Russell Brand has been a controversial figure ever since his rise to fame as a comic actor – embodying, at different times, the roles of drug addict, pop star Katy Perry’s ex-husband, and wild-and-crazy entertainment icon. His latest role, however, of a political activist calling for social reform and wealth distribution, was the spark behind the latest documentary of his life, Brand: A Second Coming.

The religious association of the documentary’s title is completely intentional. Brand has recently been working to reinvent himself as the modern-day underdog’s champion, and in his 2013 comedy special Messiah Complex even refers to himself as “a little bit like Jesus.” However, despite his self-proclaimed narcissism, Brand bailed out of a planned appearance at the documentary’s release, mere hours before it was shown at the Paramount Theater as part of the South by Southwest festival.

“You’d think a narcissist would like nothing more than talking about themselves and their ‘rags to riches’, ‘hard luck’ story but actually, it felt like, to me, my life was hard enough the first time round and going through it again was painful and sad,” said Brand in a statement.

The film’s director, Ondi Timoner, gained recognition as the successful director of two other personal documentaries before Brand’s. “Working with Russell Brand was difficult. He tried to control every situation,” she said. “I really wanted to work with Russell and make him happy, but I also needed to protect the film.”

“I know Ondi is an artist and I’m told the film is good but for me watching it was very uncomfortable,” stated Brand. He supposedly attempted to stop SXSW from showing the film at all.