# Please help identify this British comedian **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 8, 2009, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-identify-this-british-comedian/492417 "2009-04-08T19:26:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kaiwik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaiwik/32/3978_2.png) [@kaiwik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaiwik)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-identify-this-british-comedian/492417/1 "2009-04-08T19:26:40Z")
At least I believe that he is British. He’s a youngish, thin, wicked sense of humor, and has the worst hair style. His hair is mostly neat in front, but the back of his head is unkempt and looks as if something might be nesting in there. I saw him on _The Graham Norton Show_ a while back, and Comedy Central was advertising his special, but I think I missed it. For the life of me I cannot remember his name, does anyone know who I am thinking of? Sorry, this was supposed to go to Cafe Society, would someone please ask a mod to move it? ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-identify-this-british-comedian/492417/2 "2009-04-08T19:30:25Z")
[Russell Brand](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Brand), I reckon. ---
**Author:** ![kaiwik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaiwik/32/3978_2.png) [@kaiwik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaiwik)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-identify-this-british-comedian/492417/3 "2009-04-08T19:44:31Z")
Most excellent! That is indeed who I was thinking of, thank you very much! ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-identify-this-british-comedian/492417/4 "2009-04-08T23:16:25Z")
I’m familiar enough with Brand now that it doesn’t always occur to me, but sometimes I see a picture of him and I wonder to myself how he ever got a job with that haircut. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-identify-this-british-comedian/492417/5 "2009-04-09T09:32:37Z")
He was very good in the movie _Forgetting Sara Marshall_. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-identify-this-british-comedian/492417/6 "2009-04-09T10:19:57Z")
Mad hair + very tight trousers = Russell Brand. I saw him hosting/mediating a discussion show about teenagers and drugs. In that context he was surprisingly sensible, level headed and diplomatic, he’s obviously clever but given his usual Victorian-cockney-chimneysweep persona it was something to see. I saw him first on the Jonathan Ross show… In Victorian-cockney-chimneysweep voice: Well Jonathan, I got slightly addicted to ‘eroin. ---
**Author:** ![palindromemordnilap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/db5fbb/32.png) [@palindromemordnilap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/palindromemordnilap)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-identify-this-british-comedian/492417/7 "2009-04-09T14:40:39Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > He was very good in the movie _Forgetting Sara Marshall_. Yeah, he was the best thing in it. Actually it wasn’t a great movie otherwise, although it did get better near the end. Brand had a pretty good standup special on Comedy Central a few weeks ago too. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-identify-this-british-comedian/492417/8 "2009-04-09T14:50:56Z")
> [@palindromemordnilap](#): > > Yeah, he was the best thing in it. Actually it wasn’t a great movie otherwise, although it did get better near the end. > > Brand had a pretty good standup special on Comedy Central a few weeks ago too. Well we disagree on that. I thought it was funny from beginning to end. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-identify-this-british-comedian/492417/9 "2009-04-09T15:13:00Z")
Oh, god was he terrible hosting the VMAs, though. Worse than the Wayans brothers. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-identify-this-british-comedian/492417/10 "2009-04-09T15:16:57Z")
He was very funny and articulate and self-deprecating on NPR’s _Fresh Air_ recently (in part, promoting his new book My Booky Wook, which is apparently selling quite well). ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-identify-this-british-comedian/492417/11 "2009-04-09T15:25:49Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Oh, god was he terrible hosting the VMAs, though. Worse than the Wayans brothers. I beg to differ, he was the only thing worth watching on that sorry excuse for a show.