Thirty years after Dudley Moore brought the world ‘Arthur,’ Russell Brand breathes new life into the drunken playboy, in what could be called a coming of age for the recently-married British actor. The original ‘Arthur’ took nearly $100 million at the US box office and won two Oscars in 1981: best supporting role for John Gielgud and best song for the Burt Bacharach theme tune ‘Best That You Can Do.’ With the remake, out Friday in the United States before its release in Europe and Asia, Brand says he was aware of what he had to live up to in his performance. “‘Arthur’ is a lovely film and Dudley Moore’s performance is iconic. So not pressure, but duty. And it’s a duty that we took very seriously,” the flamboyant former stand up comic told in Beverly Hills. Arthur is a young millionaire playboy too busy partying in New York, accumulating romantic conquests or simply getting drunk to pay much attention to his family’s honor. But he is forced to take his duties seriously when his mother pushes him to marry the wealthy and suitable Susan, played by Jennifer Garner, just as he discovers true love in the arms of big-hearted but poor Naomi (Greta Gerwig). It is a role that fits Brand like a glove – he married US pop singer Katy Perry last November, seemingly turning his back on a hitherto colorful life of debauchery, booze, sex and drug addiction.
