Sacha Baron Cohen
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For the figure skater, see Sasha Cohen.
| Sacha Baron Cohen | |
|---|---|
 Baron Cohen at the New York City premiere of Hugo on 21 November 2011 | |
| Birth name | Sacha Noam Baron Cohen |
| Born | 13 October 1971 Hammersmith, London, England |
| Alma mater | Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School Christ's College, Cambridge |
| Influences | Peter Sellers, Peter Cook, Rowan Atkinson Monty Python[1] |
| Spouse | Isla Fisher (m. 2010)[2] |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent(s) | Daniella and Gerald Baron Cohen |
| Notable works and roles | Ali G Borat Sagdiyev Brüno Gehard Admiral General Aladeen |
Baron Cohen was named Best Newcomer at the 1999 British Comedy Awards for The 11 O'Clock Show, and since then, his work has been further recognised with two BAFTA Awards for Da Ali G Show, several Emmy nominations, a nomination for an Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay, and a Golden Globe for Best Actor for his work in the feature film Borat. After the release of Borat, Baron Cohen stated that because the public had become too familiar with the characters, he would retire Borat and Ali G.[5] Similarly, after the release of Brüno, Baron Cohen stated he would also retire the title character.[6] At the 2012 British Comedy Awards, he received the Outstanding Achievement Award, accepting the award while reprising his Ali G character.[7] In 2013, he received the BAFTA Charlie Chaplin Britannia Award for Excellence in Comedy.[8]
Contents
Early life
The youngest of three brothers, Baron Cohen was born in Hammersmith, West London. His mother, Daniella Naomi (née Weiser), who worked as a movement instructor, was born in Israel.[9] His father, Gerald Baron Cohen, a clothing store owner, was born in London, and raised in Wales.[10][11] Baron Cohen was raised Jewish.[12] His father's family were Eastern European Jews who moved to Pontypridd, Wales, and London, England, and his mother's family were German Jews.[9] His paternal grandfather, Morris Cohen, had added "Baron" to his surname.[11][13] His maternal grandmother, who lives in Haifa, Israel, trained as a ballet dancer in Germany.[10][14][15][16] He has two brothers: Erran and Amnon.[17] Erran is a composer and has worked on several of Sacha's films. Baron Cohen's cousin, Simon, is an internationally renowned autism researcher.[18]Baron Cohen attended Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School, a private school in Elstree, Hertfordshire, north of London.[19] He went on to the University of Cambridge, entering Christ's College, Cambridge, where he read history.[20] While attending the Cambridge University Amateur Dramatic Club, Baron Cohen acted in the plays Fiddler on the Roof and Cyrano de Bergerac, and performed in Habonim Dror Jewish theatre performances.[21]
Early roles
After leaving university, Baron Cohen worked for a time as a fashion model, appearing in many fashion magazines.[21] 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. 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 (who developed into the Kazakh Borat Sagdiyev), which caught the attention of a producer. Baron Cohen hosted Pump TV from 1995–1996. In 1996, he began presenting the youth chat programme F2F for Granada Talk TV. He took clown training in Paris, at the Ecole Philippe Gaulier, studying under master-clown Philippe Gaulier. Of his former pupil, Gaulier says: "He was a good clown, full of spirit".[22] In the late 1990s, Baron Cohen made his first feature film appearance in the British comedy The Jolly Boys' Last Stand. In 2000, Baron Cohen played the part of Super Greg for a series of TV advertisements for Lee Jeans; the advertisements never aired but the website for Super Greg created an internet sensation.[23]Characters
Ali G
Baron Cohen as Ali G, offering a speech at Harvard University's Class Day during Commencement ceremonies
Main article: Ali G
Baron Cohen appeared during two-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, hailing from Staines (a suburban town in Surrey, to the west of London), started appearing on the British television show The 11 O'Clock Show on Channel 4, which first went to air 8 September 1998. A year after the première of the show, GQ named him comedian of the year.[24] He won Best Newcomer at the 1999 British Comedy Awards, and was nominated for Best British Entertainment Performance at the British Academy Television Awards.[24]Da Ali G Show began in 2000, and won the BAFTA for Best Comedy in the following year.[25] 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 home town, Staines.[26] His television show was exported to the United States in 2003, with new episodes set there, for HBO.
At the 2012 British Comedy Awards, thirteen years after winning Best Newcomer at the 1999 Comedy Awards, Baron Cohen accepted the Outstanding Achievement Award from Sir Ben Kingsley in the guise of Ali G, and stated: "I is grown up now. I ain't living in my nan's house anymore. I is living in her garage".[7]
Ali G's interviews with celebrities (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, whom 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 start.[27]
The resulting willingness of Baron Cohen's targets to answer his frequently risqué questions often created surprising conversations. Interviewees have included:
- astronaut Buzz Aldrin
- politician and consumer advocate Ralph Nader
- writer Gore Vidal
- real estate mogul Donald Trump
- former US Surgeon General C. Everett Koop
- basketball players Dwyane Wade, Shaquille O'Neal, Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Richard Jefferson, Tim Duncan, Ben Wallace and Robert Horry
- former US Secretary of State James Baker III
- former US Attorney General Dick Thornburgh
- businessman and billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed
- Professor Heinz Wolff
- former US Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich
- political commentator Pat Buchanan
- Professor Noam Chomsky
- footballer David Beckham and his wife, ex-Spice Girl Victoria Beckham, for the UK's Comic Relief
- former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali (whom Baron Cohen, in his Ali G character, referred to as 'Boutros Boutros Boutros-Ghali')
- former Conservative Party MP Neil Hamilton
- journalist Andy Rooney
- Labour politician Tony Benn
- DUP politician Sammy Wilson
- American Creationist Kent Hovind
- British Conservative Party politician Jacob Rees-Mogg
Borat Sagdiyev
Main article: Borat Sagdiyev
Baron Cohen as Borat, 2006
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 3.
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.[29]
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.[30]
On 21 December 2007, Baron Cohen announced he was retiring the character of Borat.[31]
Brüno Gehard
Brüno Gehard.
Main article: Brüno Gehard
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 asks the subjects to answer "yes or no" questions with either "Vassup" (what's up) or "Ich don't think so" (No); these are occasionally substituted with "Ach, ja!" (Ah yes!) or "Nicht, nicht" ("Nicht" means "not" in German). 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 jockstrap, white go-go boots, and white wings; and did an aerial stunt where he dropped from a height (using wires) onto Eminem. Baron Cohen landed with his face on Eminem's crotch, with his crotch in Eminem's face, prompting Eminem to exit the venue with fellow rappers D12. Eminem later admitted to staging the stunt with Baron Cohen.[32] After an intense bidding war that included such Hollywood powerhouses as DreamWorks, Sony, and 20th Century Fox, Universal Pictures won and paid a reported $42.5 million for the film rights.[33] A number of shill companies and websites were created in order to draw potential interviewees into interviews by creating an illusion of legitimacy.[34] The film was released in July 2009.
Admiral General Aladeen
Main article: The Dictator (2012 film)
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".[35] Baron Cohen played Admiral General Aladeen, a dictator from a fictional country called the Republic of Wadiya.[36][37] Borat and Bruno film director Larry Charles directed the film.[38] The main target of the film's satire was Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was still alive when the film was written.[39] 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 dictator Saddam Hussein.[39]On 26 February 2012, Baron Cohen was allegedly banned from attending the 84th Academy Awards in his role as Admiral General Aladeen but the rumour was denied by the Academy, saying "we haven't banned him. We're just waiting to hear what he's going to do" but made it clear that "Cohen is not welcome to use the red carpet as a platform for a promotional stunt".[40] Cohen eventually appeared at the awards' red carpet with a pair of uniformed female bodyguards, holding an urn which he claimed was filled with the ashes of Kim Jong-il. The "ashes", which Baron Cohen admitted to Howard Stern on the Tuesday, 8 May 2012 episode of The Howard Stern Show were flour, were "accidentally" spilled onto Ryan Seacrest.
Controversies and criticism
Sacha Baron Cohen at the E! after party, January 2007.
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.[citation needed]
At the 2006 UK premiere of Borat, he arrived in Leicester 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 in Kings Cross. We will all drink, wrestle with no clothes on and shoot dogs from the window."[42]
Baron Cohen has been criticized for the racist or prejudiced comments his characters have made (see Da Ali G Show). HBO spokesman Quentin Schaffer has replied to criticism concerning Baron Cohen's characters, "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."[43] 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.[44] "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.[15] 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."[45]
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."[15] Regarding the enthusiastic response to his song, "In My Country There Is Problem" (also known as "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."[15]
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 one of his alter-egos Brüno, he was wearing a costume made out of velcro. 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 allegedly accessed the fashion show using fake IDs.[46]
During an appearance on Late Show with David Letterman,[when?] Baron 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".[47]
Other work
Baron Cohen guest-starred in the fifth season of Curb Your Enthusiasm, with Dustin Hoffman as a guide to Heaven. He also provided the voice of the ring-tailed lemur king, King Julien, in DreamWorks Animation's film series, Madagascar, 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, co-starred in Martin Scorsese's 2011 adventure film Hugo, and portrayed Thénardier in the 2012 film version of the musical Les Misérables.Baron Cohen tends to avoid doing interviews out of character. However, in 2004, he did the talk show circuit appearing as himself on Late Show with David Letterman, The Opie and Anthony Show, The Howard Stern Show,[48] and others in order to promote the upcoming season of his show on HBO. He was also interviewed on NPR's All Things Considered.[45] He also did an interview with Rolling Stone, published in November 2006, that the magazine labelled as "his only interview as himself".[15] He also appeared in an interview out of character with Terry Gross on NPR's Fresh Air on 4 January 2007.[49]
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 accept 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's guest of honour at the Holocaust denial conference in Tehran",[50] referring to the International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust.
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.[51] 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."[51]
In September 2010, representatives for Cohen confirmed that he would be playing Freddie Mercury in a biopic about the rock singer.[52][53] He dropped out of the project in July 2013, citing "creative differences" between him and the surviving members of Queen.[54] Queen guitarist Brian May later said that even though the band and Baron Cohen were on good terms, they felt that Cohen's presence would be "distracting".[55]
Baron Cohen shot a spread with supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio for Marie Claire magazine to promote the film Brüno.[56]
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,[57] to their mutual romantic interests in redheads.
Baron Cohen was featured in the Time 100 list for 2007.[58]
In 2010, Cohen guest-starred on The Simpsons in the episode "The Greatest Story Ever D'ohed" as Jakob, a quick-tempered Israeli tour guide.
Personal life
Marriage and family
Baron Cohen first met actress Isla Fisher in 2002 at a party in Sydney, Australia.[59] The couple became engaged in 2004, and married on 15 March 2010 in Paris, France.[60][61] Prior to their marriage, Fisher converted to Judaism, in early 2007, after three years of study.[62] Fisher also received the approval of Baron Cohen's observant Jewish parents.[63] Baron Cohen and Fisher have two daughters: Olive, born 19 October 2007 in Los Angeles,[64] and Elula Lottie Miriam, born in August 2010.[65]Lawsuits
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".[66] He was, however, 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..."[67] 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".[68] After the worldwide success of the Borat film, the Kazakh government, including the president, altered their stance on Baron Cohen's parody, tacitly recognising the invaluable press coverage the controversy created for their country.[69]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 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.[70]
On 22 May 2009, a charity worker at a seniors' bingo game sued Baron Cohen, claiming an incident shot for Brüno at a charity bingo tournament left her disabled.[71] 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".[72] The scene did not make the final cut for the film. The case was dismissed in late November 2009 on Anti-SLAPP grounds with all attorney's fees to be paid by the charity worker. The dismissal was appealed and upheld on 12 September 2011.[73]
A lawsuit was filed on 30 April 2010 in the District of Columbia by Palestinian Christian Ayman Abu Aita of Beit Sahour, Bethlehem, West Bank, against Baron Cohen relating to his interview which was used in Brüno. Aita alleges that he has been defamed by false accusations that he is a terrorist. Aita included David Letterman in the suit based on comments made during the 7 July 2009 appearance by Baron Cohen on the Late Show with David Letterman.[74] On 4 November 2010, the D.C. case was dismissed with Aita given 120 days to file in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York or have the case permanently dismissed.[75] The case was re-filed in the Supreme Court of New York.[76]
Israel and Judaism
Baron Cohen first acted in theatrical productions featuring the Socialist-Zionist youth movement Habonim Dror.[77]He spent a year in Israel volunteering 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 La'Aretz for Jewish youth movement leaders.
According to Baron Cohen, "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." He tries to keep kosher and attends synagogue about twice a year.[78]
Filmography
Film
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Jack and Jeremy's Police 4 | Execution victim | |
| 1995 | Pump TV | Presenter | |
| 1998 | Live from the Lighthouse | Ali G | |
| 1998 | The 11 O'Clock Show | Ali G | Writer |
| 2000 | Da Ali G Show | Ali G Borat Sagdiyev Brüno Gehard | 6 episodes Writer |
| 2003 | Da Ali G Show (US) | Ali G Borat Sagdiyev Brüno Gehard | 12 episodes Writer and executive producer |
| 2005 | Curb Your Enthusiasm | Larry's guide | Season 5, Episode 10: "The End" |
| 2006 | Night of Too Many Stars | Borat Sagdiyev | |
| 2010 | The Simpsons | Jakob[79] | Voice Episode: "The Greatest Story Ever D'ohed" |
| 2013 | Eastbound and Down | Ronnie - Network Executive | Season 4, Episode 8: Series finale |
Accolades
 | This section of a biographical article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2012) |
- 1999 – Won British Comedy Award, Best Male Comedy Newcomer for The 11 O'Clock Show (1998)[80]
- 2000 – Nominated BAFTA TV Award, Best Entertainment Performance for The 11 O'Clock Show (1998)[24]
- 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[81]
- 2007 – Won MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss alongside Will Ferrell in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
- 2012 – Won British Comedy Award, Outstanding Achievement Award.[7]
Borat awards and nominations
- 2006 – Won: Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor.
- 2006 – Won: San Francisco Film 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 and Best Fight with Ken Davitian.
- 2007 – Won: Evening Standard British Film Awards: Peter Sellers award for Best Comedy.
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