Name	Russell Brand
Height
Naionality	England
Date of Birth	4 June 1975
Place of Birth	British
Famous for

Russell Brand was born in Grays, Essex, England, the only child of Barbara Elizabeth (née Nichols) and Ronald Henry Brand, a photographer. His parents separated when Brand was six months old. His mother raised him on her own, giving Brand a somewhat isolated and lonely childhood. Before Brand turned 17, his mother suffered three bouts of cancer. Brand also stated during an interview on National Public Radio's Weekend Edition Saturday that he had "a strange relationship with his father, whom he saw sporadically and who took him to visit prostitutes during a trip to the Far East".

Brand made his theatrical debut at the age of 15 playing "Fat Sam" in a school production of Bugsy Malone, which prompted him to become an actor. He began working as an extra and applied to study at the Italia Conti Academy. He was accepted, and Essex council funded his tuition for an introductory year, with potential funding for three additional years. Brand joined the academy in 1991. During this time he began smoking marijuana, became bulimic, and eventually took LSD. Brand was expelled during his introductory year for his behaviour. Afterward, Brand had small acting roles in the children's show Mud and in The Bill. Then in 1995, Brand applied for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and Drama Centre London and was accepted to Drama Centre. By this point he was a heroin addict and an alcoholic. He was expelled in the final term of his last year for smashing a glass over his head and then stabbing himself in the chest and arms because of poor reactions to one of his performances. After leaving Drama Centre, Brand decided to focus on comedy and began writing material with Karl Theobald, whom he met at Drama Centre. They formed a short-lived double act, Theobald and Brand on Ice.