The rise and fall of Russell Brand, shapeshifting sexual predator

Detailed summary

After decades of trading on chaos and casting himself as an untamed spirit, a London court exposes the reality behind the comic facade.

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Many years ago, Russell Brand’s career in the public eye began with an arrest. He denied all charges, of course. “I was never there!” the then-teenager cried, as a policeman read him his rights. Brand flounced onto his unmade bed. “I can’t believe this is happening,” he sulked. “Well, it is,” came the response, “so get your brain in gear.”

That was 1994. Brand was appearing as “Billy” in an episode of The Bill. At the time he was an aspiring actor who’d recently been expelled from the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts for truancy and drug use. This was his first major screen role.

Billy was just a character, of course, but as a cocky, unkempt, oddly charismatic man-child with a knack for refusing to admit wrongdoing, he also served as a useful introduction to the man playing him.

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