Bio
Russell Brand
Russell Brand shot to fame in the U.S. in 2008 when he was seen as the rocker Aldous
Snow in the Judd Apatow produced comedy, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.” The film,
which was written by and starred Jason Segel, grossed $63 million at the domestic box
office.
That year also saw Mr. Brand star in the Disney film “Bedtime Stories,” which
also featured Adam Sandler and Keri Russell. It was in September of 2008 though that
Mr. Brand cemented his fame in the U.S. as host of the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards.
The following year saw the U.S. release of Mr. Brand’s writing debut, “My Booky
Wook.” The autobiography, already a huge success in the United Kingdom, went on
to stay on The New York Times bestseller list for five weeks in a row. Continuing his
stand-up tour in the U.S., Mr. Brand’s third live DVD was released after originally airing
on Comedy Central.
The year ended on an even brighter note for Mr. Brand, when he
assumed the role as host of the MTV Video Music Awards for the second year in a row
and garnered the biggest VMAs audience since 2004 with nearly 9 million viewers.
This
year has been a busy year for Mr. Brand with the release of the hit comedy “Get Him
to the Greek” in June. Being reunited with producer Judd Apatow, Mr. Brand starred
opposite Jonah Hill and reprised his iconic role as Aldous Snow. In July, he also lent his
voice to the role of Dr. Nefario in the hit animated feature film “Despicable Me” which
to date has garnered $118 million at the domestic box office and included the vocal
talents of Steve Carell and Jason Segel. Upcoming roles for Mr. Brand include the title
character in the remake of Arthur as well as the voice of Easter Bunny in “Hop” opposite
James Marsden set for release on Easter, 2011.
In addition to acting, Mr. Brand’s second
book Booky Wook 2: This Time It’s Personal was just released from It Books.
Dave Itzkoff
Dave Itzkoff is a reporter on the culture desk of The New York Times and the lead
contributor to ArtsBeat blog. He is the author of the memoir “Lads” and a; forthcoming
memoir, “Cocaine’s Son” and has written for numerous publications, including GQ,
Vanity Fair, Details, Wired, Elle, Spin, The New York Times Book Review and New
York magazine.
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