Sacha Baron Cohen is a prolific actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. He is known for his portrayal of the outlandish characters Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev, Brüno Gehard, Admiral General Aladeen and, more recently, Erran Morrad.
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Baron Cohen most recently starred in The Spy, the critically-acclaimed limited series from Netflix, inspired by the real-life story of former Mossad agent, Eli Cohen, who successfully went undercover in Syria in the early 1960s. Rolling Stone lauded Baron Cohen’s starring role in the dramatic series saying, “Sacha Baron Cohen couldn’t have found a role more well-suited to his gifts and career to date.” The Wall Street Journal called Baron Cohen’s performance “dazzling” and The Daily Beast wrote that “Sacha Baron Cohen shines.”
Last year Baron Cohen made global headlines with his Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated Showtime series, Who Is America? Baron Cohen stunned the nation with his outrageous inter-views and encounters with politicians and celebrities like former Vice President Dick Cheney, former US Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, former Georgia State representative Jason Spencer, US Congressman Matt Gaetz, former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, OJ Simpson and many others. Starring on the show as well as directing, Baron Cohen assumed a diverse array of disguises — including Israeli anti-terrorism Erran Morrad; Dr. Nira Cain-N’Degeocello, a lecturer on gender studies; and Gio Monaldo, an Italian billionaire playboy — to reveal the wildly extreme and hate-filled views of many elected officials. Jason Spencer was forced to resign from his seat in the Georgia legislature after willingly dropping his pants and shouting racist epithets on camera. Dana Rohrabacher advocated for young children to be trained to shoot guns in a segment that was used by his political opponents to oust him from his long-held seat in the US Congress. In addition to garnering three Emmy Award nominations and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Television Series Comedy or Musical, Baron Cohen and his “Who Is America?” directing partners received a DGA Award nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Variety/Talk/News/Sports.
Baron Cohen is perhaps best known as the host of HBO’s popular, multiple-Emmy-nominated comedy Da Ali G Show — starring his alter ego, Ali G. Initially regarded as the #1 comedy phenomenon in England, the show was an instant success after airing on HBO in 2003. Baron Cohen originated the character of Ali G in 1998 on the British television comedy The 11 O’Clock Show. He served as executive producer, writer, and actor on the series. Baron Cohen returned to an eagerly awaiting audience as Ali G on Ali G: Rezurection which aired on FXX in October 2014.
Over its four-year run, Da Ali G Show received six Emmy Award nominations and two BAFTA awards. After completing two seasons, Baron Cohen set out to conquer the world with Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, a feature film starring his second alter ego, Borat Sagdiyev, a Kazakhstani news reporter. He produced, wrote, and starred in the film, which was a worldwide success.
Borat opened #1 in 24 countries in 2006. It also set a box office record for a film opening on 1000 or fewer screens by earning over $26 million domestically. Its worldwide gross was over $260 million. In 2007, Baron Cohen took home the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical, and an Academy Award nomination for Adapted Screenplay. Baron Cohen’s feature film projects have included the hit comedy Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby with co-stars Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly. He was also the voice behind the animated character King Julien in the DreamWorks Animation’s feature Madagascar, which grossed over $532 million worldwide. In 2008, Baron Cohen returned as the voice of King Julien in the sequel Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa, which grossed $603 million worldwide. In 2007, Baron Cohen appeared in Tim Burton’s film adaptation of the classic Stephen Sondheim musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. In this Academy Award-winning film, Baron Cohen co-starred as Signor Adolfo Pirelly, Todd’s competitor in the haircutting world.
In 2009, Baron Cohen returned to the screen with Brüno, a film starring his other alter-ego character from Da Ali G Show. Reuniting with his Borat collaborator Jay Roach, Baron Cohen helped produce and write Brüno. The Universal Pictures’ film grossed $138 million worldwide and won The Peter Sellers Award for Comedy.
Baron Cohen also teamed up with renowned director Martin Scorsese for Hugo, the 1930s mystery film, which went on to win five Academy Awards. In 2012, Baron Cohen starred opposite Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Russell Crowe, Amanda Seyfried and Helena Bonham Carter in William Nicholson’s adaptation of Les Misérables for director Tom Hooper. The film has grossed over $441 million worldwide.
In 2013, Baron Cohen co-starred with Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd and David Koechner in Paramount Pictures’ Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, which has grossed over $173 million worldwide to date. Other notable projects include The Dictator (2012), Grimsby (2016), Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016), and the short film Past Forward (2016).
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Sacha Baron Cohen on his commitment to staying in character and why he was embarrassed to reveal his passion for acting to others when he was younger.
Sacha Baron Cohen on Staying in Character and His Dramatic Turn in Netflix’s ‘The Spy’ Read More »
Every year Forbes releases its list of Hollywood’s highest paid actors, and the results are often surprising. Take this year, for example, with Tom Cruise topping the list at $75 million. Though Cruise was paid handsomely for Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol and Rock of Ages, it seems more likely that he would’ve topped the list in 1992 rather than 2012.
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In a rare interview as himself, Cohen spoke about his immersion-style of comedy, how he feels about his past characters, and what inspires him to do comedy.
“I remember when I was auditioning for all these dramatic roles and getting rejected and really disheartened,” she said.
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