Russell Brand and Helen Mirren in Arthur

April 24, 2010 (Sampurn Wire): Russell Brand is set to share screen space with actress Helen Mirren, in the forthcoming remake of Arthur.

The British comedian will be playing the title role, which was played by Dudley Moore in the original, which was made in 1981. Mirren will be playing his longtime nanny.

The original film had no nanny, instead a butler, who was played by John Gielgud. Arthur would turn to the butler for advice when his family threatened to cut him off if he didn’t marry a woman he didn’t love. The role fetched Gielgud the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

The remake has been written by Peter Baynham, who has written Sacha Baron Cohen’s big screen ventures, Borat and “Bruno.

Meanwhile, Brand will also be seen reprising his role in Forgetting Sarah Marshall and as the character Aldous Snow in the new Judd Apatow comedy, Get Him to the Greek.

Arthur will make it the second time Mirren and Brand will have acted together. They earlier starred together in the re-imagining of the fable, The Tempest, which finished production over a year ago and is set to hit theaters later this year.

-Sampurn Wire