Often uses the phrases "booyaka shot" and "respeck" [sic] when playing Ali G.
He was voted Personality of the year at the TV Quick awards in London, England, UK. [4 September 2000].
Studied History at Christ's College, Cambridge.
Engaged to Australian actress Isla Fisher.
In contrast to his characters, he is a soft-spoken, gentlemanly Cambridge man who considered pursuing a PhD before going into comedy.
He plays three principal characters on "Da Ali G. Show." The title character is Ali G, a lower-class white Englishman who acts like an Jamaican Londoner and enrages his politically active and powerful guests with stupid questions. Another one is the Khazakstani immigrant Borat, who na?vely searches for porn and outlets for his scatological, accidental humor and anti-Semitism. The last one is the superficial Austrian fashion-expert Bruno, who often talks up heartless fashionistas and makes macho men uncomfortable with his blatant homosexuality.
Gave 2004 Harvard commencement address in character as Ali G.
As a rule, he only appears on chat shows in character (usually as Ali G or Borat) rather than as himself.
His cousin, Simon Baron Cohen, is a preeminent psychologist who became famous for his theory that autism is caused by an "extreme male brain."
Sacha Baron Cohen (born 13 October 1971) is a British comedian, notable for his highly successful comedy character Ali G. Sacha Baron Cohen was born into a middle-class Jewish family, the second of three sons of Gerald Baron Cohen and his wife Daniella. Sacha Baron Cohen's father, who owns a menswear shop in Piccadilly, is originally from Wales, while his mother is from Israel. Much of his youth was spent volunteering for Habonim Dror, a Jewish youth movement. Sacha Baron Cohen attended Haberdashers' Aske's School, a public school in Elstree, and went on to study history at Christ's College, Cambridge. In 1994, Channel 4 was planning a replacement for its series The Word and put out an open call for new presenters. Sacha Baron Cohen sent in a tape of him in character as Borat, a fictional television reporter from Kazakhstan, that caught the attention of one producer who kept him in mind. Cohen marked time by working for a Swindon based television company.
Sacha Baron Cohen shot to fame when his character Ali G started appearing on The Eleven O'Clock Show on Channel 4. Da Ali G Show began in 2000 and won the BAFTA for best comedy series the next year. The show was taken to the United States in 2003, where it airs on HBO. Sacha Baron Cohen has had some troubles because of the racist or prejudiced comments his characters make (see Da Ali G Show), but Sacha Baron Cohen's ultimate goal is to use the prejudices and racism of people to elicit funny reactions. HBO spokesman Quentin Schaffer has replied to the criticisms with, "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".
Other characters created by Sacha Baron Cohen include Borat, a television reporter from Kazakhstan with a fervent hatred of Jews and a misogynist attitude, and Bruno, a gay Austrian fashion show presenter, who often lures his subjects into unwittingly making provocative statements and engaging in embarrassing behaviors. Sacha Baron Cohen played the voice of King Julien the lemur in the 2005 animated movie, Madagascar, a performance strongly reminiscent of Robin Williams. Sacha Baron Cohen is also reported to be a cousin of University of Cambridge Professor of Developmental Psychopathology Simon Baron-Cohen.
