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Sacha Baron Cohen is unquestionably one of the most unique and brilliant comedians on the scene today. His humor somehow manages to be both intelligent and low brow at the same time, which makes the characters he creates a delight to watch. We’re eager to see what he has in store for us this weekend with the release of his latest film, The Dictator. In the meantime, let’s take a look back at how he and his multiple personalities came to be household names.

Sacha Noam Baron Cohen was born on October 13, 1971, in Hammersmith, West London. His mother was born in Israel, and his father grew up in Wales. Sacha and his two brothers, Erran and Amnon, were raised Jewish.
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Sacha attended Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ School, which sounds like something from out of a storybook to us but is apparently a private school in South London. He then went on to study history at The University of Cambridge.
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If you can believe it, Baron Cohen then went on to become a fashion model for some time after graduation. We tried unsuccessfully to find photographic evidence of Sacha’s model days, so this traumatizing photo will have to do instead:
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In the early 1990’s, Sacha began hosting a weekly cable TV program. Then, in 1995, he responded to an open call for new TV presenters by another network by sending in a tape of himself in the character of “Kristo”, who would later evolve into “Borat”. The video caught the attention of a producer, who hired Baron Cohen to host British TV show Pump TV from 1995-1996.  After that, he hosted another British show called F2F.
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It was around that time that Sacha decided to take clown training (seriously!), and he began to study under master-clown Philippe Gaulier in Paris.
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Around 1998, Sacha Baron Cohen — having apparently graduated from clown college — suddenly shot to fame when his comic character “Ali G” began to appear on the British TV series The 11 O’Clock Show. A year after the show started airing, GQ named Sacha Baron Cohen “Comedian of the Year.” In 1999, he won “Best Newcomer” at The British Comedy Awards.
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The Ali G Show began in 2000, and Sacha Baron Cohen has been on every studio’s shortlist ever since. In the decade that’s passed since, he’s starred in films like Talladega Nights and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street while also bringing his characters “Borat” and “Bruno” both to the big screen. This weekend, he’ll aim to please once more with the release of his latest film, The Dictator.
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Will you be seeing The Dictator this weekend? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!