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Sacha Baron Cohen

 
Who2 Biography: Sacha Baron Cohen, Actor / Comedian

  • Born: 13 October 1971
  • Birthplace: London, England
  • Best Known As: Comical fake TV interviewer Borat

Comedian Sacha Baron Cohen made his fame playing the goofy television interviewer Ali G, a dimwitted hip-hop poseur with a cockney accent. Ali G appeared on The 11 O'Clock Show (1998) and Da Ali G Show (2000-03), where he duped prominent Britons and Americans into participating in TV interviews. Ali G's extreme ignorance and the earnest exasperation of the unsuspecting interviewees was the source of much hilarity, and Da Ali G Show became a hit, first in the U.K. and then in the United States. Cohen also expanded his phony-character repertoire to include Borat Sagdiyev, a TV reporter from Kazakhstan, and a flamboyant Austrian fashionista named Bruno. As Ali G he has starred in the feature film Ali G Indahouse (2002), and as Borat he starred in the movie Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006). Cohen, who is Jewish, has been criticized for the anti-Semitism and misogyny that is part of the Borat schtick, but his fans argue that he uses politically charged language as a way to reveal the bigotry of others, especially Americans. Cohen has also done voice work for the movie Madagascar (2005, with Ben Stiller), and he appeared in the Will Ferrell comedy Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006) and Tim Burton's 2007 movie Sweeney Todd (starring Johnny Depp).

Cohen became engaged to Australian actress Isla Fisher in 2004.

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Actor: Sacha Baron Cohen
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  • Occupation: Actor, Writer
  • Active: 2000s
  • Major Genres: Comedy
  • Career Highlights: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Borat, Brüno
  • First Major Screen Credit: Ali G Indahouse (2002)

Biography

Best known for his character Ali G, comedian Sacha Baron Cohen was born in London in 1971 to a Welsh father and an Israeli mother. He first assumed the role on Channel 4's The Eleven O'Clock Show in 1999, embarrassing himself as well as clueless interviewees as a British hip-hop wannabe, acting as the "voice of da youth." The character was wildly popular, gaining Baron Cohen his own program, Da Ali G Show, in 2000, which was brought to the U.S. in 2003. Baron Cohen employed a comedic technique that consisted mainly of acting stupid as many well-known guests such as Pat Buchanan, Buzz Aldrin, and Boutros Boutros-Ghali, afraid of looking uncool, would play along and try to answer his inane or bizarre questions. He eventually took his alter ego to the big screen with the feature film, Ali G Indahouse; the 2002 movie found Ali G trying to prevent his neighborhood from being demolished after he is elected to Parliament.

Da Ali G Show also included segments from two of Baron Cohen's other characters. Bruno, an Austrian fashion reporter from a fictional program called Gay TV, frequently put homophobic guests on the spot, while misogynistic Kazakhstani immigrant Borat showcased his flagrant anti-Semitism to clueless interviewees who, failing to catch onto the satirical nature of the show, would either join him in his bigoted beliefs or try to explain American values to him. Controversy surrounded all three of Baron Cohen's characters, as critics blasted him for endorsing racism, anti-Semitism, and homophobia. HBO, which aired Da Ali G Show, insisted that all of the show's characters were meant to make fun of the prejudiced and ignorant, not the persecuted. It has also been noted that Baron Cohen himself is Jewish and comes from a very religious background.

In 2005, he lent his vocal talents to the animated film Madagascar, marking a departure from his Ali G Show characters that he would cement in 2006 with a role in the Will Ferrell comedy Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, as a flamboyant French Formula 1 driver who challenges Ferrell's NASCAR supremacy. A comedy match made in stock-car heaven, the summer release was the perfect chance for the comedian to try his hand at ensemble work, but he was soon growing his mustache out to reprise his Kazakhstani alter ego for the feature film Borat. Though followed by the usual controversy from those who misunderstood Baron Cohen's style, the film began generating buzz when it earned massive praise at Cannes, and despite beginning with a relatively small core audience, became the talk of Hollywood as perhaps the most innovative form of comedy to grace the screen in years. Baron Cohen took home a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Comedy for his performance, and quickly became a household name in the States.

Looking ahead, Baron Cohen signed on to star in a big screen version of another character of his creation, the ever-fabulous Bruno, which garnered him headlines when he was arrested for crashing a fashion show in Milan. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
Wikipedia: Sacha Baron Cohen
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In this name, the family name consists of two words; the family name is Baron Cohen, not Cohen.
Sacha Baron Cohen
Sacha Cohen.jpg
Sacha Baron Cohen at the E! after party, January 2007
Birth name Sacha Noam Baron Cohen
Born 13 October 1971 (1971-10-13) (age 38)
Hammersmith, London, England, United Kingdom
Years active 1995–present
Genres Character comedy, Shock humour, Black comedy, Blue comedy
Influences Peter Sellers, Chris Morris
Domestic partner(s) Isla Fisher
Notable works and roles Ali G
Borat Sagdiyev
Brüno
British Comedy Awards
Best Male Comedy Newcomer
1999 The 11 O'Clock Show
Ronnie Barker Award
2006 Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

Sacha Noam Baron Cohen[1] (Hebrew: סשה נועם ברון כהן, born 13 October 1971) is an English actor, comedian, and writer most noted for his comic characters Ali G (a pseudo 'urban' youth from suburban Staines), Borat Sagdiyev (a misogynistic, antisemitic Kazakh reporter), and Brüno (a flamboyantly homosexual Austrian fashion reporter). In his routine, he typically conducts interviews with respected figures while posing as one of his characters for comedic effect. Those he interviews ostensibly believe that the interviews are sincere and legitimate. Sacha Baron Cohen's work has been recognized with several Emmy nominations, an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay, a BAFTA award, and a Golden Globe for Best Actor for his work in the feature film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.

After the release of the film Borat, he stated that because the public had become too familiar with the characters, he would retire Borat and Ali G. Similarly, after the release of Brüno he has stated he would also retire the title character.[2]

Contents

Background

Family

Sacha Baron Cohen was born in England, the youngest of three sons in a Jewish family.[3] His mother was born in Israel while his father was originally from Wales.[4] Baron Cohen's paternal grandfather was born in Pontypridd, Wales, and his maternal grandmother, who now lives in Haifa, Israel, was a ballet dancer originally from Germany.[5][6][7]

Education

Baron Cohen first attended St Columba's College Prep School, St Albans, Hertfordshire, before moving on to attend Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School, a private school in Elstree, Hertfordshire, near London. He went on to Cambridge University, entering Christ's College, Cambridge, where he read History under Niall Ferguson and wrote his thesis on Jewish involvement in the American Civil Rights movement, with emphasis on the 1964 murders of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner in Mississippi.

At the Cambridge University Amateur Dramatic Club, Baron Cohen acted in plays such as Fiddler on the Roof (in which he played Tevye) and Cyrano de Bergerac. While at Cambridge, he performed in Habonim Dror Jewish theatre performances.[8]

Career

Early roles

After leaving university, Baron Cohen worked for a time as a fashion model, appearing in many fashion magazines.[8] By the early 1990s, he was hosting a weekly programme on Windsor cable television's local broadcasts with Carol Kirkwood, who later became a BBC weather forecaster. He was fired by Windsor TV for broadcasting a lewd presentation for Valentine's Day. In 1995, Channel 4 was planning a replacement for its series The Word, and disseminated an open call for new television presenters. Baron Cohen sent in a tape of himself in the character of Kristo, a fictional television reporter from Albania (who developed into the Kazakhstani Borat), which caught the attention of a producer. Baron Cohen bided his time by hosting Pump TV from 1995-1996. In 1996 he began presenting the youth chat programme F2F for Granada Talk TV. The late nineties saw Cohen make his first feature film appearance in the British comedy The Jolly Boys' Last Stand, then in 2000 Cohen played the part of Super Greg for a series of TV commercials for Lee Jeans which never aired, yet the website for Super Greg created an internet sensation.[9]

Ali G character

Baron Cohen as Ali G, offering a speech at Harvard University's Class Day during Commencement ceremonies

Baron Cohen appeared during 2-minute sketches as his fashion reporter Brüno on The Paramount Comedy Channel during 1998. He shot to fame when his comic character Ali G, an uneducated, boorish junglist, started appearing on the British television show The Eleven O'Clock Show on Channel 4, which first went to air 8 September 1998.

Da Ali G Show began in 2000, and won the BAFTA for Best Comedy in the following year. Also in 2000, Baron Cohen as Ali G appeared as the limousine driver in Madonna's 2000 video "Music", directed by Jonas Åkerlund, who was also responsible for directing the titles for Da Ali G Show.

In 2002, Ali G was the central character in the feature film Ali G Indahouse, in which he is elected to the British Parliament and foils a plot to bulldoze a community centre in his hometown, Staines. His television show was exported to the United States in 2003 (with new episodes set in America) for HBO.

Ali G's interviews with famous people (often politicians) gained notoriety partly because the subjects were not privy to the joke that Ali G, rather than being a real interviewer, was a comic character played by Baron Cohen. According to Rolling Stone magazine, Baron Cohen would always enter the interview area in character as Ali G, carrying equipment and appearing to be an insignificant crew member. He would arrive with a suited man, who the interviewee naturally thought was the interviewer. Baron Cohen, as Ali G, would sit down to begin conducting the interview by asking the interviewee some preliminary questions. The interviewee, however, would remain under the impression that the smartly-dressed director would be conducting the interview until short notice prior to cameras rolling: this would grant an advantage of surprise, whereby the interviewee would be less likely to opt out of the Ali interview prior to its commencement.[10]

The resulting willingness of Baron Cohen's targets to answer his frequently risqué questions often created surprising conversations. Interviewees have included:

Baron Cohen is a supporter of Comic Relief, and (as Ali G) has hosted some interviews for benefit of the charity.

Borat character

Baron Cohen as Borat

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, a feature film with "Borat" at the centre, was screened at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival and released in the United Kingdom on 2 November 2006, in the United States on 3 November 2006 and Australia 23 November 2006. The film is about a journey across the United States in an ice cream van, in which the main character is obsessed with the idea of marrying Pamela Anderson. The film is a mockumentary which includes interviews with various American citizens that poke fun at American culture, as well as sexism, racism, homophobia, anti-Semitism, jingoism and Baywatch. Throughout the entirety of the film Borat speaks in presumably his native tongue of Kazakhstani; however, he is fluent in Hebrew.[11]

It debuted at the #1 spot in the US, taking in an estimated $26.4 million in just 837 theatres averaging $31,600 per theatre, the fourth highest per-theatre average of all time for movies opening wide (500 screens or more), behind Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Spider-Man.

Baron Cohen won the 2007 Golden Globe in the "Best Actor - Musical or Comedy" category, his sixth such award. Although Borat was up for "Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy", the film lost to Dreamgirls. On 23 January 2007, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He shared his nomination with the film's co-writers, Ant Hines, Peter Baynham, Sy Mordecai Finesto, Dan Mazer, and Todd Phillips.

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 lineage with the anti-Semitism of his character Borat.[12]

In 2007, Baron Cohen published a travel guide as Borat, with dual titles: Borat: Touristic Guidings To Minor Nation of U.S. and A. and Borat: Touristic Guidings To Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan,[13] however on 21 December Baron Cohen announced he was retiring the character of Borat.[14]

Brüno character

Baron Cohen as Brüno

Another alter ego Sacha Baron Cohen performed as is 'Brüno', a flamboyantly gay Austrian fashion show presenter, who often lures his subjects, unwittingly, into making provocative statements and engaging in embarrassing behaviour, as well as leading them to contradict themselves, often in the same interview. Brüno asks the subjects to answer 'yes or no' questions with either "Vassup" (whats up), or "Ich don't think so" (no), or sometimes "Ach, ja!" (Ah, yes!) or "Nicht, nicht" (not, not). In one segment on Da Ali G Show he encouraged his guest to answer questions with either "Keep them in the ghetto" or "Train to Auschwitz". Brüno's main comedic satire pertains to the vacuity and inanity of the fashion and clubbing world. In May 2009 at the MTV Movie Awards, Baron Cohen appeared as 'Brüno' wearing a white angel costume, a white jock strap, white go-go boots and white wings, and did an aerial stunt where he dropped from a height (using wires) onto Eminem, Cohen landed on his lap and his rear in Eminem's face, prompting Eminem to exit the venue with fellow rappers D12 (staged as a malfunction, Eminem was in on the gag with Cohen and even rehearsed it, as exposed about a week after the show).

After an intense bidding war that included such Hollywood powerhouses as DreamWorks, Sony, and 20th Century Fox; Universal Pictures paid a reported $42.5 million for the rights to the movie.[15] A number of shill companies and Web sites have been created in order to draw potential interviewees into interviews by creating an illusion of legitimacy.[16]

Controversies

Baron Cohen has encountered many controversies regarding some of his comic characters.

  • Two residents of Glod, the Romani village in which the opening scenes of Borat were filmed, hired US attorney Edward Fagan to sue the makers of Borat for $30 million. They alleged that the intent of the film was misrepresented to them, that the poorest members of their village were made to look like "savages", and that they were underpaid, particularly when their minute salaries were compared to the millions earned by the completed movie. During several segments, children were filmed with guns and other weapons and in another scene, an amputee who lost his arm was told to wear a rubber fist sex toy.[17] The lawsuit was dismissed in a New York hearing on the grounds that the allegations were too vague to stand up in court.[18]
  • In an interview with former British MP Neil Hamilton in 2000, Ali G offered Hamilton what was allegedly cannabis, which Hamilton accepted and smoked, creating some minor controversy in the British media.[19]
  • At the 2006 MTV Movie Awards, Borat introduced Gnarls Barkley's performance of "Crazy", where he made a comment about Jessica Simpson, saying that he liked her mouth and that he could see it clearly through her denim pants. His appearance was cut from subsequent rebroadcasts.
  • Baron Cohen has had some troubles because of racist or prejudiced comments his characters have made (see Da Ali G Show). HBO spokesman Quentin Schaffer has replied to the criticisms: 'Through his alter-egos, he delivers an obvious satire that exposes people's ignorance and prejudice in much the same way All in the Family did years ago.'[20] 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.[21] "Borat essentially works as a tool. By himself being anti-Semitic, he lets people lower their guard and expose their own prejudice", Baron Cohen explains.[6] Addressing the same topic in an NPR interview with Robert Siegel, Baron Cohen says "...and I think that's quite an interesting thing with Borat, which is people really let down their guard with him 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."[22]
  • Baron Cohen, the grandson of a Holocaust survivor, says he also wishes in particular to expose the role of indifference in that genocide. "When I was in university, there was this major historian of the Third Reich, Ian Kershaw, who said, 'The path to Auschwitz 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 be apathetic."[6] Regarding the enthusiastic response to his song, "Throw The Jew Down The Well", he says, "Did it reveal that they were anti-Semitic? Perhaps. But maybe it just revealed that they were indifferent to anti-Semitism."[6]
  • The government of Kazakhstan threatened Baron Cohen with legal action following the 2005 MTV Europe Music Awards ceremony in Lisbon, and the authority in charge of the country's country-code top-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".[23] He was, however, recently defended by Dariga Nazarbayeva, a politician and the daughter of Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who stated 'We should not be afraid of humour and we shouldn't try to control everything, I think.'[24] The deputy foreign minister of Kazakhstan has recently 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.'[25] After the worldwide success of the Borat film, the Kazakh government, including the president, altered their stance on Baron Cohen's parody, tacitly recognizing the invaluable press the controversy created for their country.[26]
  • Baron Cohen encountered another problem around his Borat character. Two of the three University of South Carolina students who appear in Borat 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 USA. On 11 December 2006, a Los Angeles judge denied the pair a restraining order to remove them from the film.[27] The lawsuit was dismissed in February 2007.[28]
  • Baron Cohen walked onto the runway during the Ágatha Ruiz de la Prada fashion show in Milan on 26 September 2008. In the character of his latest alter-ego Brüno, he was wearing costume made out of velcro. He appeared on the stage with a large tent and other items attached 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 allegedly accessed the fashion show using fake IDs.[29]
  • During an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman, Cohen stated he was restricted from answering David Letterman's question as to how he managed to get an interview with Pat Buchanan while in character as Ali G due to pending "legal reasons".[30]
  • While introducing an award at the 2009 MTV Movie Awards, Baron Cohen was lowered upside-down from the rafters dressed as an angel right into rapper Eminem's lap after an apparently staged problem with his wire harness. Baron Cohen had only a jockstrap on underneath and fully exposed his buttocks in Eminem's face. Eminem swore repeatedly, demanding that his friends, members of D12, each of whom were sitting next to Eminem, remove Baron Cohen, then left the auditorium.[31] Baron Cohen then announced the winner while still hanging from the wires above the stage. It was later revealed that Eminem and Baron Cohen had planned the gag together.[32]
  • Baron Cohen was sued in California on 22 May 2009 over a 2007 incident at a charity bingo tournament that was filmed for "Brüno" at which a participant claimed she was disabled as a result of Baron Cohen's attempt to "create a dramatic emotional response". The lawsuit, seeking unspecified damages of more than $25,000, claims Baron Cohen's camera crew struggled with the plaintiff after she tried to grab a microphone away from the actor while he was using vulgarities calling a bingo game.[33][34]

TV, radio and magazine appearances

Baron Cohen guest-starred in the finale of the fifth season Curb Your Enthusiasm, with Dustin Hoffman as a guide to Heaven. He also provided the voice of the lemur king, King Julien, in DreamWorks' family movie Madagascar (2005) as well as its 2008 sequel, and appeared as Will Ferrell's arch rival the French Formula One speed demon Jean Girard in the 2006 hit Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. He also appeared alongside Johnny Depp in the 2007 film Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street as Signor Adolfo Pirelli.

Baron Cohen tends to avoid doing interviews out of character. However, in 2004, he did the talk show circuit appearing as himself on The Late Show with David Letterman, The Opie and Anthony Show, The Howard Stern Show,[35] and others in order to promote the upcoming season of his show on HBO. He was also interviewed on NPR's All Things Considered.[22] He also did an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine, published in November 2006, that the magazine labelled as "his only interview as himself".[6] He also appeared in an interview out of character with Terry Gross on NPR's Fresh Air on 4 January 2007.[36]

Baron Cohen has twice presented the MTV Europe Music Awards, first as Ali G on 8 November 2001, in Frankfurt, Germany, and then as Borat on 3 November 2005 in Lisbon, Portugal. Baron Cohen appeared out of character to present an award at the British Comedy Awards in December 2006. He said at the time that Borat could not make it to the awards as 'he is at a conference in Iran at the moment,' referring to the International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust. Baron Cohen also referred to that same Iranian conference as a "holocaust denial conference", saying that Borat was the "guest of honour" and jokingly describing it as a "very important conference".

Borat Director Larry Charles explains that Baron Cohen generally appears in character partly to "protect his weakness", by focusing public interest on his characters rather than himself.[37] His other reason, Newsweek claims, is that Baron Cohen is fiercely private: "...according to the UK press, his publicists denied not only that he attended a party for the London premiere of 'Borat', but also that a party even occurred".[37]

It was reported online that Baron Cohen might play Freddie Mercury in a biographical film,[38] but his publicist later declared that Baron Cohen would not do so.[39]

Baron Cohen shot a spread with supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio for Marie Claire Magazine to promote the film Brüno.[40]

Sports Illustrated's 6 November 2006 issue contains a column called "Skater vs. Instigator", which illustrates various amusing "parallels" between Baron Cohen and figure skater Sasha Cohen, ranging from their mutually held personal significance of the number 4,[41] to their mutual romantic interests in redheads. Baron Cohen also featured on Rove! on the 28th of June, 2009. Baron Cohen featured in the Time 100 list for 2007.[42]

Personal life

Baron Cohen is engaged to the Australian actress Isla Fisher. After three years of study, Isla converted to Judaism in early 2007, and has received the approval of Baron Cohen's observant Jewish parents.[43] On 19 October 2007 Isla gave birth to a baby girl named Olive Baron Cohen in Los Angeles, California, USA.[44]

Performer versus characters

Baron Cohen has often been confused with the identity of one of his characters. When he posed as Borat to host the MTV Europe Music Awards in Lisbon, the central Hungarian news wire agency MTI reported that the host was 'Borat Sagdiyev'.[45] As most Hungarian newspapers and television networks take MTI as their official source, the misinterpretation of the character spread rapidly in Hungary, with some sources (such as TV2) emphasizing that a Kazakhstani news reporter hosted the awards, while others (such as Index.hu) noticed and pointed out the error.[46]

Israel and Judaism

Baron Cohen first acted in theatrical productions featuring the Socialist-Zionist youth movement Habonim Dror.[47]

He spent a year in Israel at Kibbutz Rosh HaNikra and Kibbutz Beit HaEmek as part of the Shnat Habonim Dror, as well as taking part in the programme "Machon l'Madrichei Chutz L'Aretz" for Jewish youth movement leaders.

Baron Cohen frequently speaks in Hebrew while playing the anti-Semitic character Borat. He also sang the lyrics from an old Hebrew folk song in an episode of Da Ali G Show. In one of the deleted scenes of his movie, after being asked by the host-pastor to lead the table in a pre-meal prayer service, Cohen, in his character role of Borat, sings a lengthy hymn (not Hebrew) that has clear recollections of the Mussaf prayer service of the Jewish High Holidays.[48]

Awards and nominations

  • 1999 - Won British Comedy Award, Best Male Comedy Newcomer for The 11 O'Clock Show (1998)
  • 2000 - Nominated BAFTA TV Award, Best Entertainment Performance for The 11 O'Clock Show (1998)
  • 2000 - Nominated National Television Awards, UK, Most Popular Comedy Performer for Da Ali G Show (2000)
  • 2000 - Won TV Quick Award, TV Personality of the Year for Da Ali G Show (2000)
  • 2001 - Won BAFTA TV Award, Best Comedy (Programme or Series) for Da Ali G Show (2000) (shared)
  • 2001 - Won BAFTA TV Award, Best Comedy Performance for Da Ali G Show (2000)
  • 2003 - Nominated Emmy Award, Outstanding Non-Fiction Program (Alternative) for Da Ali G Show (2003) (shared)
  • 2003 - Nominated Emmy Award, Outstanding Writing for Non-Fiction Programming for Da Ali G Show (2003) (shared)
  • 2004 - Nominated Golden Satellite Award, Best Performance by an Actor in a Series, Comedy or Musical for Da Ali G Show (2003)
  • 2005 - Nominated Emmy Award, Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series for Da Ali G Show (2003) (shared)
  • 2005 - Nominated Emmy Award, Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program for Da Ali G Show (2003) (shared)
  • 2006 - Won Ronnie Barker Award[49]
  • 2007 - Won MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss alongside Will Ferrell in Talladega Nights

Borat awards and nominations

  • 2006 - Won: Los Angeles Films Critics Association Award for Best Actor.
  • 2006 - Won: San Francisco Films Critics Circle Award for Best Actor.
  • 2006 - Winner: Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor.
  • 2006 - Won: Deutscher Comedypreis (German comedy award) for Best International Comedy.
  • 2007 - Won: Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Comedy/Musical
  • 2007 - Nominated: Golden Globe for Best Picture Comedy/Musical.
  • 2007 - Nominated: London Film Critics Circle Award for British Actor of the Year.
  • 2007 - Nominated: Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay (shared).
  • 2007 - Nominated: Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay (shared).
  • 2007 - Won: MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance and Nominated for Best Movie as well.
  • 2007 - Won: The Evening Standard British Film Awards: Peter Sellers award for Best Comedy.

Filmography

Year Film Role Notes
1995 Jack and Jeremy's Police 4 Execution victim TV special
1995 Pump TV TV Presenter, UK regional cable channel TV special
1996 Punch unnamed short film
1998 Live from the Lighthouse Ali G TV special
1998-1999 The 11 O'Clock Show Ali G TV series
2000 The Jolly Boys' Last Stand Vinnie
Da Ali G Show (UK) Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev, Brüno TV series
2002 Ali G Indahouse Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev
2003 Spyz James Bond (Ali G) short film
2003-2004 Da Ali G Show (US) Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev, Brüno TV series
2005 Curb Your Enthusiasm Larry's Guide #2 (guest star) Season 5, episode 10 "The End"
Madagascar King Julien voice
2006 Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby Jean Girard
Night of Too Many Stars: An Overbooked Event for Autism Education Borat Sagdiyev TV special
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan Borat Sagdiyev
2007 Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Signor Adolfo Pirelli
2008 Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa King Julien voice
2009 Brüno Brüno

References

  1. ^ "BARON COHEN, Sacha". BFI Film & TV Database. http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/individual/837355. Retrieved 2006-11-06. 
  2. ^ Yahoo Movies: Sacha Baron Cohen to shed Borat persona for good Yahoo, 22 December 2007
  3. ^ Mount, Harry (2006-09-15). "Kazakhstan launches propaganda campaign against Borat". Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/09/15/wborat15.xml. Retrieved 2006-11-06. 
  4. ^ "Valley G's wicked Welsh rootz". BBC News. 2002-03-28. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/1898402.stm. Retrieved 2006-11-22. 
  5. ^ White, Roland (2007-01-21). "Borat's easy ... being me is odd". Times Online. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/article1294842.ece. Retrieved 2007-06-18. 
  6. ^ a b c d e Strauss, Neil. "Sacha Baron Cohen - The Real Borat - Finally Speaks". Rolling Stone Magazine. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/sacha_baron_cohen_the_real_borat_finally_speaks. 
  7. ^ Rayner, Jay (2002-02-24). "Mutha of invention". Guardian Unlimited. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,656096,00.html. Retrieved 2006-11-06. 
  8. ^ a b Sacha Baron Cohen: Our man from Kazakhstan [The Observer]
  9. ^ "It's Borat Day!", Video Dog (Salon), 2006-11-03, http://archive.salon.com/ent/video_dog/comedy/2006/11/03/supergreg/index.html, retrieved 2009-08-12 
  10. ^ Strauss, Neil (2006-11-14). "The man behind the mustache". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/sacha_baron_cohen_the_real_borat_finally_speaks. Retrieved 2008-08-14. 
  11. ^ Guardian.co.uk
  12. ^ Borat: Throw The Jew Down The Well
  13. ^ Yahoo.com
  14. ^ AFP: Comedian Cohen says he is killing off Borat
  15. ^ "Borat is Rich...NOT". Forbes. 2006-11-13. http://www.forbes.com/home/digitalentertainment/2006/11/13/borat-cohen-money-tech-media-cz_lg_1114borat.html. Retrieved 2006-11-21. 
  16. ^ "Sacha Baron Cohen's Guerilla Tactics". 2009-03-19. http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2009/0319092bruno1.html. Retrieved 2009-03-20. 
  17. ^ "Borat film 'tricked' poor village actors", Daily Mail, 11 November 2006.
  18. ^ "New York judge questions viability of villagers' 'Borat' lawsuit" IHT, 5 December 2006
  19. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/607608.stm
  20. ^ TheJewishWeek.com article
  21. ^ "Borat" satire turns to farce at Toronto festival
  22. ^ a b NPR story
  23. ^ "British comic responds to legal threat against 'Borat'", CBC, 25 November 2005.
  24. ^ "Daughter of Kazakhstan's president defends Borat", CBC, 21 April 2006.
  25. ^ "Kazakh invite for Borat creator", BBC News, 19 October 2006.
  26. ^ Robert A. Saunders, "Buying into Brand Borat: Kazakhstan’s Cautious Embrace of Its Unwanted 'Son'", Slavic Review, 67 (1): 63-80 (Spring 2008).
  27. ^ "L.A. judge sides with 'Borat' against frat boys", 11 December 2006, Reuters
  28. ^ Borat Frat Boys Lawsuit Dismissed By Judge Who Secretly Knows Sacha Baron Cohen's Golden Globes Speech By Heart
  29. ^ Sacha Baron Cohen Kicked Out of Milan Fashion Week
  30. ^ "The Late Show with David Letterman" on CBS
  31. ^ Brüno Lands On Eminem During Awkward MTV Movie Awards Moment
  32. ^ Eminem Laughs About Bruno Butt in Face
  33. ^ The Lawsuit Generator that is Sacha Baron Cohen
  34. ^ "Sacha Baron Cohen: Menace or Genius?", Examiner.com, By Allen Glines, July 14, 2009
  35. ^ [1] The Howard Stern Show
  36. ^ [2], Fresh Air, 4 January 2007 (advance to 21:10 in the interview)
  37. ^ a b Newsweek article
  38. ^ Sacha Baron Cohen to Play Freddie Mercury | Spin Magazine Online
  39. ^ Sacha Baron Cohen Won't Play Freddie Mercury In Queen Biopic
  40. ^ Marie Claire Spread
  41. ^ 4 is the Supreme Number of the Universe - CubicAO
  42. ^ Barr, Roseanne (2007-05-04). "Sacha Baron Cohen, Time 100". Time magazine. http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/time100/article/0,28804,1595326_1595332_1616201,00.html. Retrieved 2007-05-04. 
  43. ^ 'I is marrying me Julie'| News | This is London
  44. ^ Introducing Olive Cohen : Celebrity Baby Blog
  45. ^ MTI reporting from MTV Europe Music Awards
  46. ^ Index.hu article
  47. ^ Scott, Kirsty (29 September 2006). "He becomes the character, certainly with Ali G and Borat. He has a mix of Sellers's acting and Rod Hull's bottle". Features. The Guardian. http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0,,1883923,00.html. Retrieved 2007-01-16. "First acted with the Habonim Dror Jewish youth group and at Cambridge in plays such as Cyrano de Bergerac and Fiddler on the Roof." 
  48. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTaFkahld50
  49. ^ "Sacha leaves Borat behind as he steps out with Isla". Hello. 14 December 2006. http://www.hellomagazine.com/celebrities/2006/12/14/borat-comedy-awards/. Retrieved 2009-06-09. 

External links

Preceded by
Wyclef Jean
Xzibit
MTV Europe Music Awards host
2001 (as Ali G)
2005 (as Borat)
Succeeded by
Sean Combs
Justin Timberlake

 
 
Learn More
Accidentes (2009 Comedy Film)
Downsizing (2010 Comedy Drama Film)
Bruno (2009 Comedy Film)

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