Brand Planning Movie Makeover

The actor is known for his scruffy clothes and messy hair, and has so far appeared in films including Forgetting Sarah Marshall and St. Trinian's, where he has been able to keep a similar look to his real life image.

But he's about to get a makeover for upcoming film Arthur, a remake of Dudley Moore's 1981 comedy, in which he will play the title character, a fun-loving playboy who has to choose between a family fortune and his working-class girlfriend.

Brand will shed his hair for the film, and he's set to keep his new look so he can be considered for more versatile movie roles.

He says, "Normally I play people where the only thing you need to change is my name. But for this I'm going to change my hair a bit. I saw a mocked-up picture of how it would look and it didn't look good - like Natalie Portman with a beard.

"If I'm going to pursue a career in films I can't always play Rasputin. I can play him once maybe, play Che Guevara, various homeless people and then it's going to have to be a hair cut."