Comedian, actor and podcast host Russell Brand sat down for an in-depth interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity about his journey to overcoming addiction and finding faith in Jesus Christ, in a new episode of “Sean” available Tuesday on Fox Nation.
In the first installment of the two-part interview, Brand opened up about dabbling with recreational drugs as a young teenager before moving onto harder drugs like crack cocaine and heroin.
After 22 years of sobriety, Brand said he’s come to believe that finding a higher purpose or faith is necessary to overcome addiction.
“You can get attached to and addicted to anything… Unless your personal identity is surrendered to a higher purpose, most obviously and notably, Christ Jesus,” he said, adding that others might find their meaning in other faiths.
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He told Hannity he had been arrested about a dozen times while in the throes of his addiction and that over time his drug habit became less fulfilling.
“Like it says in John, there is only one bread that will fulfill you,” he said, referring to the words of Jesus in the Gospel.
The actor described the fear that comes with removing addictions from one’s life, and says he still goes to treatment to make sure he stays clean.
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His conversion to Christianity, roughly one year ago, has helped clarify and solidify his understanding of sobriety, but Brand still recognizes the “fragility” of his sobriety.
“Contending with addiction is at the forefront of my life, continually,” he told Hannity.
“Now, since becoming a Christian, I recognize that many of the principles that were made clear to me in twelve-step recovery reach a kind of fulfillment, continuation and elevation of what I was already experiencing,” he said. “I said to myself, this is what you’re looking for. This is the direction to continue.”
Brand announced last May that he had become a Christian and had been baptized the month before.
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“I’ve been a Christian a month now, and it’s been a big change,” he posted on TikTok in May 2024. “Not that I’ve entirely changed as a person, of course I haven’t, but I’ve taken on a lot of new concepts and it changes you to accept that it’s not like you’re in a game show and by doing really, really good things you can get redeemed.”
“No, repentance, to repent, means that you have to continually change and acknowledge that I am in a battle against myself,” he added. “That I need to surrender myself to an ever-present eternal and accessible Jesus. That mercy is something that’s been given to me, been granted to me, that I live with through love, not something that I can sort of win or achieve by doing good deeds.”
