Brand has stand-up to thank for The Tempest role

The British funnyman plays bumbling court jester Trinculo in the new cinematic adaptation of William Shakespeare’s famous work opposite Dame Helen Mirren and Alfred Molina.

Taymor was persuaded to see Brand perform by her husband and she immediately recognised his potential for her movie, so she arranged a meeting within 24 hours and just days later she had cast him in the project.

She tells E! Online, “I went to see him on a Saturday night. We met Sunday and he was cast Monday.”