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Sacha Noam Baron Cohen[1] (born October 13, 1971)
is an English comedian and actor notable for his successful and controversial
comic characters, including Ali G (a journalist from West Staines, England),
Borat (a Kazakh reporter) and Bruno (a flamboyantly gay Austrian fashion
reporter).
All three characters are featured in Da Ali G Show,
an often unscripted program in which Sacha Baron Cohen conducts interviews as
one of his three characters with people who ostensibly believe that the
interviews are sincere and legitimate.
His work has been recognized with a BAFTA award,
and earned an Emmy nomination as well as a Golden Globe nomination.
****
Born October 13, 1971 (age 35)
Hammersmith, London, England
Height 6' 3 " (1.91m)
Notable roles Ali G in Da Ali G Show
Borat in Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for
Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Bruno in Da Ali G Show
Jean Girard in Talladega Nights
****
Family
Baron Cohen was born in Hammersmith, London,
England[1] to an Orthodox Jewish family.[2] "Baron" is not a title of nobility,
but the first part of his compound surname, an Anglicization of Baruch. He is
the youngest of three sons of parents Gerald Baron Cohen and Daniella Weiseran.
His father, originally from Wales,[3] owns a menswear shop in Piccadilly. His
paternal grandfather was born in Pontypridd. His mother, a Persian Jew
[4][5][6][7] who teaches a school of movement, was born in Israel[8] and is the
daughter of an acclaimed ballet dancer from Germany.[9][10] His brother Erran
Baron Cohen, a composer and trumpet player with Middle Eastern influences and a
founding member of the British electronica world-music group Zöhar, lent his
talents to the Borat film.
Baron Cohen is the second cousin of University of
Cambridge Professor of Developmental Psychopathology Simon Baron-Cohen[11].
Baron Cohen's maternal grandmother, who is
ninety-one, lives in Haifa, Israel. [2]
Education
The Baron Cohens enjoyed a comfortable middle-class
life. Sacha attended Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School, a private school in
Elstree. He then attended Christ's College at the University of Cambridge where
he studied history under Niall Ferguson and wrote his dissertation 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 Cyrano de Bergerac and Fiddler on the Roof,
in which he played Tevye. His long-time collaborator Dan Mazer also attended the
University of Cambridge and was a member of the Cambridge Footlights, and
although Baron Cohen himself was not a member, he performed in at least one
Footlights presentation.
Israel
& Judaism
Baron Cohen was a member of the Jewish Socialist
Zionist youth movement Habonim Dror [3], and in 1989 he acted in their
presentation of Neil Simon's play Biloxi Blues.
He spent a year in Israel at Kibbutz Rosh HaNikra
as part of the Habonim Dror Shnat program before going to a university.[4]
According to Baron, "I wouldn't say that I am a
religious Jew,but I'm still proud to be Jewish."[12]. However, he keeps kosher
and generally observes the Jewish Sabbath, refusing to answer the phone on
Shabbat. [5][6][7]
As a jest, while playing the anti-semitic character
Borat, Baron Cohen frequently speaks in Hebrew. He also sings the lyrics from an
old Hebrew folk song in the Borat film, and identifies his country's greatest
scientist, whom he says discovered that a woman's brain is the same size as that
of a squirrel, as "Dr. Yarmulke".
Engagement
Baron Cohen is engaged to Australian actress Isla
Fisher, and the pair plan to wed in a traditional Jewish ceremony. Fisher has
converted to Judaism, and has received the approval of Baron Cohen's observant
Jewish parents.[13]
Career
Early
career
In 1995, Channel 4 was planning a replacement for
its series The Word, and put out 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 working
for a Swindon-based television company, and his first feature film appearance
occurred during this period.
Ali G,
and rise to celebrity
After brief stints at prestigious investment banks
Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, Baron Cohen went back into acting, appearing during
2-minute sketches as his fashion reporter Bruno on The Paramount Comedy Channel
during 1998. He shot to fame when his comic character Ali G, an idiotic wannabe
gangsta rapper, started appearing on The Eleven O'Clock Show on Channel 4, which
first went to air September 8, 1998.
Da Ali G Show began in 2000, and won the BAFTA for
best comedy series in the following year. Also in 2000, Ali G appeared in
Madonna's music video "Music".
Ali G
Indahouse
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 brought to the United States in 2003 (with new episodes set
in America) for HBO.
Interviews
Ali G's interviews with famous people (often
politicians) gained notoriety partly because the subjects were not privy to the
joke that Baron Cohen was playing a comedic character. On at least one occasion,
the interviewee was merely told that Ali G had a popular show on MTV that kids
watched. The resulting willingness of Ali G's targets to answer his frequently
risqué questions often created surprising conversations. Notable interviewees
have included astronaut Buzz Aldrin, perennial presidential candidate Ralph
Nader, writer Gore Vidal, real estate mogul Donald Trump, former Surgeon General
C. Everett Koop, basketball player Shaquille O'Neal, Egyptian millionaire
Mohamed Al Fayed, former US Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, political
commentator Pat Buchanan, Professor Noam Chomsky, soccer player David Beckham,
former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali (whom Baron Cohen, in his Ali
G character, referred to as 'Boutros Boutros Boutros Boutros-Ghali'), British
ex-Conservative MP Neil Hamilton, and journalist Andy Rooney -- this last being
one of the few personalities who grew extremely frustrated and abruptly ended
the interview, prompting Ali G to ask "is it 'cos I is black?," and to accuse
Rooney of being "racialist".
Bruno
Baron Cohen's second alter ego is 'Brüno', a gay
Austrian fashion show presenter with a Nazi streak, who often lures his subjects
into unwittingly making provocative statements and engaging in embarrassing
behavior, 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
"Vassap" for yes, or "Ich Don't Think So" for no, or on their opinions '"Ach,
ja!," oder, "Nicht, nicht"' (Yes, of course! or Absolutely not!). In at least
one segment on Da Ali G Show he encouraged his guest to answer questions with
"Keep them in the ghetto" or "Train to Auschwitz".
Plans are underway for Baron Cohen to bring Bruno
to the big screen, and 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. According to insiders, Baron
Cohen himself is getting paid $13 million upfront, and will also receive 15% of
the box office take. That means if the film (tentatively titled Bruno) does as
well as Borat, Baron Cohen stands to make approximately $30 million. [14]
Borat
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make
Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, a feature film with 'Borat' at the
center, was screened at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival and
released in the United Kingdom November 2, 2006, in the United States on
November 3, 2006 and Australia November 23rd 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. It is said to be an
unscripted mockumentary, but includes interviews (with various American
citizens) that poke fun at the hobgoblins of American culture, including sexism,
racism, homophobia, anti-Semitism, and jingoism.
It debuted at the # 1 spot in the US, taking in an
estimated $26.4 million in just 837 theaters averaging $31,600 per theater, the
third highest per-theater average of all-time for movies opening wide (500
screens or more) behind Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and
Spider-Man. It easily outdistanced the expected # 1 movie of the weekend
Disney's The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, which landed at the # 2 spot,
earning an estimated $20 million in 3,458 cinemas. He garnered a Golden Globe
nomination, as well as the film itself for Best Motion Picture - Musical or
Comedy. As of December 30th, 2006, Sacha has won four "best actor" awards and
earned two nominations from awards around the world.
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. In one sketch from the TV show and not
included actually in the film, Borat goes to a bar singing an anti-Semitic song
called 'Throw the Jew Down the Well', with many in the bar singing along.[15]
Although the character Borat is Kazakh, he
frequently begins segments with Polish expressions "Jak sie masz?" (How are
you?), "Dzien dobry" (Good day) and "Dzienkuje" (Thank you).
Baron Cohen garnered much attention at the premiere
in Toronto when he arrived as Borat on the red carpet in a carriage pulled by
six 'peasant' women, while he and his horse rode effortlessly. [8]
Other
appearances
Baron Cohen as Ali G. appeared in Madonna's 2000
video "Music", directed by Jonas Akerlund.
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'
children's movie Madagascar (2005), and appeared as Will Ferrell's archrival
Jean Girard in the 2006 hit Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.
Baron Cohen has twice presented the MTV Europe
Music Awards, first as Ali G on November 8, 2001, in Frankfurt, Germany, and
then as Borat on November 3, 2005 in Lisbon, Portugal.
He also delivered the 2004 Class Day address at
Harvard University as Ali G, the day before the graduation ceremony.
At the 2006 MTV Movie Awards, Borat introduced
Gnarls Barkley's performance of "Crazy," where he made various crude sexist
remarks about Jessica Simpson, and Borat's appearance was cut from subsequent
rebroadcasts.
Baron Cohen is a supporter of Comic Relief, and (as
Ali G) has hosted interviews with, among others, soccer player David Beckham and
wife Victoria, for the benefit of the charity.
Baron Cohen will appear alongside Johnny Depp in
the film Sweeney Todd as Signor Adolfo Pirelli.
Controversies
Baron Cohen has encountered several controversies
regarding some of his comic characters.
Two residents of Glod, (which means "mud" in
Romanian), the Romanian village in which the opening scenes of Borat were
filmed, hired US attorney Ed Fagan to sue the makers of Borat for $30 million.
They assert the intent of the film was misrepresented to them, and that the
poorest members of their village were made to look like "savages".[16] The
lawsuit was dismissed in a New York hearing on the grounds that the allegations
were too vague to stand up in court.[17] The lawyer plans to refile.
In an interview with Neil Hamilton in 2000, Ali G
offered Hamilton what was allegedly marijuana, which Hamilton accepted and
smoked, creating some minor controversy in the British media.
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.' [9]
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.[10] "Borat essentially works a tool. By himself being
anti-Semitic, he lets people lower their guard and expose their own prejudice,"
Baron Cohen explains. [18] 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." [18] Regarding the enthusiastic response to his
song "In My Country There is Problem", he says, "Did it reveal that they were
anti-Semitic? Perhaps. But maybe it just revealed that they were indifferent to
anti-Semitism." [18]
The government of Kazakhstan threatened Baron Cohen
with legal action after the 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 currently: http://www.borat.tv/) 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"
[sic] "and fully support my government decision to sue this Jew."[19] 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.'[20] 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.' [21]
Baron Cohen encountered another problem around his
Borat character. Two of the three college students who appear in Borat!:
Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan,
are suing the filmmakers, asserting that they were duped into declaring racial
slurs in the film. They say they were given drinks prior to signing a legal
agreement consenting to appear in the film, and were told that the film would
not be shown in America. On December 11 2006, an L.A. Judge denied the pair a
restraining order to remove them from the film. [22]
Performer vs. 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'.[23] 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) emphasising
that a Kazakhstani news reporter hosted the awards, while others (such as
Index.hu) noticed and pointed out the error.[24]
TV,
radio, and magazine appearances
Baron Cohen rarely does interviews out of
character. However, in 2004, he did the talk show circuit appearing as himself
on The Daily Show, The Late Show with David Letterman, The Howard Stern Show
[11], and others. He was also interviewed on NPR's All Things Considered. [12]
He also did an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine, published in November
2006, that the magazine labeled "his only interview as himself".[18] However, he
recently appeared in an interview out of character with Terry Gross on NPR's
Fresh Air on January 4, 2007.[25]
Director Larry Charles explains that Baron Cohen
generally appears in character partly to "protect the product", by focusing
public interest on his characters rather than himself.[13] 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 "Borat"'s
recent London premiere, but also that a party even occurred." [14]
Awards
& 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 Award, 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 [26]
Borat
awards and nominations
2006 - Won Los Angeles Films Critics Association
Award for Best Actor for: "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit
Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" (2006) (tied with Forest Whitaker)
2006 - Won San Francisco Films Critics Circle Award
for Best Actor for: "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit
Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" (2006)
2006 Winner Toronto Film Critics Association Award
for Best Actor for: "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit
Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" (2006)
2006 - Won Deutscher Comedypreis (german comedy
award) for Best International Comedy for: "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America
for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" (2006)
2007 - Nominated for Golden Globe for Best Actor in
a Comedy/Musical for Borat and Best Picture Comedy/Musical for Borat as well.
2007 - Nominated for London Film Critics Circle
Award for British Actor of the Year for: "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America
for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" (2006)
Miscellaneous
Sports Illustrated's November 6, 2006 issue
contains a column called "Skater vs. Instigator", which draws various amusing
"parallels" between Sacha Baron Cohen and figure skater Sasha Cohen, ranging
from the significance of the number 4 to both of them, to interest shown in them
by various redheads.
He returned to Israel in 2005 to coach the Machon
Frisbee team in a play-off match at Kibbutz Revivim. Machon came back to win
after being down 2-8, and Baron Cohen was awarded the kibbutz's highest honour
for his efforts.[15]
Filmography
Year Title Role Other notes
2008 Dinner for Schmucks in-development
2008 Curly Oxide and Vic Thrill Curly Oxide
scripting
2008 Madagascar 2 Julien voice only, filming
2008 Bruno The Movie Bruno http://www.BrunoMovie.tv
/ http://www.boratonline.co.uk
2007 Sweeney Todd Signor Adolfo Pirelli confirmed,
pre-production
2006 Night of Too Many Stars: An Overbooked Event
for Autism Education Borat Sagdiyev TV special
2006 Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make
Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan Borat Sagdiyev Movie
2006 Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
Jean Girard
2005 Curb Your Enthusiasm Larry's Guide #2 TV
series, guest star in episode "The End"
2005 Madagascar Julien voice only
2003-2004 Da Ali G Show Ali G / Borat Sagdiyev /
Bruno TV series
2003 Spyz Ali G short film
2002 Ali G Indahouse Ali G / Borat Sagdiyev
2000 The Jolly Boys' Last Stand Vinnie
2000 Da Ali G Show Ali G / Borat Sagdiyev / Bruno
TV series
1998-1999 The 11 O'Clock Show Ali G TV series
1998 Live from the Lighthouse Ali G TV special
1996 Punch short film
1995 Jack and Jeremy's Police 4 Various TV special
Footnotes
-
^ a b COHEN, Sacha Baron. BFI
Film & TV Database. Retrieved on 2006-11-06.
-
^ Mount, Harry. "Kazakhstan
launches propaganda campaign against Borat", Telegraph, 2006-09-15.
Retrieved on 2006-11-06.
-
^ "Valley G's wicked Welsh
rootz", BBC News, 2002-03-28. Retrieved on 2006-11-22.
-
^
http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0,,1883923,00.html
-
^ http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1808442126/bio
-
^ http://www.juf.org/news_public_affairs/article.asp?key=7568
-
^ http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/2877/
-
^ Heller, Aron. "Israelis dig 'Borat,'
jokes in Hebrew", The Mercury News, 2006-12-14. Retrieved on 2006-12-14.
-
^ Rayner, Jay. "Mutha of
invention", Guardian Unlimited, 2002-02-24. Retrieved on 2006-11-06.
-
^ Rollings, Grant. "Comedy genius
Sacha opens up", The Sun, 2006-11-22. Retrieved on 2006-11-22.
-
^ Empathizing with Simon
Baron-Cohen's cousin, August 04, 2004.
-
^ [1], Fresh Air, January 4, 2007
(advance to 21:10 in the interview)
-
^
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-9474353-details/%27I+is+marrying+me+Julie%27/article.do
-
^ "Borat is Rich...NOT", Forbes,
2006-11-13. Retrieved on 2006-11-21.
-
^ Borat: Throw The Jew Down The
Well
-
^ "Borat film 'tricked' poor
village actors", Daily Mail, November 11, 2006.
-
^ "New York judge questions
viability of villagers' 'Borat' lawsuit" IHT, December 5, 2006
-
^ a b c d Strauss, Neil. "Sacha
Baron Cohen - The Real Borat - Finally Speaks", Rolling Stone Magazine.
-
^ "British comic responds to
legal threat against 'Borat'", CBC, Friday, Nov. 25, 2005.
-
^ "Daughter of Kazakhstan's
president defends Borat", CBC, Friday, April 21, 2006.
-
^ "Kazakh invite for Borat
creator", BBC News, Thursday, October 19, 2006.
-
^ "L.A. judge sides with 'Borat'
against frat boys" Dec 11 2006, Reuters
-
^ MTI reporting from MTV Europe
Music Awards
-
^ Index.hu article on the
reporting error
-
^
-
^ "Sacha Leaves Borat Behind
Hello Magazine, 2006/12/14
****
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