BRAND’S CONCERNS OVER ALCOHOL IN ARTHUR
RUSSELL BRAND fears his portrayal of a drunk in ARTHUR isn’t as light-hearted as DUDLEY MOORE’s original turn - because alcoholism is now viewed as a disease and not a "giggly and frivolous" matter.
The British funnyman stepped into Moore’s shoes to play the millionaire playboy in a remake of the iconic 1981 comedy, but admits it was a challenge to portray a booze-addled character when substance abuse is now considered taboo.
He tells Britain’s Independent newspaper, "Dudley’s performance really stands out because it wasn’t like it was a chilling portrayal of the horrors of alcoholism. It was really a device for clowning and facilitating physical comedy.
"But nowadays you have to address the fact that alcohol is a problem. Aldous Snow, the previous lunatic drunk I’ve played (in Forgetting Sarah Marshall), was a dark, bleak character, whereas Arthur is far more merry and twinkly. But I think that anyone who drinks that much is an alcoholic.
"Alcohol now is recognised as a disease and a social problem, not something we can be all giggly and frivolous about. So my own Arthur, whilst he’s still a raving alcoholic, he doesn’t get away with it in the way that Dudley did. In those days, clearly, it wasn’t a problem for people to be alcoholics. People were dying of alcoholism and it was considered fun."
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