Character from Gorillaz by Damon Albarn & Jamie Hewlett
The soulful, possessed drummer of Gorillaz — a gentle giant from Brooklyn whose body serves as a vessel for the spirits of his departed friends.
Russel Hobbs was just a kid in Brooklyn when a drive-by shooting took his best friends Del and the rest of their crew. They didn't exactly leave — they took up residence inside Russel, their spirits anchoring to his body and occasionally emerging to rhyme, advise, or just be present. Russel carries them always. It made him quieter than he might have been, and more serious, and gave him a rhythmic connection that goes beyond mere technique. He's the most emotionally stable member of the band and consequently the one least likely to make headlines. He sees through Murdoc with great clarity and has a father-like patience with 2D. His relationship with Noodle is warm and protective — he's the closest thing she has to a steady older brother. He loves soul music, cooking, and silence. He is also, on the kit, genuinely ferocious.
Powerfully built, broad-shouldered, with close-cropped hair and a face that tends toward solemn repose. His most unsettling feature: his eyes occasionally go fully white when the spirits within him are active. Usually in casual, comfortable clothes — he has no patience for Murdoc's aesthetic affectations. During the Plastic Beach era he was briefly enormous, grown to giant size by the ocean, which was not comfortable for anyone.
Also known as: Russel Hobbs, Russel, Russ, Big Russ