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Collette McCurdy

Evan Coleman

Humanities III Honors

November 3, 2019

Actor, Activist, or Prankster?

A friend once told me that you can tell a lot about a person based on how they respond to

challenging situations. There are a variety of reactions that can emerge from peers after an argument, and

there are also a variety of possible responses when dealing with things other than direct conflict​—if a

classmate makes a racist comment, choosing to argue, ignore it, or enthusiastically nod along can reveal a

lot about you and your values. Comedian Sacha Baron-Cohen creatively twists this concept into

something more in his series ​Ali G​ and ​Who Is America?,​ where he plays a range of characters and

facilitates discussions on strange yet humorous topics.​ Through these works, Baron-Cohen perfectly

blends his acting abilities, political awareness, progressive values, and comedic timing to organize

thorough, provocative, and hilarious interviews that let viewers in on the diverse perspectives of

individuals across the globe.

According to the magazine The Ringer, the image of the “wise man who plays the fool” is one

Sacha Baron-Cohen has been crafting for himself since the beginning of his career. After his graduation

from Cambridge University in 1993, he was cast as an ill-educated British gangster in Channel 4’s ​The 11

O’Clock Show.​ He later starred in its spinoff, ​Da Ali G Show​, which shot him into a new direction of

comedy that was goofy, creative, and fresh. It led him into memorable roles such as the discourteous

Borat, the fashionista and wannabe celebrity Brüno, and Jean Girard in ​Talladega Nights​, another foreign

character meant to shed light on the ignorance of Americans. Described as “Delicious… outrageous…

inspired lunacy,” his scenes were a favorite among American crowds, landing him a few roles as the

villain in Hollywood hits, such as Adolfo Pirelli in the 2007 adaption of ​Sweeny Todd, ​and Monsieur
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Thénardier in ​Les Misérables​. However, comedy is not the only direction in which Baron-Cohen has

gone. While he has voiced over in animated films such as ​Madagascar ​and ​Hugo​, he also proved to the

world that serious roles are another forte of his when playing the character Eli Cohen in the new Netflix

series, ​The Spy.

While Baron-Cohen is well-known for his versatility in a wide range of productions, his stand-out

performances take place in scenarios where he uses the element of surprise. The majority of his most

prominent works, such as ​Da Ali G Show, Borat, a​ nd ​Who Is America? ​consist of a series of interviews

with people who are famous, notorious, or merely unlucky citizens who happened to get caught in the

confusion of Sacha Baron-Cohen’s characters. Baron-Cohen plays a variety of roles, but all of them share

​ hether he’s playing Islamophobe

a common theme: each one of them is extreme. In ​Who Is America?, w

and anti-terrorism instructor Erran Morad, far-left political activist Dr. Nira Cain N’Degeocello, or

Trump-supporter Billy Wayne Ruddick, he is always able to use his hilarious roles as manipulation tools,

convincing his interviewees into doing the most absurd things. It is clear to the audience that every goofy

character he plays has been purposefully crafted to tell a story about the real America and share a message

about our beliefs as human beings, causing us to not only rethink our values when it comes to political

candidates, but also asses our own biases and actions in those situations.

But what makes Sacha Baron-Cohen so unique? Is it his uncanny acting abilities and audacious

willingness to do ridiculous things? Is it his element of surprise? Is it the way he can creatively use

comedy to convey insightful political messages? Perhaps it’s a combination of all three, but what draws

me personally to his work is his creativity: authors always write books with a moral in mind, which they

hide beneath the metaphor of another story. Baron-Cohen, however, takes his messages head-on, directly

interviewing the most powerful lawmakers and revealing their true colors through his imaginative

characters. An entrepreneur in the world of film, he never fails to amuse and unsettle his audience through

his masterful and meticulously crafted interviews. Sacha Baron-Cohen shamelessly opens up a new genre
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of mockumentaries that is engaging and thought-provoking, leaving audiences dumbfounded, entertained,

and immediately Googling his name in hopes of finding his next creation.
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Works Cited

Knibbs, Kate. “What a Character: The Inimitable Career of Sacha Baron Cohen.” ​The Ringer,​ The

Ringer, 6 Sept. 2019,

www.theringer.com/tv/2019/9/6/20852846/sacha-baron-cohen-the-spy-career-arc-borat.

Marre, Oliver. “The Observer Profile: Sacha Baron Cohen.” ​The Guardian​, Guardian News and

Media, 10 Sept. 2006, www.theguardian.com/stage/2006/sep/10/comedy.

Fox, Jesse David. “Sacha Baron Cohen's Who Is America? Characters, Ranked.” ​Vulture​, 15 July

2018, www.vulture.com/2018/07/sacha-baron-cohen-who-is-america-characters-ranked.html.

“Sacha Baron Cohen's Col. Erran Morad on 'Who Is America?' Tickles Israelis.” ​USA Today​,

Gannett Satellite Information Network, 2 Aug. 2018, 8:10 a.m.,

www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2018/08/02/sacha-baron-cohen-erran-morad-who-america/88750

7002/.