
MTV Video Music Awards, which drew skepticism from the American media, as he was relatively unknown to the American public. Brand's stint as host of the
2008 MTV Video Music Awards was not without controversy.
[15] At one point, he said the night "marked the launch of a very new
Britney Spears era," referring to it as "the resurrection of [Spears]." He also said, "If there was a female Christ, it's Britney."
[16] Brand implored the audience to elect
Democratic presidential candidate
Barack Obama and later called then–
U.S. President George W. Bush "a retarded cowboy fella," who, in England, "wouldn't be trusted with scissors."
[17] He made several references to the
purity rings worn by the
Jonas Brothers, but apologized for the comments later in the show.
[18] These comments lead to Brand receiving death threats by some offended viewers.
[19] Brand claimed that MTV asked him to host the 2009 awards after the ratings for the 2008 show were 20% up from the previous year.
[20] On July 14, 2009 MTV confirmed that Brand would host the 2009
MTV Video Music Awards [21]
Acting
In 2002, Russell Brand appeared on the TV shows
Cruise of the Gods
(although he was fired during filming) and
White Teeth
. In 2005, he played Tommy in the BBC sitcom
Blessed
, which was written and directed by
Young Ones
creator
Ben Elton. Brand auditioned for the part of
Super Hans in the
Channel 4 sitcom
Peep Show
, but was rejected by the writers in favor of
Matt King.
[22]Anyhow, next In 2007, Brand played a recovering crack addict called Terry in the pilot for the
ITV comedy
The Abbey
, written by
Morwenna Banks.
[23] The Abbey
was commissioned for a full series to be shown on
ITV2. Filming was scheduled to begin in January 2008, but the series has since been canceled. In 2008, Brand also appeared in
Cold Blood
for
ITV, playing an ex-con called Ally. He voiced the Earth Guardian in
Robbie the Reindeer in Close Encounters of the Herd Kind
. Brand had a small role in the 2006 movie
Penelope
, though his first major film role was as
Flash Harry in the 2007 film
St Trinian's
. It is not known whether he will reprise the role for the upcoming sequel,
St Trinian's: The Legend of Fritton's Gold
. His breakthrough role was in the 2008 film
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
, in which he played Aldous Snow, the boyfriend of the title character (played by
Kristen Bell). Brand received rave reviews for his performance as Snow, and he revealed the character was changed from an author to a rock star because of his audition.
[24] He will again play the character of Aldous Snow for a buddy comedy titled
Get Him to the Greek
, co-starring
Jonah Hill.
[25] He is reuniting with
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
director
Nicholas Stoller and producer
Judd Apatow for the film.
[26] It is described in
Variety Magazine
as a "very dirty take on
Almost Famous
".
Brand starred alongside
Adam Sandler in the
Disney film
Bedtime Stories
, which was released on Christmas Day 2008.
[27] Sandler has cast Brand in another film and will produce yet another, co-written by Brand and Matt Morgan, about a con-man posing as a priest; it is tentatively titled
Bad Father
.
[28] [29] Brand will appear in
Julie Taymor's version of William Shakespeare's
The Tempest as Trinculo.
[30] Brand will also appear in an
Oliver Stone film,
[31] and he is in talks to star as the title character in a remake of
Arthur
,
[32] written by
Peter Baynham and a remake of
Drop Dead Fred
.
[33]
Radio
Brand's radio career began in early 2002, when he hosted a Sunday afternoon show with Matt Morgan on London's Indie Rock station
Xfm. Brand was fired from the job after reading pornographic material live on-air.
Brand co-hosted
The Russell Brand Show
beginning in April 2006 on
BBC 6Music. In November 2006, the show transferred to
BBC Radio 2 and aired on Saturdays from 9–11 p.m. The show regularly drew about 400,000 listeners.
[34] In an episode of the show broadcast on 18 October 2008, Brand and fellow Radio 2 DJ
Jonathan Ross made
a series of phone calls to the actor
Andrew Sachs that crudely discussed the actor's granddaughter. Sunday tabloid
The Mail on Sunday
broke the story and regarded the phone calls as obscene. Both presenters were later suspended by the BBC due to the incident,
[35] and Brand resigned from his show.
[36] [37] The BBC was later fined £150,000 by Britain's broadcast regulator for airing the calls.
[38]
Brand returned to radio when he and
Noel Gallagher hosted a football talk show on April 19, 2009 for
talkSPORT. Gallagher said on-air that they would team up again for talkSPORT after Oasis finish their tour in October. The special led to a 250% boost in web traffic for TalkSport.
[39] [40]
Writings
Since May 2006, Brand has written a column for
The Guardian
that focuses on his admiration of
West Ham United and the
England national football team. A collection of the columns from May 2006 through June 2007 was released on 15 November 2007 in a book titled
Irons in the Fire
.
[41] A second collection of the columns for the 2007–08 season was released on 16 October 2008, titled
Articles of Faith
. The book also includes Brand interviewing Noel Gallagher, James Corden and David Baddiel about football.
[42]
Brand's autobiography,
My Booky Wook
, published by
Hodder & Stoughton, was released on 15 November 2007 and received favorable reviews.
The Observer
commented that "Russell Brand's gleeful tale of drugs and
debauchery in
My Booky Wook
puts most other celebrity memoirs to shame."
[43] Brand began writing his second memoir. The release date was set for October 2009 but has now been pushed back to Autumn 2010.
[44] [45]
Brand signed a £1.8 million two-book deal with
HarperCollins in June 2008. The first book was
Articles of Faith
, with the second expected to be released in 2009.
[46] [47]
Music
Brand recorded a cover of
The Beatles song "
When I'm Sixty-Four" with
Grammy Award–winning composer
David Arnold for the
40th anniversary of
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
. He contributed two songs to the soundtrack of the 2008 film
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
as Aldous Snow, lead singer of the fictional band "Infant Sorrow".
[48]
Personal life
Brand lives in
Hampstead, London,
[49] with his cat, which he named after the singer
Morrissey, of whom Brand is a big fan.
[50]
He has been a
vegetarian since the age of 14,
[51] and is a fan of
football and a supporter of
West Ham United; Brand says that his love of football is "intrinsically about my relationship with my father."
[52] He dresses in a flamboyant
bohemian fashion, describing himself as looking like an "
S&M Willy Wonka."
[53] He has
bipolar disorder,
[54] and he has suffered from
bulimia in the past.
He also went through a period of
self-harm.
[55]
Brand is a former
heroin and
sex addict and a recovering
alcoholic. He has had numerous run-ins with the police, having been arrested 11 times.
[56] During the time of his addiction, he was known for his debauchery. Brand was ejected from
The Gilded Balloon in Edinburgh,
[57] and he infamously introduced his drug dealer to
Kylie Minogue during his time at MTV.
[58] He has abstained from drug use since 2002 and is now a patron of the addiction charity
Focus 12
.
[59] His abandonment of drugs and alcohol was instigated by his agent,
John Noel, after Brand was caught taking heroin in a bathroom during his Christmas party.
[60] Brand regularly attends
AA and
NA meetings.
[61]
After a string of high-profile relationships, Brand developed a reputation in the media as a ladies' man. His dating life won him
The Sun
s Shagger Of The Year award in 2006,
[62] 2007,
[63] and 2008. The award has been renamed "The Russell Brand Shagger Of The Year Award" in honour of Brand having won three years in a row.
[64]
In January 2009, Brand and several other celebrities wrote to
The Independent (as supporters of the
Hoping Foundation) to condemn Israel's assault on Gaza and the "cruel and massive loss of life of the citizens of Gaza".
[65]
In February 2009, Brand and several other entertainers wrote to
The Times defending
Bahá'í leaders then on trial in
Iran.
[66]
In April 2009 he attended the
2009 G-20 London summit protests and spoke to the press.
[67] [68]
Filmography
Year
| Film
| Role
| Note
|
2007
| St Trinian's
| Flash Harry
|
|
2008
| Penelope
| Sam
|
|
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
| Aldous Snow
|
|
Bedtime Stories
| Mickey
|
|
2009
| The Tempest
| Trinculo [69]
| post-production
|
2010
| Get Him to the Greek
| Aldous Snow [70]
| post-production
|
Despicable Me
[71]
| TBA (voice)
| post-production
|
2011
| Drop Dead Fred
| Drop Dead Fred
| In Development
|
Arthur
| Arthur Bach
| In Development
|
I Hop
| Easter Bunny (voice)
| pre-production
|
Awards
Year
| Ceremony
| Award
| Result
|
2006
| Time Out
| Best Stand-Up
| Won
[72]
|
2006
| Loaded Laftas
| Best Stand-Up
| Won
[73]
|
2006
| British Comedy Awards
| Best Newcomer
| Won
[74]
|
2007
| 33rd Annual Television and Radio Awards
| Best Television Performer In A Non-Acting Role
| Won
[75]
|
2007
| Channel 4
| 100 Greatest Stand-Ups
| 69th
[76]
|
2008
| British Book Awards
| Biography of the Year
| Won
[77]
|
2008
| British Comedy Awards
| Best Live Stand-Up
| Won
[78]
|