Biography of Sacha Baron Cohen

Sacha Baron Cohen has become the topic of choice with his recent movie release, called "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan." Cohen first came to the attention of Americans with Madonna's video for the song "Music". After this, he secured a spot on US television with HBO's "Da Ali G Show". Ali G. is a character that dresses in a hip-hop style, and asks uneducated questions of his guests. The character of Borat appeared on most episodes, and there was a third character named Bruno, who was openly gay, and often confronted people with his sexuality. All of these characters are played by Sacha Baron Cohen, but because he rarely does interviews as himself, most people don't know anything about Cohen. Here is a biography of Cohen, the Cambridge educated provocateur who came up with these outrageous characters.

Sacha Baron Cohen is the second of three sons that Gerald Baron Cohen his wife Daniella. His mother is originally from Israel, and his father from Wales. Unlike Borat, Cohen has no fear of Jews. He is Jewish, keeps kosher, and has a grandmother that lives in Haifa, Israel. His family understands the comedy that he does, and the satirical nature of it. His grandmother that lives in Israel called him on opening night, at four in the morning, so they could discuss and dissect each scene of the movie.

Cohen attended Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School, and went on to study history at Cambridge. Naturally, this says that there is more to Cohen than just his characters, and suggests that he has a much more understated nature than his characters. He is not the only scholar in his family. A cousin, Simon Baron Cohen has done studies with autism, and has proposed that it stems from "an extreme male brain".

In 1994, Channel 4 in London put out an open call for new presenters. It was Sacha Baron Cohen as his character Borat that caught their attention. Though he did not get the spot, one producer kept him in mind and he began appearing as Ali G. on "The Eleven O'Clock Show". "Da Ali G. Show" began in 2000, and he won a BAFTA award in 2001 for "Best Comedy Series". In 2003, "Da Ali G. Show" moved to the US, and gained a new audience, and new targets for his satirical humor.

In 2006, his movie, "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" appeared in movie theaters, breaking the record for the biggest opening weekend for a film released in under 1,000 theaters. This record was previously held by Fahrenheit 9/11. As the film expanded to a wider release, Sacha Baron Cohen faced more and more problems. Several of the people who appeared on the program have stated that they were duped into signing the release, and have brought lawsuits against him. The nation of Kazakhstan, where the character of Borat is from, has denounced him and considered bringing a lawsuit against him. Cohen is dismayed at such news. His reaction, as he stated in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine was, "I was surprised, because I always had faith in the audience that they would realize that this was a fictitious country and the mere purpose of it was to allow people to bring out their own prejudices. And the reason we chose Kazakhstan was because it was a country that no one had heard anything about, so we could essentially play on stereotypes they might have about this ex-Soviet backwater. The joke is not on Kazakhstan. I think the joke is on people who can believe that the Kazakhstan that I describe can exist..."

Indeed, the people who are suing him and who are his detractors may be the exact same ones who are the vicitms of his biggest prank. He poses as an anti-Semetic reporter from a real nation presented in a fictional way. And in this disguise, he encourages people to reveal their own biases and prejudices. Borat gives them an outlet for their own discriminatory behavior. He has seen that even when people do not openly admit their biases, they try to correct Borat, often using the phrase, "We don't do things like that here in America," as if the behavior might be acceptable to some people, but they themselves are above such things. Or at least that they are unwilling to talk about such things with a camera in their face. When this is taken into account, his Borat movie is less of a comedy, and more of a sociological examination. Naturally, when the government of Kazakhstan threatened to sue, and mounted a campaign to introduce people to the real Kazakhstan, they in turn proved Cohen's point. Despite spending a lot of money to introduce people to its nation, they were afraid that people would think Kazakhstan is really as backwards as Borat presents.

Cohen is rumored to be involved in the upcoming film, "Sweeney Todd" as Signor Pirelli. His depiction of the character, combined with the direction of Tim Burton, who is a master at creating films which appear to be frivilous on the outside, and are complex on the inside, may be enough to earn him an Oscar. Even if it does not, it will be a performance to remember.

Most people either love or detest the characters that Sacha Baron Cohen has created. But whether you love or hate them, one thing is certain. Sacha Baron Cohen will be a force to reckon with for a long time to come.