Russell Brand

Actor / Comedian

Date Of Birth:

4 June 1975

Place Of Birth:

Grays, England

Russell Brand is a British comedian and actor whose success spread from United Kingdom radio and television to big-time Hollywood movies such as Get Him to the Greek. Brand became a popular host on the airwaves between 2006 and 2008 on the radio show The Russell Brand Show, and on the TV reality-show spin-off Big Brother’s Big Mouth. Known for his scandalous remarks, skinny pants and riot of teased hair, Brand made the most of his newfound fame by publishing a memoir of sorts in 2007. My Booky Wook: A Memoir of Sex, Drugs and Stand-Up was a comic confessional that enhanced his reputation as outrageous, and its success led to more television roles and, in 2008, a small role in the Judd Apatow comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall (with Kristen Bell). Apatow also cast him in the 2010 Jonah Hill comedy Get Him to the Greek in what turned into a busy year for Brand. He hosted American awards shows, lent his voice to the animated feature Despicable Me, appeared with Helen Mirren in The Tempest and, on 23 October 2010, married pop singer Katy Perry. (He filed for divorce on 30 December 2011, after 14 months of marriage.) Russell Brand’s other films include the animated feature Hop (2011) and the comedy re-make Arthur (2011).

Extra Credit:

Russell Brand resigned from The Russell Brand Show in 2008 after thousands of listener complaints over a prank gone awry. Brand left a series of insulting messages on the answering machine of 78 year-old British actor Andrew Sachs, whom he had failed to reach for an interview. Brand later admitted that he’d gone beyond the bounds of good taste and apologized.