» Russell Brand interview
Dan Higgins talks to Russell Brand about Forgetting Sarah Marshall and his new found fame stateside
Did you work out for the film?
I tried to get a bit more fit, the script justified nipples.
Would you have played Jason Segal’s role?
With the willy out? Yeah. If people wanted to see it.
Do you marvel at his confidence?
Well there was a technique employed before the revelation. I did that… I was well into the fluffing.
How much of the role is you?
Well it’s similar, in a way, to me because of things like “ooh, I’m an alcoholic” and “ooh, I like to have it off”. You tend to get people similar to the roles you want them to play.
How much licence did you have over your own dialogue?
Loads! They let me ad-lib. Like the bit where Sarah is having a go at me and and I went “Yeah, well I f*cked the housekeeper”.
Does stand-up make you fearless when it comes to other things?
It provides a good schooling. I was very nervous on the first day of filming. Then I thought “God, you’ve done harder things than this , you’ve performed before the Queen of England dammit!” Princess Michael of Kent was one of the extras but I thought, “she hardly counts”.
How different was the original script when it came to you?
Vastly. For example, the bit with the flip flop the first time I come on. I thought that it’d be really good if when he’s meeting the ex-boyfriend, a situation that would embarrass most people, he’s not at all bothered…he’s just thinking about his shoe.
Do you think your character a nice guy?
I think he’s lovely. There are similarities between me and the character likewe have the same face and voice but there is also a clear distinction in his personality. He has a very different idea of attachment. Me, I’m a jealous person. I already consider all the women present in this hotel to be my personal possessions . Whereas he doesn’t give a monkeys about nothing. I really like that trait in people.
Do some people not quite get you in Hollywood?
No, they properly get me. The way I dress has resonance with… [receives tea – “Oh thank you, my God I’m like Judy Garland. My pills…thank you”] …the cultural uniform and England’s exports of the 60s: The Dickensian manner of my vernacular is also appealing.
Do you still plan to work in Britain?
Yeah, I love this country, my cat lives here and I don’t think he’d move. I don’t think he cares as much about me as he does the garden in truth.
Did it help that you weren’t well-known?
They didn’t know me at all so when I came into the audition dressed preposterously; they thought I was a mentally ill person.
Do you have a lady in your life?
No, I’m a single gentleman. It’s more in keeping with my lifestyle.
Is that measured in hours or weeks?
Haha, “I’m currently single, I had a wonderful girlfriend about five minutes ago. I don’t know where she is anymore. She doesn’t seem interested since I kicked her handbag out the window.”
