Celebrity Poker: Sacha Baron Cohen

Celebrities donned their poker faces at a celebrity poker tournament to raise funds for a notable organizations and foundations one of the Hollwood's A-list celebrity star is the funnyman Sacha Baron Cohen. As a former male model who stands at 6' 3", Sacha Baron Cohen likely attracted the occasional female eye before he found fame.

We call him a comedian because he makes us laugh, but celebrity poker  player Sacha Baron Cohen is not a comedian, any more than the alter-egos that have made him famous -- Ali G, Borat and Bruno. Now, he's married to Isla Fisher, the super hot redhead and a hilariously talented actress, and together they have a daughter. 

Aside from PR stunts to promote his films, Sacha Baron Cohen is rarely seen in public and has rarely given a straight interview. 

 

Sacha Baron Cohen's work has earned him nominations from several film and television organizations on both sides of the Atlantic. He has received nominations for an Oscar, for Golden Globes, BAFTAs, Emmys, and many more, even winning one or two along the way. In addition to his own films, Cohen has voiced the role of Julien in the movie Madagascar in 2008 films and appeared alongside Will Ferrell in flicks like Talladega Nights in 20006. 

 

He has already made millions in his field and has established a bar for fearlessness in film that seems unbelievably high. The question remains, however, of whether or not he can escape the shadows cast by his alter egos and establish an acting career independent of them. 

Out of college, Sacha Baron Cohen decided to pursue a career doing what he truly loved but rarely did in an official capacity -- entertain. Specifically, do comedy. Perhaps his Orthodox upbringing, or his years as a diligent student, made him believe it wasn't the most noble of pursuits, so he set a five-year deadline for himself -- if it didn't work out in that time, he would find a job more suited to his education. His five years were almost up when Channel 4 gave him that all-important break. 

 

When Channel 4's The 11 O'Clock Show needed a host, Cohen auditioned -- rather, Ali G auditioned, in all his foul-mouthed arrogance. His persona landed the spot as host of the show's "Voice of Youth" segment. It didn't take long for the segment to catch fire, and shortly Ali G was given his own show, Da Ali G Show. Displaying his keen PR sense, before it debuted Cohen cranked up the buzz by releasing a video, Ali G, Innit. A best-seller, the video had fans in a frenzy for the debut. He stoked the fire by releasing two more videos, and in 2002, a full-length feature, Ali G Indahouse.

In 2007, Sacha Baron Cohen released Borat: Cultural Learnings from America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, which pretended to follow the hapless Borat across the U.S. looking for the love of his life, Pamela Anderson. The film was a sensation, grossing $261 million over 14 times its cost, and earning Sacha Baron Cohen an Oscar and a host of legal problems.

Specifically, he was sued by an etiquette coach, a driving instructor, southern frat boys, some Romanian villagers, even a Manhattan businessman whose personal space Borat violated, causing the man to scamper away. All appeared in the movie after unwittingly falling for Borat's ruse, and none liked what they saw of themselves.

In late 2008, Sacha Baron Cohen publicly announced that he was killing off Borat and Ali G -- their enormous fame had subverted their effectiveness. By then, he'd finished filming the mockumentary Bruno, released in early July 2009. The film presents the same sucker scenarios that elevated Borat and uses the same underhanded scheme: feed on his prey's weaknesses and exploit them for effect. 

In one scene, Paula Abdul is lured to an interview with Bruno after having been informed that she'd been named Artist of the Year in Austria. It's hard, for us in the audience, to believe that someone like Abdul, who had done little to nothing artistically, could accept without question that she was deserving of the award. 

Yet as Bruno, Sacha Baron Cohen's traps remain as simple as they are cunning, baiting his prey to drop their guard and to confuse the roles of predator and prey. The result is comedic genius from an otherwise unfunny and deadly serious artist.