Russell Brand comes of age

Russell Brand talks about his latest film Arthur.

LOS ANGELES:

Thirty years after actor Dudley Moore brought the world Arthur, Russell Brand breathes new life into the drunken playboy, in what could be called a coming of age for the recently-married British actor.

The original Arthur took nearly $100 million at the US box office and won two Oscars in 1981: Best supporting role for John Gielgud and best song for the Burt Bacharach theme tune “Best That You Can Do”.

With the remake out last month, Brand says he was aware of what he had to live up to in his performance.

“Arthur is a lovely film and Dudley Moore’s performance is iconic. So not pressure, but duty. And it’s a duty that we took very seriously,” the flamboyant former stand-up comedian said.

“I know the movie very well, it was one of my favourites when I was a kid. It was more a privilege than pressure.”

Arthur is a young millionaire playboy too busy partying in New York, accumulating romantic conquests or simply getting too drunk to pay much attention to his family’s honour.

But he is forced to take his duties seriously when his mother pushes him to marry the wealthy and suitable Susan, played by Jennifer Garner, just as he discovers true love in the arms of big-hearted but poor Naomi (Greta Gerwig).

It is a role that fits Brand like a glove — he married US pop singer Katy Perry last November, seemingly turning his back on a hitherto colourful life of debauchery, booze, sex and drug addiction.

“I’m also a producer of the movie so I was involved in some way. It’s a remake of a classic tale. If I did it it’s probably because what happens here also happened in my own life,” said Brand, 35.

“I’ve fallen in love, gotten married and necessarily grown up. So yes, I can see why at the moment I may be able to resonate with those things. I think these are important things in movies in general, the idea of becoming a man.”

“I Kissed a Girl” star Perry played a crucial role in ending Brand’s extended adolescence. “I think falling in love and getting married contributed hugely. I changed a great deal as a result of that,” he said.

In the film, Arthur also has a guardian angel. In the remake it is his governess, played by Oscar-winning fellow Helen Mirren.

“There’s no one else that could have played it more expertly than Helen. It’s more fun when someone confounds your expectations,” said Brand.

“No one would have imagined that she is as mischievous as she actually is. So that was a real thrill. I took great delight in tormenting [Mirren]. It was really good to change things and say peculiar things.”

‘The film also proved to be a learning experience’

“I learned a lot on this movie from the director. I learned so much from working with such brilliant actors,” said Brand.

Mirren, speaking at a press conference to present the film before its release, called the experience an “education”.

“I was someone who was learning stuff. I’ve never done a film that is called a comedy before,” she said.

“It was one of the reasons I really wanted to do the film and I was very lucky that I was working with such brilliant and experienced people in the world of comedy.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 11^th, 2011.