Sacha Noam BaronCohen[5] was born into a British family ofAshkenazi Jewish descent[6] in theHammersmith area ofLondon on 13 October 1971.[7] His mother, photographer Daniella (née Weiser), was born inBritish Mandatory Palestine in 1939.[8][9] His father, editor-turned-clothing store owner Gerald "Jerry" Baron Cohen (1932–2016), was born into a BelarusianAshkenazi Jewish family in London and grew up in the Welsh town ofPontypridd.[10][11][12][13][14] Baron Cohen's paternal grandfather, Morris Moses Cohen, added "Baron" to his surname.[13][15] His maternal grandmother, Liesel (née Levi), lived inHaifa and trained as a ballet dancer in Germany before fleeing theNazis in 1936.[12][16][17][18] He has two older brothers:Erran, a composer with whom he often collaborates, and Amnon.[19] His cousins include autism researcherSir Simon Baron-Cohen, playwrightDan Baron Cohen, and filmmakerAsh Baron-Cohen.[20]
Baron Cohen grew up as a fan ofMonty Python andPeter Cook, but his greatest comedic influence wasPeter Sellers, whom he saw as "this incredibly realistic actor, who was also hilarious and who managed to bridge the gap between comedy and satire".[26][27] Known for portraying a wide range of comic characters using different accents and guises, Sellers was referred to by Baron Cohen as "the most seminal force in shaping [his] early ideas on comedy".[28] After leaving university, Baron Cohen worked for a time as a fashion model.[25] By the early 1990s, he was hosting a weekly programme on Windsor cable television's local broadcasts withCarol Kirkwood, who later became aBBC weather forecaster. In 1995,Channel 4 was planning a replacement for its seriesThe Word, and disseminated an open call for new television presenters. Baron Cohen sent in a tape of himself, which caught the attention of a producer. Baron Cohen hostedPump TV from 1995 to 1996.
In 1996, Baron Cohen began presenting the youth chat programmeF2F forGranada Talk TV and had a small role in an advertisement for McCain Microchips, as a chef in a commercial entitled "Ping Pong".[29] He took clown training in Paris, at theÉcole Philippe Gaulier, studying under master-clownPhilippe Gaulier. Of his former pupil, Gaulier says: "He was a good clown, full of spirit"[30] while Baron Cohen remarks of Gaulier, "Without him, I really do doubt whether I would have had any success in my field".[31] He left TV journalistRob Burley a note reading "Dear Rob, good luck baby, have fun and things, see you soon, Sacha.", when Burley left the programme.[32] Baron Cohen made his first feature film appearance in the British comedyThe Jolly Boys' Last Stand (2000). Also in 2000, he played the part ofSuper Greg for a series of TV advertisements forLee Jeans; the advertisements never aired, but the website for Super Greg created an internet sensation.[33]
Da Ali G Show began in 2000, and won theBAFTA forBest Comedy in the following year.[35] Also in 2000, Baron Cohen as Ali G appeared as the limousine driver inMadonna's 2000 video "Music", directed byJonas Åkerlund, who was also responsible for directing the titles forDa Ali G Show. Baron Cohen is a supporter of the UK charity telethonComic Relief, which is broadcast on the BBC, and as Ali G interviewedDavid Beckham and wifeVictoria in 2001.[36]
In a 2001 Channel 4 poll Ali G was ranked eighth on their list of the100 Greatest TV Characters.[37][38] In 2002, Ali G was the central character in the feature filmAli G Indahouse, in which he is elected to theBritish Parliament and foils a plot to bulldoze a community centre in his home town, Staines.[39] His television show was exported to the United States in 2003, with new episodes set there, forHBO.
At the 2012 British Comedy Awards, 13 years after winning Best Newcomer at the 1999 Comedy Awards, Baron Cohen accepted the Outstanding Achievement Award from SirBen Kingsley in the guise of Ali G, and stated: "I is grown up now. I ain't living in my nan's house any more. I is living in her garage."[40] In 2013, he received the BAFTACharlie ChaplinBritannia Award for Excellence in Comedy.[41]
Ali G's interviews with notable figures (especially politicians) gained notoriety partly because the subjects were not aware that Ali G, rather than being a real interviewer, was a comedic character. According toRolling Stone magazine, Baron Cohen would always enter the interview area dressed as Ali G, carrying equipment while acting like an inconspicuous crew member. The crew would be accompanied by a man in a suit and tie, leading the subject to believe that this was the person who would interview them. Baron Cohen, as Ali G, would sit down to ask the interviewee some preliminary questions to give them the impression that this was a test run before the well-dressed man conducted the real interview; this continued until a few moments before the cameras started filming, revealing the suited man as the director and Ali G as the interviewer, granting Baron Cohen the element of surprise as the interviewee would be less likely to opt out of the interview so close to its start.[42]
The Kazakh journalist Borat Sagdiyev was first developed for short skits onF2F onGranada Television in the UK that Baron Cohen presented in 1996–1997, with the character at this time being known as Alexi Krickler.[43] The character remained dormant while Baron Cohen concentrated on his Ali G persona, but with the subsequent success of Ali G, Baron Cohen revisited his Borat character. The character was featured in segments ofDa Ali G Show.[44] Borat's sense of humour derives from his mocking of society through outrageous sociocultural viewpoints, hisdeadpan violation of social taboos and use of vulgar language and behaviour.[45][46]
Aside from the comic elements of his characters, Baron Cohen's performances are interpreted by some as reflecting uncomfortable truths about his audience. He juxtaposes his own Jewish heritage with the anti-Semitism of his character Borat.[48]
In 2007, Baron Cohen published a travel guide as Borat, with dual titles:Borat: Touristic Guidings To Minor Nation of U.S. and A. andBorat: Touristic Guidings To Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.[49] On 21 December 2007, Baron Cohen announced he was retiring the character of Borat.[50] After the release ofBorat, Baron Cohen said he would retire Borat and Ali G because the public had become too familiar with the characters.[51] After the release ofBrüno, he said he would retire that character.[52]
The character was brought back on a 2018 appearance onJimmy Kimmel Live and appears in the 2020 sequelBorat Subsequent Moviefilm, for which he won another Golden Globe Award, as well as the 2022Kennedy Center Honors where he did a standup routine as Borat for the induction ofU2.[53]
Another alter ego Sacha Baron Cohen performed as is "Brüno", a flamboyantly gay Austrian fashion show presenter who often lures his unwitting subjects into making provocative statements and engaging in embarrassing behaviour, as well as leading them to contradict themselves, often in the same interview. Brüno's main comedic satire pertains to the vacuity and inanity of the fashion andclubbing world. Brüno asks the subjects to answer "yes or no" questions with either "Vassup" (What's up) or "Ich don't think so" (I don't think so); these are occasionally substituted with "Ach, ja!" (Ah yes!) or "Nicht, nicht" ("Nicht" means "no" or "not" in German). In one segment onDa Ali G Show, he encouraged his guest to answer questions with either "Keep them in the ghetto" or "Train toAuschwitz".
In May 2009, at theMTV Movie Awards, Baron Cohen appeared as Brüno wearing a white angel costume, a whitejockstrap, whitego-go boots, and white wings; and did an aerial stunt where he dropped from a height (using wires) ontoEminem. Baron Cohen landed with his face on Eminem's crotch and with his crotch in Eminem's face, prompting Eminem to exit the venue with fellow rappersD12. Eminem later admitted to staging the stunt with Baron Cohen.[54]
After an intense bidding war that included such Hollywood powerhouses asDreamWorks,Sony, and20th Century Fox,Universal Pictures won and paid a reported $42.5 million for thefilm rights to a collection of interviews Baron Cohen performed as the character Brüno.[55] To create these interviews a number ofshill companies and websites were created to draw potential interviewees by creating an illusion of legitimacy.[56]The film was released in July 2009.
Baron Cohen's 2012 film,The Dictator, was described by its press as "the heroic story of a dictator who risked his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed".[57] Baron Cohen played Admiral General Aladeen, a dictator from a fictional country called the Republic of Wadiya.[58][59]Borat andBrüno film directorLarry Charles directed the film.[60] The main target of the film's satire was Libyan dictatorMuammar Gaddafi, who was still alive when the film was written.[61] The producers of the film were concerned it would anger Gaddafi, possibly even resulting in a terrorist attack, so they released deliberate misinformation saying that the film was loosely based on a romance novel written by former Iraqi dictatorSaddam Hussein.[61]
On 26 February 2012, Baron Cohen claimed he was banned from attending the84th Academy Awards in his role as Admiral General Aladeen but the rumour was denied by the Academy, saying "we haven't banned him, he is lying" but made it clear that "Cohen is not welcome to use the red carpet as a platform for a promotional stunt".[62] Baron Cohen eventually appeared at the awards' red carpet with a pair ofuniformed female bodyguards, holding anurn which he claimed was filled with the ashes ofKim Jong-il. The "ashes", which Baron Cohen admitted to Howard Stern on the Tuesday, 8 May 2012 episode ofThe Howard Stern Show was flour, were "accidentally" spilt ontoRyan Seacrest.
Baron Cohen portrays various characters inWho Is America?, including Erran Morad, an Israeli anti-terrorism expert. The character is referred to as a colonel (and later captain, general, major, sergeant, brigadier, sergeant corporal and lieutenant) in theIsraeli military and a former agent ofMossad (or "not in the Mossad", as he often interjects). BeforeWho Is America? aired on Showtime, some conservative public figures made statements saying that Baron Cohen had deceived them while in character.[63][64][65] Hours before the premiere, Showtime uploaded the "Kinderguardians" segment on their YouTube channel, in which Morad explains toPhilip Van Cleave, the president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, of the proposal of a new program where children ages 3 to 16 are armed with guns. He also interviews other conservatives, such asDana Rohrabacher,Joe Wilson, andJoe Walsh, who are openly supportive. OnlyMatt Gaetz expresses skepticism of Morad's proposal and declines to be in his video.
In the second episode, Morad teachesJason Spencer, a Republican state representative from Georgia, how to detect and repel terrorists by taking pictures up a woman's burqa with a selfie stick, walking backwards while baring his buttocks, and yelling racial epithets. After the airing of the episode, Spencer initially refused to step down, stating that he was exploited by the producers. In May 2018, Spencer lost his primary to a political novice, Steven Sainz,[66] but was expected to serve the rest of his term until November.[67] He eventually did step down on 31 July 2018, leaving the seat vacant.[68]
Baron Cohen has deniedWho is America? will return for a second season, noting the publicity surrounding the show and his interviews would make it harder for him to dupe guests.[69]
In September 2010, representatives for Baron Cohen confirmed that he was set to playFreddie Mercury in theBohemian Rhapsody biopic about the rock singer.[76][77] He dropped out of the project in July 2013, citing "creative differences" between him and the surviving members ofQueen.[78] Queen guitarist Brian May later said that even though the band and Baron Cohen were on good terms, they felt that his presence would be "distracting". The role was later played byRami Malek.[79] Baron Cohen shot a spread with modelAlessandra Ambrosio forMarie Claire magazine to promote the filmBrüno.[80] In 2010, Baron Cohen guest-starred inThe Simpsons episode, "The Greatest Story Ever D'ohed", as Jakob, a quick-tempered Israeli tour guide.
In 2012, Baron Cohen and his production company Four By Two Films signed afirst-look deal withParamount Pictures,[81] and the deal was renewed in 2014 for three years and a two-film commitment.[82] In Baron Cohen'sGrimsby (2016;The Brothers Grimsby in the US), he plays thefootball hooligan brother of a BritishMI6 spy. The film received mixed reviews from critics and was afailure at the box office.[83]
Baron Cohen is a campaigner and philanthropist.[86][87] He has donated to numerous causes and children's charities in countries including Syria, Lebanon, Sudan, Yemen & Somalia.[87][88] He is a founding member ofStop Hate For Profit,[89][90] a vocal critic of social media companies, and has spoken publicly against racism, antisemitism, and online hate speech.[91][86]
On 28 December 2015, Baron Cohen and his wife, Australian actressIsla Fisher, donated £335,000 ($500,000) toSave the Children as part of a programme to vaccinate children in northernSyria againstmeasles; they donated the same amount to theInternational Rescue Committee, also aimed at helping Syrianrefugees.[92] Baron Cohen has also donated to support children and families inSomalia during a severe hunger crisis, and funded the building of a maternity hospital inHodeidah,Yemen.[88][93][94]
In 2019, Baron Cohen was awarded theAnti-Defamation League's International Leadership Award for opposing bigotry and prejudice. In accepting the award, Baron Cohen gave an impassioned speech directing criticism at internet companies, singling out Facebook, Google, YouTube and Twitter as part of "the biggest propaganda machine in history" and claiming that their rules on hate speech meant "they would have let Hitler buy ads".[95][96]
In 2023, he was one of the actors to sign an open letter toPresident Biden calling for the release of all hostages taken by Hamas.[100][101][102]
In October 2023, Baron Cohen was among the members of theWriters Guild of America that called out its guild leaders for not speaking in support of Israel during theGaza war.[103]
In November 2023, Baron Cohen was among more than a dozen creators and celebrities who challengedTikTok executives on the subject of content moderation and the safety of Jewish users amidst the early stages of theGaza war.[104]
For much of the early part of his career, Baron Cohen avoided doing interviews out of character. However, in 2004, he did the talk show circuit appearing as himself onLate Show with David Letterman,The Opie and Anthony Show,The Howard Stern Show,[105] and others to promote the forthcoming season of his show on HBO. He was also interviewed on NPR'sAll Things Considered[106] and did an interview withRolling Stone, published in November 2006, that the magazine labelled as "his only interview as himself".[17] He also appeared in an interview out of character withTerry Gross on NPR'sFresh Air on 4 January 2007.[107]
Borat directorLarry Charles explains that Baron Cohen generally appears in character partly to "protect his weakness", by focusing public interest on his characters rather than himself.[108] His other reason,Newsweek claims, is that Baron Cohen is fiercely private: "...according to the UK press, his publicists denied that he attended a party for the London premiere ofBorat and that a party even occurred".[108]
Baron Cohen was featured in theTime 100 list for 2007.[109]
Sports Illustrated's 6 November 2006 issue contains a column called "Skater vs. Instigator", which illustrates various amusing "parallels" between Baron Cohen and figure skaterSasha Cohen, ranging from their mutually held personal significance of the number 4[110] to their shared romantic interests in redheads.
In 2018,The Times named him among the 30 best living comedians.[111]
Baron Cohen has been criticized for the racist orprejudiced comments his characters have made. HBO spokesman Quentin Schaffer replied to the criticism and said, "Through his alter-egos, [Baron Cohen] delivers an obvious satire that exposes people's ignorance and prejudice in much the same wayAll in the Family did years ago."[112] Regarding his portrayal as the anti-Semitic Borat, Baron Cohen says the segments are a "dramatic demonstration of how racism feeds on dumb conformity, as much as rabid bigotry" rather than a display of racism by Baron Cohen himself.[113] He said, "Borat essentially works as a tool. By himself being anti-Semitic, he lets people lower their guard and expose their own prejudice."[17] Addressing the same topic in anNPR interview with Robert Siegel, he said, "People really let down their guard with [Borat] because they're in a room with somebody who seems to have these outrageous opinions. They sometimes feel much more relaxed about letting their own outrageous, politically incorrect, prejudiced opinions come out."[106] Baron Cohen said he also wishes in particular to expose the role of indifference inthe Holocaust: "When I was in university, there was this major historian of theThird Reich,Ian Kershaw, who said, 'The path toAuschwitz was paved with indifference.' I know it's not very funny being a comedian talking about the Holocaust, but it's an interesting idea that not everyone in Germany had to be a raving anti-Semite. They just had to beapathetic."[17] Regarding the enthusiastic response to his song "In My Country There Is Problem" (also known as "Throw the Jew Down the Well"), he said, "Did it reveal that [the cheering audience] were anti-Semitic? Perhaps. But maybe it just revealed that they were indifferent to anti-Semitism."[17]
In an interview with former Tory MP politicianNeil Hamilton in 2000, Ali G offered Hamilton what was allegedlycannabis, which Hamilton accepted and smoked, creating some minor controversy in the British media.[114]
The government ofKazakhstan threatened Baron Cohen with legal action following the 2005 MTV Europe Music Awards ceremony inLisbon, and the authority in charge of the country's country-codetop-level domain name removed the website that he had created for his character Borat (previously: http://www.borat.kz) for alleged violation of the law—specifically, registering for the domain under a false name.The New York Times, among others, has reported that Baron Cohen (in character as Borat) replied: "I'd like to state that I have no connection with Mr. Cohen and fully support my government decision to sue this Jew".[115] He was, however, defended byDariga Nazarbayeva, a politician and the daughter of Kazakhstan's then-PresidentNursultan Nazarbayev, who stated, "We should not be afraid of humour and we shouldn't try to control everything...".[116] The deputy foreign minister of Kazakhstan later invited Baron Cohen to visit the country, stating that he could learn that "women drive cars, wine is made of grapes, and Jews are free to go to synagogues".[117] After the success of theBorat film, the Kazakh government, including the president, altered their stance on Baron Cohen's parody, tacitly recognising the valuable press coverage the controversy created for their country.[118]
At the 2006 UK premiere ofBorat, he arrived inLeicester Square in a cart pulled by a mule and a number of "Kazakh women," announcing: "Good evening, gentleman and prostitutes. After this, I stay in a hotel inKings Cross. We will all drink, wrestle with no clothes on and shoot dogs from the window".[121]
Two of the threeUniversity of South Carolina students who appear inBorat sued the filmmakers, alleging that they were duped into signing release forms while drunk, and that false promises were made that the footage was for a documentary that would never be screened in the US. On 11 December 2006, a Los Angeles judge denied the pair a restraining order to remove them from the film. The lawsuit was dismissed in February 2007.[122][123]
On 26 September 2008, Baron Cohen walked onto the runway during theÁgatha Ruiz de la Prada fashion show inMilan. In-character as Brüno, he was wearing a costume made ofvelcro. He appeared on the stage with a blanket and items of clothing stuck to his velcro suit. Lights were turned off while security intervened and escorted him off the stage, and the fashion show resumed normally shortly thereafter. Baron Cohen and his team had allegedly accessed the fashion show using fake IDs.[124]
On 22 May 2009, a charity worker at a seniors' bingo game sued Baron Cohen, claiming an incident shot forBrüno at a charity bingo tournament left her disabled.[125] However, the worker later retracted her statement, saying the "actor never struck her", but that he "beat her down emotionally to the point she's now confined to a wheelchair".[126] The scene did not make the final cut for the film. The case was dismissed in late November 2009 onAnti-SLAPP grounds, with all lawyer's fees to be paid by the charity worker. The dismissal was appealed and upheld on 12 September 2011.[127][128]
On 30 April 2010,Palestinian Christian grocer Ayman Abu Aita, of theWest Bank and former member ofFatah,filed a lawsuit against Baron Cohen, alleging that he had beendefamed by false accusations that he was a terrorist in the movieBruno. Aita includedDavid Letterman in the suit based on comments made during a 7 July 2009 appearance by Baron Cohen on theLate Show with David Letterman.[129] Unlike the other lawsuits, Aita did not sign a release form, and his case centred around whether Baron Cohen's portrayal of Aita was false, not whether he was defrauded.[130] In September 2012, the defamation claim was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount, and the court case was dismissed.[131][132][133]
In June 2020, Baron Cohen crashed theright-wing "March for Our Rights 3" protest inOlympia, Washington, a counter-protest to theMarch for Our Lives demonstration as a result of theStoneman Douglas High School shooting. Disguised under heavy make-up, Baron Cohen sang a song telling listeners to attackliberals,CNN, theWorld Health Organization,Barack Obama,Hillary Clinton,Anthony Fauci,Bill Gates and "mask-wearers". The crowd, which initially sang along, realized they were being pranked when counter-protestors recognized Baron Cohen and began laughing. Baron Cohen's security stopped the organizers from taking him off stage and turning off the power, and Baron Cohen was forced to flee in a private ambulance from the crowd.[139][140] The incident was later revealed to have been organized as part of filming forBorat Subsequent Moviefilm, with Baron Cohen in-character as Borat in disguise.[141]
Baron Cohen has said of his Jewish identity, "I wouldn't say I am a religious Jew. I am proud of my Jewish identity and there are certain things I do and customs I keep."[16] He tries to keepkosher,[16] attends synagogue about twice a year,[16] and is fluent inHebrew.[156][157] He first acted in theatrical productions with theLabour youth movementHabonim Dror.[158][159] He spent a year in Israel as akibbutz volunteer atRosh HaNikra andBeit HaEmek as part of the Shnat Habonim Dror, also taking part in the programmeMachon L'Madrichei Chutz La'Aretz for Jewish youth movement leaders.
^Saunders, Robert A. (2009).The Many Faces of Sacha Baron Cohen: Politics, Parody, and the Battle Over Borat. p. 22. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield.
^"Archived copy". Archived fromthe original on 31 October 2006. Retrieved12 November 2006.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) The Howard Stern Show
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