Russell Brand was accompanied in court by a Ryder Cup winning captain on Thursday as the English comedian was convicted on one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault

English comedian and actor Russell Brand was supported in court by a former Ryder Cup-winning captain who happens to be his father-in-law.

Brand was convicted on one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault by a London jury on Thursday, Nov. 5, and the former Hollywood star now faces a potentially significant prison term.

While Judge Joel Bennathan read out the guilty verdict at Southwark Crown Court in the English capital, Brand was accompanied by his wife, Laura Brand, while her famous father Bernard Gallacher watched on in the courtroom.

Gallacher is well known among older golf fans as a Ryder Cup-winning captain for Team Europe.

The Scottish-born golfer represented Team Great Britain & Ireland — which later expanded to become Team Europe in 1979 — in eight Ryder Cups (1969, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1981, and 1983).

He was just 20 years old when he debuted in the prestigious international golf tournament in 1969, when he became the youngest player ever to represent Great Britain & Ireland in the event.

Gallacher later transitioned to become a non-playing captain for Team Europe in three different Ryder Cups, including the 1995 edition when his team triumphed over the Americans at Oak Hill Country Club in Pittsford, New York.

The previous two Ryder Cups he captained in 1991 and 1993 were won by Team USA.

Outside of international team play, Gallacher won 23 professional events, 10 of which came on the European Tour. He participated in the Masters Tournament once in 1970 and missed the cut.

He also qualified for 18 different editions of The Open Championship, in which his best finish was a T18 in 1973, when he was 24 years old.

Now aged 77, Gallacher has become the subject of unwanted attention for his family connection to Brand, who married Gallacher’s daughter Laura in 2017.

Laura is one of three children in the Gallacher family, along with sister Kirsty, a well-known British television presenter and former Sky Sports News anchor, and brother Jamie. Bernard and his wife Lesley have been married since 1973.

Brand gained international fame for his work as a comedian and actor in works such as Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him to the Greek, Arthur, and Rock of Ages. He was previously married to American pop artist Katy Perry from 2010 until 2012, when they divorced.

Brand’s criminal trial began in Oct. 2026 and concerned allegations of sexual offenses that took place between 1999 and 2009 across locations in London and Bournemouth, England.

In addition to being found guilty on one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault, Brand was found not guilty on two other counts of rape and one count of attempted indecent assault.

Brand is scheduled to be sentenced on Monday, Nov. 9, at Southwark Crown Court in London.