Sacha Baron Cohen

Sacha Noam Baron Cohen is an English actor, filmmaker, comedian, and anti-racist advocate born on 13 October 1971. He is widely recognized for creating and portraying the fictional satirical characters Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev, Brüno Gehard, and Admiral General Haffaz Aladeen. Described as a performance artist for his character work, he has received multiple Golden Globe Awards and British Academy Television Awards, as well as nominations for Academy Awards and Primetime Emmy Awards.

Born into a Jewish family in Hammersmith, London, Baron Cohen was raised by his parents, Daniella and Gerald Baron Cohen, alongside two older brothers. He was educated at St Columba's College and Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School before studying history with a focus on antisemitism at Christ's College, Cambridge, where he graduated in 1993. During his university years, he performed with the Cambridge University Amateur Dramatic Club. He later studied clowning in Paris at the École Philippe Gaulier under master-clown Philippe Gaulier.

After leaving university, Baron Cohen worked as a fashion model and co-hosted local broadcasts on Windsor cable television. He went on to host the television shows Pump TV from 1995 to 1996 and F2F beginning in 1996. He made his feature film debut in the British comedy The Jolly Boys' Last Stand in 2000.

Baron Cohen achieved widespread fame with his character Ali G, who debuted on Channel 4's The 11 O'Clock Show in 1998. The character subsequently starred in Da Ali G Show starting in 2000 and the 2002 film Ali G Indahouse. Baron Cohen gained notoriety for conducting interviews with unsuspecting public figures and politicians while remaining in character as Ali G. He later announced another project featuring the character, titled Ali G: Who Iz I?.

He further expanded his satirical work with the characters Borat Sagdiyev, a fictional Kazakh journalist, and Brüno Gehard, a flamboyantly gay Austrian fashion presenter. Baron Cohen wrote and starred in the 2006 film Borat, winning a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. He earned another Golden Globe for the 2020 sequel Borat Subsequent Moviefilm and brought his fashion presenter character to theaters in Brüno in 2009.

In addition to his mockumentary projects, Baron Cohen wrote, produced, and starred in the comedy feature films The Dictator and Grimsby. His dramatic roles include appearances in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Hugo, Les Misérables, and portraying activist Abbie Hoffman in The Trial of the Chicago 7, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. On television, he starred in Who Is America?, portrayed Eli Cohen in The Spy, appeared in Disclaimer, and joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Mephisto in Ironheart.

As a voice actor, Baron Cohen voiced King Julien XIII in the Madagascar animated film series from 2005 to 2012 and Uncle Ugo in the 2021 film Luca. He has been a member of the Actors Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences since 2008.