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Um, who is Russell Brand? I know that he’s hosting the MTV Video Music Awards and that he played himself in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. And I read the profile on him in today’s New York Times. But it’s weird though. All that information, and I still don’t get it. He’s like the white Tyler Perry. WHO ARE YOU? WHAT IS ALL THIS? The difference of course being that Tyler Perry’s work escapes my understanding as it’s directly created for and marketed to a sub-section of the African American population to which i don’t belong, where as Russell Brand is RIGHT IN MY WHEELHOUSE and he’s BLOWING UP IN MY WHEELHOUSE. OK, so, he’s famous in the UK as a stand-up comedian, a television presenter, and now an auto-biographer. What, what, and what?
Let’s just take this one at a time. After the jump, a Videogum Field Guide to Russell Brand.
Russell Brand’s Booky Wook
It would seem at the moment like one of Russell Brand’s biggest achievements is the publication of his best-selling memoir, My Booky Wook. It hasn’t come out in the US yet, so it’s kind of useless as evidence. But I will say that maybe the reason Brand still confuses me as an international celebrity is because the last comedian to successfully publish a book in the United States was Paul Reiser in 1995 with Couplehood.
Russell Brand Interviews Adam Sandler
According to the Times profile, it was Russell Brand’s interview with Adam Sandler for his MTV Europe show 1 Leicester Square in which the two comedians bonded that led Sandler to promote Brand in the United States which led to Judd Apatow casting him in Forgetting Sarah Marshall which led to anyone in the United States even knowing who he is. It just goes to show that you should always treat people with respect because you never know if one of them is a famous comedian that you are interviewing for your show on MTV Europe.
Russell Brand Stand Up Comedy
Of course, we’re always told that Russell Brand is a stand up comedian, but to the best of my knowledge his work has not been widely disseminated in the United States. Has it? Am I missing something? I could be missing something. I’m always missing things. In college I majored in Out of the Loop with a minor in Unaware. Anyway here he is doing stand up comedy. Bully.
Russell Brand on The Tonight Show
But here is the part where I get lost. If his book isn’t available in the United States and his show on MTV is only broadcast in Europe and his stand up comedy specials aren’t widely seen in America, then how is he all of a sudden famous just for being himself? I’m not knocking him for it. Jolly good show guvnah for him. I hope he’s getting paid in Euros. But it’s weird that he’s sort of grandfathered in as a famous personality who’s main schtick is just riffing on what it’s like to be him. So here we are, forty hours of YouTube evidence deep, and I’m still as baffled by the Russell Brand enigma as ever. He’s funny, although I have a soft spot in my heart made of clotted cream for the smirking wit of the British, so it’s hard to dissect the jokes from the wink and the accent. Perhaps we will never know who he is or what is the deal with him.
Perhaps we don’t need to.
Russell Brand with Ricky Gervais
Just a bonus clip of Russell Brand palling around with Ricky Gervais. I don’t know what this proves other than that famous people continue to know each other.
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British Dane Cook
I just had to reply to possibly the most ludicrous statement I’ve seen in a while by the clown who thinks he’s the british Dane Cook. For F*cks sake, Dane Cook is an absolutely shit comedian, devoid of any talent.
Russell Brand is a brilliant comedian, who possesses a quick, sharp mind and is able to articulate himself expertly. Yes he has an extravagant appearance, but beneath it all lies a deep, fascinating individual. Simply put, he’s a bit of a legend.
Your WHEELHOUSE is so impressive, it should be called a WHEELMANSION. Up in here, up in here.
he’s totally trying to be Tim Minchin in that headshot.
I will admit that I actually do like Russell Brand. The reason I found out about him was from watching a british quiz show he was on while I was avoiding homework last year. I looked up a lot of his videos on youtube after that and I thought they were funny, but I mostly like him because of his radio show he does with his friend Matt Morgan.
I really really hope you’re talking about the Big Fat Quiz of the Year, because that was my favorite thing. Russell Brand and Noel Fielding on a quiz show team together? Yes please?
I’m an American and I seriously love Russell Brand. And I haven’t seen Forgetting Sarah Marshall, so it has nothing to do with that movie (for the longest time I didn’t even know he was in it). He’s just hilarious. That’s all you have to know about him.
Yes, it was Big Fat Quiz of the Year! I’m american too, but I saw a clip of it and thought it was really funny. I think once he said “D. Walliams tricks a nation into believin’ he ain’t gay by swimming across a channel” I was in love.
On TV, he’s just an above-average comedian, but his radio show is consistently one of the funniest things I’ve ever experienced.
There’s a podcast every week, but you can get all the shows (without music or news) here: http://www.russellbrandradioshows.zoomshare.com/0.html
I kept seeing him on those MTV VMA ads and researched him this morning, too. So, your article was almost perfectly timed for me. Is the schtick that he actually looks and dresses like Jesse Camp? I thought in those ads that he was playing a character. Does he play a character in Forgetting Sarah Marshall (haven’t seen it) or is he just himself?
I did read a fun excerpt of his book about taking his drug dealer and son to MTV on 9/12, smoking crack in the bathroom, and then going on dressed as Osama Bin Ladin. He was fired a few days later.
I don’t see what the big deal is in regards to “who is he?” Is there something wrong about him having been in a movie and appearing on talk shows? Sure, he’s a left-field choice for the VMAs, but I have to give them credit for not just giving the host duties to Diddy or someone like that.
I just assumed he was Johnny Depp playing a new character.
Freaky!!!!!!!!!