Russell Brand

Until recently, many American fans have known Russell Brand only as the edgy comedian who wrote a best-selling memoir, My Booky Wook, hosted MTV’s Video Music Awards last year and filmed a stand-up special for Comedy Central, Russell Brand in New York City, due to be released on DVD tomorrow.

America also caught Russell Brand in his co-starring role as rocker Aldous Snow in the movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall, a character modeled after Brand himself, which sparked some speculation that little actual acting was required of Brand for the part. Having done two years of high school drama, including playing the female lead in the senior class production of I Never Sang For My Father, it is my professional opinion that, if anything, it would be even more difficult to play a part based on one’s self. But in any case, what many Americans don’t realize is that Russell Brand is a classically-trained actor with many years of acting experience under his belt.

For the uninitiated, here is a series of clips of Russell Brand in a role on the UK crime drama Cold Blood. Brand plays “Ally,” a character about as far as can be from the Russell Brand we all know and love.