With an emotional post recently, Russell Brand celebrates 20 years of sobriety. Russell Brand has written a moving post to mark the occasion of his 20th year clean and sober.
In order to overcome his addiction to alcohol and drugs, the comedian, actor, and self-described "public thought leader" checked himself into rehabilitation for treatment. On December 13, 2002, he quit drinking and using drugs for good.
The comedian, now 47 years old, stated that his decades of sobriety were very much the result of a team effort, and he expressed his gratitude toward everyone who had assisted him along this path.
“„I want to express my gratitude for all of the people that have helped me to remain clean and sober. It's never done on your own. In fact, even though it's often seen and celebrated as a personal achievement, it is in essence a community and spiritual achievement, because what I've been taught and shown is that it is impossible for a person like me to not drink and use drugs unless I have sufficient ongoing support from people that understand what it's like to feel that drugs or alcohol or certain behaviors are necessary in order to feel OK.- Russell Brand
But while not drinking or using drugs for twenty years is unquestionably a monumental accomplishment, Brand acknowledged that staying sober is an "ongoing process."
“„I still every day at 20 years without crack and heroin, without alcohol, I still feel strongly a a strong requirement to seek approval, or connection, or validation, or pleasure, or distraction from the outside world. So the first thing that I want to convey is that if you know someone who is a drug addict or an alcoholic and it seems just desperate and hopeless - I know loads of you do, and I know those of you are worried about someone you love, I know loads of you are addicts yourselves - and you feel like, 'Oh, God, it's just hopeless,' well that's not true, it is possible to change.- Russell Brand
After having been married to Katy Perry from 2010 to 2012, Brand is now happily married to his second wife, Laura Gallacher, and the couple has welcomed two children into the world. Brand expressed his gratitude for the life he now possesses, saying that he is thankful for the family he has.
“„If you know someone who's a drug addict, or an alcoholic, or an addict of any description, there is a way back for them. There's a way back to dignity, there's a way back to behaving responsibly, and caringly. Those things are all possible, and I'm grateful that I've been given the chance to live a different life.- Russell Brand
Russell Edward Brand is an English comedian and actor known for his flamboyant, loquacious style and manner. Brand has won three British Comedy Awards: Best Newcomer (2006), Best Live Stand-Up (2008), and Outstanding Contribution to Comedy (2010). (2011).
After starting out as a comedian and later becoming an MTV presenter in the UK, Brand landed a role as the host of Big Brother's Big Mouth, a Big Brother spin-off, in 2004.
His first major film role was in St Trinian's in 2007, and the following year he landed a major role in the romantic comedy-drama Forgetting Sarah Marshall; the film led to him starring in a spin-off, the rock comedy Get Him to the Greek, alongside Jonah Hill in 2010.
He also provided voice work for the animated films Despicable Me, Hop, and Despicable Me 2 in 2010, as well as the title character in the 2011 remake of the romantic comedy Arthur. Messiah Complex, his successful stand-up special, was released in 2013.
Since guest-editing an issue of the British political weekly New Statesman in 2013, Brand has gained a reputation as a public activist and campaigner, speaking on a variety of political and cultural issues such as wealth inequality, addiction, corporate capitalism, climate change, and media bias.
In 2014, he launched his political-comedy web series The Trews, published his book Revolution, and began work with Michael Winterbottom on a documentary about financial inequality.
Brand has received extensive media coverage and controversy throughout his career for issues such as his promiscuity, drug use, and political views, his outrageous behavior at various award ceremonies, his dismissal from MTV and resignation from the BBC, and his two-year marriage to American singer Katy Perry.
Many of his controversial public acts have been incorporated into his comedic material. Brand: A Second Coming, a biographical documentary, was released in 2015.
Russel stated his last emotional message saying:
“„I'm a father now, I'm a husband now. I don't live in the reckless, dangerous, selfish way that I used to live. What's more complicated is that what begins as a journey of letting go of alcohol and drugs ultimately becomes a quest to to overcome some culturally validated problems that I think more people than just you know, bog standard - as I've been described - drug addicts experience. And that is the idea that you can wrestle satisfaction and pleasure and meaning out of this world.- Russell Brand