Russell Brand

Russell Edward Brand (born 4 June 1975) is an English comedian, actor, presenter, activist, and campaigner.

He established himself as a standup comedian and radio host before becoming a film actor.

Brand attended Grays School and in 1991, he was accepted to the Italia Conti Academy, and had his first year of tuition funded by Essex County Council.

After his first year at Italia Conti Academy, Brand was expelled for illegal drug use and poor attendance.

Brand has said that he was sexually abused by a tutor.

Brand performed stand-up at the Hackney Empire New Act of the Year final in 2000.

Although he finished fourth, his performance attracted the attention of Bound and Gagged Comedy Ltd agent Nigel Klarfeld.

That year, he also made his Edinburgh Festival Fringe debut as one-third of the stand-up show Pablo Diablo's Cryptic Triptych, alongside ventriloquist Mark Felgate and Anglo-Iranian comic Shaparak Khorsandi.

Following the allegations, a further report of an alleged sexual assault was made against him to the Metropolitan Police, dating from 2003.

Brand has denied all of the allegations.

Russell Edward Brand was born in Orsett Hospital in Grays, Essex, England.

He is the only child of Barbara Elizabeth (née Nichols) and photographer Ronald Henry Brand.

Brand's parents separated when he was six months old, and he was raised by his mother.

When Brand was 8, his mother was diagnosed with uterine cancer and then breast cancer one year later.

While she underwent treatment, Brand lived with relatives.

When he was 14, he developed bulimia nervosa.

At age 16, Brand left home because of disagreements with his mother's partner.

He then started to use illegal drugs such as cannabis, amphetamines, LSD, and ecstasy.

Brand says he had a "strange relationship" with his father, whom he saw sporadically and who took him to visit prostitutes during a trip to Thailand when Brand was a teenager.

He made his theatrical debut at the age of 15 in a school production of Bugsy Malone, and then began work as a film extra.

After beginning his career as a comedian and later becoming an MTV presenter in the UK, in 2004 Brand gained a role as the host of the television show Big Brother's Big Mouth, a Big Brother spin-off.

In 2004, Brand took his first one-man show, the confessional Better Now, to the Edinburgh Festival, giving what he claimed was an honest account of his heroin addiction.

He returned the following year with Eroticised Humour.

He hosted his own radio show The Russell Brand Show (2006–2008, 2010, 2013, 2017) and also hosts the podcasts Stay Free with Russell Brand and Under the Skin with Russell Brand.

He has received three British Comedy Awards and a nomination for a BAFTA Award.

Over the course of his career, Brand has been the subject of frequent media coverage for issues such as his promiscuity, drug use, political views, provocative behaviour at various award ceremonies, his dismissal from MTV, and his resignation from the BBC amid a prank call controversy.

The allegations concern incidents between the years 2006 and 2013 and were featured in the episode Russell Brand: In Plain Sight.

He launched his first nationwide tour, Shame, in 2006.

Brand drew on embarrassing incidents in his own life and the coverage about him in the tabloid press.

The show was released on DVD as Russell Brand: Live.

Brand appeared in a sketch and performed stand-up at Amnesty International's Secret Policeman's Ball in 2006 and again at the 2012 edition at Radio City Music Hall.

He had his first major film role in British comedy St Trinian's (2007) before starring in the Hollywood comedies Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008), Get Him to the Greek (2010), Arthur (2011), and Rock of Ages (2012).

In March 2007, Brand co-hosted an evening of the Teenage Cancer Trust gigs with Noel Fielding.

In December 2007, Brand performed for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip as an act in the 2007 Royal Variety Performance.

He has released several stand-up specials including Scandalous (2009), Messiah Complex (2013), and Brandemic (2023).

Since guest-editing an edition of British political weekly New Statesman in 2013, Brand has become known as a public activist and campaigner, and has spoken on a wide range of political and cultural issues, including wealth inequality, addiction, corporate capitalism, climate change, and media bias.

In 2014, he launched his political-comedy web series The Trews on YouTube, released a book entitled Revolution, and acted in the documentary The Emperor's New Clothes.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Brand's YouTube channel underwent an increase in activity and change in political direction, and was accused of promoting COVID denialism and conspiracy theories by left-wing publications.

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In September 2023, following a joint investigation by The Times, The Sunday Times and Channel 4's documentary series Dispatches, five women publicly accused Brand of sexual assault and sexual and emotional abuse.