Russell Brand And The British Invasion Of Hollywood

Russell Brand has come a long way since showing his willy on T4, or something. With the release of ARTHUR, he officially becomes a Hollywood leading man. And he is the latest in, what lazy journalists such as myself call, the British Invasion of Hollywood. For long gone are the days of British actors being drafted in as villains in the hope that some credibility might rub off on an otherwise generic action movie. Well, that still happens. Mark Strong seems to have cornered that market.

But now, well sir. We’re providing comic leads, thespians and superheroes. Proper superheroes! In 2012, Christian Bale (THE FIGHTER, THE DARK KNIGHT), returns as Batman in THE DARK KNIGHT RISES. Also that year, THE AMAZING SPIDERMAN will take the form of the ridiculously pretty Andrew Garfield (THE SOCIAL NETWORK, NEVER LET ME GO) and after that, Superman himself, THE MAN OF STEEL, will be played by Henry Cavill (THE TUDORS). This is a strange new phenomenon, as not many would have predicted three of the most iconic American superheroes would be played by British actors, but it seems to be working out. Bale is arguably the best Batman since Adam West Bat-danced off into the sunset, Garfield proved that his acting is even more amazing than his bonestructure in THE SOCIAL NETWORK, and Cavill… Well. I’ve not actually seen THE TUDORS, but he sure is a handsome devil. And I would.

But keeping up with tradition, both Batman and Spiderman face British antagonists in their future outings. The Dark Knight does battle with Tom Hardy’s Bane, while Spidey takes on Rhys Ifans as The Lizard. Hardy’s profile has been on the ascent of late, from BRONSON (2008) through INCEPTION (2010) to this years WARRIOR and TINKER, TAILOR SOLDIER, SPY. He even played a villain in STAR TREK: NEMESIS (2002) opposite fellow Brit Patrick Stewart. But his career will skyrocket next year as gimp-faced, roid-rager, Bane. Rhys Ifans (MR. NICE GUY, HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PT. 1)has hitherto been a key Hollywood supporting player. But, like Hardy, he will find his face on posters the world over when he portrays Dr. Connors, AKA The Lizard in THE AMAZING SPIDERMAN.

They follow in a long line of British actors chewing the scenery as silver screen swines. In superhero movies alone, theres been one hell of a roll call;

X-MEN – Sir Ian McKellen as Magneto

X-MEN II – Brian Cox as Col. William Stryker

X-MEN III – Vinnie Jones as The Juggernaut (bitch!)

THOR – Tom Hiddleston as Loki (directed by fellow Brit Kenneth Branagh)

KICK-ASS – Mark Strong as Frank D’Amico (and presumably the antagonist in GREEN LANTERN II)

The list goes back to my all-time favourite, Terence Stamp in SUPERMAN II (1980) as the regal and hilariously bored General Zod. But that’s just superohero films. Here’s a brief Rogues Gallery of other Brit gits.

Mark Strong (again) – ROBIN HOOD, SHERLOCK HOLMES, STARDUST

Alan Rickman – DIE HARD, ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES, SWEENY TODD

Sean Bean – GOLDENEYE, NATIONAL TREASURE, THE ISLAND

Tim Roth – PLANET OF THE APES, THE INCREDIBLE HULK, ROB ROY

Jeremy Irons – THE LION KING, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE

Jason Isaacs – HARRY POTTER, PETER PAN, THE PATRIOT

Alfred Molina – SPIDERMAN II, CHOCOLAT, THE SORCERERS APPRENTICE

Ben Kingsley – THUNDERBIRDS, SEXY BEAST, PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME.

Ralph Feinnes – SCHINDLER’S LIST, HARRY POTTER, RED DRAGON.

But Russell Brand is yet to find his way into that particular hall of fame. He has carved out a niche as a comic lead, most famously as Aldous Snow in the Judd Apatow comedies FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL and GET HIM TO THE GREEK. He even appeared as Alfred Molina’s clowning sidekick, Trinculo, in THE TEMPEST, directed by Julie Taymor and starring the most beloved British thesp in the whole world, Helen Mirren. Interestingly, she played Brand’s nanny, Hobson, in ARTHUR and Prospera in THE TEMPEST, both parts originally portrayed by men. This shows how much confidence Hollywood studios have in Mirren, as they’re not exactly known providing great parts for women.

Both Mirren and Brand have shown their comedic chops, and they’re not alone. The British Invasion has been as much about the mirth makers as well as RSC members hamming it up in order to fund local theatre/pay for a new conservatory. Simon Pegg (SPACED, STAR TREK) Sacha Baron Cohen (DA ALI G SHOW, TALLADEGA NIGHTS: THE BALLAD OF RICKY BOBBY) and Ricky Gervais (THE OFFICE, SPY KIDS 4: ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD) have found their way from British sitcoms to the Hollywood A-List.

It’s unlikely that Gervais or Pegg ever expected to become Hollywood funny magnets, what with their respective shows and brands of humour being so specifically English. But America embraced their quaint, British everyman personas, and along with Cohen, their particular talent for cringe inducingly awkward scenarios. This mirrored a similar comedic style favoured by Steve Carrell and Larry David, as well as SNL alumni Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader. So much so that their careers and cliques seemed to have crossed over, with films like PAUL and the INVENTION OF LYING. Pegg himself was almost instantly cast as the lead in HOW TO LOSE FRIENDS AND ALIENATE PEOPLE as well as supporting roles in JJ Abrams’ MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III and STAR TREK. Pegg’s running buddy (the one who isn’t Jessica Hynes) Edgar Wright is also making a name for himself out in Tinseltown. He directed Pegg in SHAUN OF THE DEAD and HOT FUZZ, two British movies with American funding. So impressed were Universal, that they signed him up to helm the adaptation of cult graphic novel SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD. His writing is also in demand, as he was hired by Steven Spielberg to re-draft the screebnplay for the new TIN TIN movie, THE SECRET OF THE UNICORN, which he has done alongside Joe Cornish. You may remember him as being one half of comedy duo Adam & Joe, but this year he wrote and directed his first movie. ATTACK THE BLOCK was a stunning sci-fi adventure costing less than George Lucas’ custom Jar-Jar Binks belt buckle, and Hollywood sat up and took notice. He soon made it onto the shortlist to direct DIE HARD 5, and there are certainly great things ahead for Dr. Sexy (his nickname on his BBC 6 Music show, check out the podcasts, they’re brilliant).

So Russell Brand is in esteemed company. And for every great British thespian already in the Hollywood elite (Jim Broadbent, Judi Dench, Emma Thompson) there is a new generation of strong young actors (Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley, Dominic Cooper) ready to assume the award collecting duties. Oh and some bloke named Colin Firth who seems to be doing alright for himself. ARTHUR may not be OSCAR bait, but its just the beginning for this particular Brand.

ARTHUR is available on Blu-ray™, Triple Play, DVD and Digital Download on 19th September 2011.