Brand performed stand-up at the Hackney Empire New Act of the Year final in 2000.
Although he finished fourth, his performance attracted the attention of Bound and Gagged Comedy Ltd agent Nigel Klarfeld.
That year, he also made his Edinburgh debut as one-third of the stand-up show Pablo Diablo's Cryptic Triptych, alongside ventriloquist Mark Felgate and Anglo-Iranian comic Shappi Khorsandi.
In 2004, he took his first one-man show, the confessional Better Now, to the Edinburgh Festival, giving what he claimed was an honest account of his heroin addiction.
He returned the following year with Eroticised Humour.
He launched his first nationwide tour, Shame, in 2006.
Brand drew on embarrassing incidents in his own life and the coverage about him in the tabloid press.
The show was released on DVD as Russell Brand: Live.
Brand appeared in a sketch and performed stand-up at Amnesty International's Secret Policeman's Ball in 2006 and again at the 2012 edition at Radio City Music Hall.

In March 2007, he co-hosted an evening of the Teenage Cancer Trust gigs with Noel Fielding.
In December 2007, Brand performed for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip as an act in the 2007 Royal Variety Performance.
His second nationwide tour, in 2007, was called Russell Brand: Only Joking and released on DVD as Russell Brand: Doin' Life.
Brand began performing in the US, and recorded a special for Comedy Central titled Russell Brand in New York, which aired in March 2009.
Brand began touring the UK, America and Australia from January to April 2009 on a tour called Russell Brand: Scandalous.
In October, a further four dates that were performed in November were added to raise money for Focus 12, the drug charity for which Brand is a patron.

In 2013, Brand presented and toured his comedy show Messiah Complex, in which he tackled advertising, the laws on drug addiction and the portrayal of his heroes, such as Gandhi, Guevara, Malcolm X and Jesus, and how he is, in comically contrived ways, similar to them.

In January 2017, Brand announced his new tour Re:Birth, which debuted in April 2017 and was meant to go through November 2018.
However, on 30 April 2018, he was forced to cancel the remaining dates after his mother was critically injured in a hit-and-run accident.
Russell Brand: Re:Birth, which was filmed in London in April 2018, was released as a standup comedy film on Netflix on 4 December 2018.

Over the years, Brand has named Richard Pryor, Bill Hicks, Peter Cook, Lenny Bruce, Tony Hancock, Jack Kerouac, Stewart Lee, Tenacious D, Eddie Murphy, and Monty Python among his comedic influences.
In 2009 he appeared in the television documentary, Monty Python: Almost the Truth (Lawyers Cut).
Brand performed stand-up at the Hackney Empire New Act of the Year final in 2000. Although he finished fourth, his performance attracted the attention of Bound and Gagged Comedy Ltd agent Nigel Klarfeld. That year, he also made his Edinburgh debut as one-third of the stand-up show Pablo Diablo's Cryptic Triptych, alongside ventriloquist Mark Felgate and Anglo-Iranian comic Shappi Khorsandi. In 2004, he took his first one-man show, the confessional Better Now, to the Edinburgh Festival, giving what he claimed was an honest account of his heroin addiction. He returned the following year with Eroticised Humour. He launched his first nationwide tour, Shame, in 2006. Brand drew on embarrassing incidents in his own life and the coverage about him in the tabloid press. The show was released on DVD as Russell Brand: Live. Brand appeared in a sketch and performed stand-up at Amnesty International's Secret Policeman's Ball in 2006 and again at the 2012 edition at Radio City Music Hall.
In March 2007, he co-hosted an evening of the Teenage Cancer Trust gigs with Noel Fielding. In December 2007, Brand performed for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip as an act in the 2007 Royal Variety Performance. His second nationwide tour, in 2007, was called Russell Brand: Only Joking and released on DVD as Russell Brand: Doin' Life. Brand began performing in the US, and recorded a special for Comedy Central titled Russell Brand in New York, which aired in March 2009. Brand began touring the UK, America and Australia from January to April 2009 on a tour called Russell Brand: Scandalous. In October, a further four dates that were performed in November were added to raise money for Focus 12, the drug charity for which Brand is a patron.
In 2013, Brand presented and toured his comedy show Messiah Complex, in which he tackled advertising, the laws on drug addiction and the portrayal of his heroes, such as Gandhi, Guevara, Malcolm X and Jesus, and how he is, in comically contrived ways, similar to them.
In January 2017, Brand announced his new tour Re:Birth, which debuted in April 2017 and was meant to go through November 2018. However, on 30 April 2018, he was forced to cancel the remaining dates after his mother was critically injured in a hit-and-run accident. Russell Brand: Re:Birth, which was filmed in London in April 2018, was released as a standup comedy film on Netflix on 4 December 2018.
Over the years, Brand has named Richard Pryor, Bill Hicks, Peter Cook, Lenny Bruce, Tony Hancock, Jack Kerouac, Stewart Lee, Tenacious D, Eddie Murphy, and Monty Python among his comedic influences. In 2009 he appeared in the television documentary, Monty Python: Almost the Truth (Lawyers Cut).
Russell Brand