Russell Edward Brand (born 4 June 1975) is an English comedian, actor, podcaster, and media personality. He was initially a stand-up comedian and radio and television presenter in the UK, where he rose to prominence as the host of Big Brother's Big Mouth, a spin-off of the reality television series Big Brother broadcast on E4. He had his first major film role in the British comedy St Trinian's (2007), after which he starred in the Hollywood comedies Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008), Get Him to the Greek (2010), Arthur (2011), and Rock of Ages (2012). He has released several stand-up specials, including Scandalous (2009), Messiah Complex (2013), and Brandemic (2023). 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 attracted frequent media coverage for his promiscuity, drug use, political views, provocative behaviour, dismissal from MTV, and resignation from the BBC amid a prank call controversy. Following his guest-editorship of an edition of the British political weekly New Statesman in 2013, Brand gained further prominence for his political and social activism, focusing on wealth inequality, drug addiction, corporate capitalism, climate change, and mainstream 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 experienced an increase in activity and a shift in political direction and was accused of promoting COVID denialism and conspiracy theories. 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. The allegations concern incidents between 2006 and 2013 and were featured in the Dispatches episode Russell Brand: In Plain Sight. Later, another allegation was made to the Metropolitan Police of a sexual assault in 2003. Brand has denied all of the allegations and promoted conspiracy theories regarding them. He was subsequently charged with multiple counts of rape, oral rape, indecent assault, and sexual assault, and his trial began in October 2026. Following the initial charges, three further allegations of sexual violence were reported to the Metropolitan Police. In addition, in April 2025, Brand was reported to be the subject of a civil lawsuit filed in New York state accusing him of sexual assault during the 2010 filming of Arthur, naming Warner Bros. Discovery and others as co-defendants.