Dirty Sexy Funny

I've noticed there are a lot of photos of you in those fashion best and worst things on the Internet.
Yes. I rigidly adhere to a strict template: I dress like a superhero S&M scarecrow.

Do girls go for that?
It's been paying off huge dividends in the orgasm stakes so far — and there's a whole continent that has yet to be unpacked.

Guys are taking fashion notes right now.
It can work wonders if you have the persona for it.

What do you think has been your worst fashion mistake?
Well, in retrospect, a lot of things look ridiculous. I was looking at old MTV footage — my bloated face, drug-addled irises, the hair dye I was using, women's clothes. I think cross-dressing has to be undertaken with diplomacy and awareness.

You have very big rock & roll hair. How do you create that hairdo?
I release charisma through my scalp. It holds my hair up.

Does it get you closer to God?
You say that in jest, but the head of an extraterrestrial-worshipping cult once told me that extraterrestrials are communicating to us through our hair, so we should have long hair to act as transmitters. I was filming a show with him, and he had some interesting anecdotes. At one point, he told me that he'd gone and met his brothers — Mohammed, Buddha and Christ — on a spaceship where there are robots you can have sex with that look exactly like real women, but they don't have any feelings. Can you imagine how great that would be? And he goes, "We can introduce you to this girl." And I'm going, "Yeah, all right, let's go!" And the producer we were working with goes, "Russell, you can't fuck one of the aliens! It's really going to totally compromise the integrity of this program!"

With everything you've done in your past, are there any stories you've heard about yourself that aren't true?
Yes. Once there was a story saying, "Russell Brand was arrested for rampaging through the London underground with a sword." I thought, "Well, this is ridiculous! What on earth would I be doing on the underground? Once you can afford taxis, you can swing the sword out the window."

[From Issue 1061 — September 18, 2008.]

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• More from Issue 1061: What's So Funny? The New Golden Age of Comedy