Russell Brand shot to fame in the U.S. in 2008 as the rocker Aldous Snow, starring with Jason Segel, in the hit comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall, produced by Judd Apatow. He reunited with Apatow to reprise the role in another hit comedy, Get Him to the Greek, starring opposite Jonah Hill.
Brand’s recent film credits include Arthur, opposite Helen Mirren, with whom he also starred in The Tempest, and Bedtime Stories, with Adam Sandler and Keri Russell. He also lent his voice to the Easter Bunny in Hop, opposite James Marsden, and to Dr. Nefario in the hit animated feature film Despicable Me. He is reprising the role in Despicable Me 2, opposite Steve Carell, Al Pacino and Kristen Wiig, which is set for release next summer, and just completed production on a drama written and directed by Diablo Cody, starring alongside Julianne Hough and Holly Hunter.
Brand will also host this year’s MTV Movie Awards. He has previously hosted MTV’s Video Music Awards (VMA), in 2008 and 2009.
Brand’s writing debut, My Booky Wook: A Memoir of Sex, Drugs, and Stand-Up, became a huge success in the United Kingdom. Subsequently published by Harper Collins in the U.S. in 2009, it stayed on the New York Times’ bestseller list for five weeks in a row. The follow up, My Booky Wook 2: This Time it’s Personal, was published by Harper Collins in October, 2010.
Brand’s third live DVD, of his 2009 stand-up tour, was released in November 2009 after originally airing on Comedy Central.
In 2010, Brand received the British Comedy Award for Outstanding Contribution to Comedy and was honored in 2011 with the ShoWest Award for Comedy Star of the Year.
This biography/filmography of Russell Brand is courtesy of Warner Brothers and the film, Rock of Ages
