Sacha Baron Cohen

Sacha Baron Cohen (born October 13, 1971, London, England) is a British actor and comedian best known for his politically incorrect social satire delivered through such outlandish characters as Ali G, Borat, and Brüno. In several television series and movies, Baron Cohen appeared in disguise to disarm unsuspecting politicians, celebrities, and regular people.

Baron Cohen was born into a devout Jewish family, and he studied history at the University of Cambridge. After deciding to pursue a career in entertainment, in 1998 he joined the television comedy series The 11 O’Clock Show, for which he created Ali G. Baron Cohen conceived the character as a white “hip-hop journalist” who has adopted a heightened version of the attire—a brightly colored tracksuit, tinted sunglasses, and designer skullcap—and dialect associated with British rude boy culture. (Rude boy culture emerged in working class communities in Jamaica and later became an influential subculture in Great Britain.) Asking outlandish questions filled with malapropisms, Ali G interviewed unsuspecting actual politicians and celebrities and in the process revealed their prejudices and ignorance. His phenomenal popularity led to Da Ali G Show in 2000.

Baron Cohen soon introduced two other clueless characters: Borat, a racist, antisemitic, homophobic, sexist Kazakh reporter, and Brüno, a gay Austrian fashion reporter. In 2001 both the show and Baron Cohen earned BAFTA Awards. After making his film debut in Ali G Indahouse (2002), Baron Cohen sought new unwitting subjects, and in 2003–04 Da Ali G Show aired in the United States on the cable channel HBO.

Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors.

SIGN UP

By clicking “Sign Up”, you consent to the Britannica Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Britannica Quiz

Pop Culture Quiz

Baron Cohen subsequently focused on his film career. Beginning in 2005, he provided the voice of the king of the lemurs in the animated Madagascar series, and he appeared as a French race-car driver opposite Will Ferrell in the comedy Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby in 2006. That year, though, it was Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan that made Baron Cohen a household name. Borat’s encounters with unsuspecting Americans as he traveled across the United States in search of Pamela Anderson provided for outrageous and often cringe-inducing moments—a gun-store owner suggests the best gun for shooting a Jew, and several fraternity brothers wish for the return of slavery.

Not everyone appreciated the humor. Several people featured in the film sued, and the government of Kazakhstan took out newspaper ads to counter the movie’s unflattering portrayal. Borat earned Baron Cohen a Golden Globe Award for best actor in a musical or comedy as well as an Academy Award nomination for best adapted screenplay.

In 2007 Baron Cohen appeared as the victim of a homicidal barber (played by Johnny Depp) in the Tim Burton film Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Two years later he brought Brüno to the big screen in an eponymous feature. Baron Cohen subsequently announced that he was retiring the character, as he had previously announced he would do with Borat and Ali G.

In 2011 he appeared in Martin Scorsese’s family-oriented fantasy Hugo as a self-important Parisian train station agent. For his next starring vehicle, The Dictator (2012), Baron Cohen created a new comedic character—the despotic military ruler of a fictitious country in the Horn of Africa. He subsequently portrayed the wicked Thénardier in a 2012 film adaptation of the musical Les Misérables.

Explore Britannica Premium!

The trusted destination for professionals, college students, and lifelong learners.

SUBSCRIBE

Baron Cohen cowrote and starred in The Brothers Grimsby (2016), a spy comedy in which he played the hapless brother of an assassin (Mark Strong), and he portrayed the villainous Time in Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016). He then debuted the television series Who Is America? in 2018, once again creating several outlandish characters to interview unsuspecting politicians and celebrities to reveal their prejudices.

The next year the comedian assumed a more serious role when he was cast as Israeli operative Eli Cohen in the TV series The Spy. Baron Cohen then played Abbie Hoffman in Aaron Sorkin’s The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020), a film about a group of political activists who were tried for their antiwar activities during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. He received an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor for his performance. Also in 2020 he brought Borat out of retirement for Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, which notably featured Rudy Giuliani, U.S. Pres. Donald Trump’s personal attorney, in one of its pranks. For his performance in the satire, Baron Cohen won a Golden Globe for best actor in a musical or comedy, and he also was a nominee, with others, for the Academy Award for best adapted screenplay.

In 2021 he voiced a character in the Pixar animated film Luca. Three years later he appeared in Alfonso Cuarón’s Apple TV series Disclaimer, playing the husband of a journalist (Cate Blanchett). He then portrayed Mephisto in an episode of the Marvel Cinematic Universe miniseries Ironheart (2025). In 2026 Baron Cohen starred in Ladies First as a cad business executive who is transported to an alternate reality where women are in charge of everything. Also that year he revived the Ali G character in the feature film Ali G: Who Iz I?, which he also directed.