Sacha Baron Cohen is to be presented with BAFTA LA’s Charlie Chaplin Britannia Award at a ceremony on November 9.
Sacha Baron Cohen, 41, who hit the international stage playing comedy characters Ali G and Borat, has since starred in Les Miserables and Martin Scorsese’s Hugo.
The actor recently pulled out of playing the late Queen frontman Freddie Mercury.
Also being honored is Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch, who will be named British artist of the year.
Sacha Baron Cohen is to be presented with BAFTA LA’s Charlie Chaplin Britannia Award at a ceremony on November 9
George Clooney is being presented with the Stanley Kubrick award for excellence in film, Zero Dark Thirty director Kathryn Bigelow will accept the John Schlesinger award for directing and Ben Kingsley is being honored with the Albert R Broccoli award for his contribution to entertainment.
Sacha Baron Cohen has previously won two BAfta TV awards for Da Ali G Show, which he starred in and co-wrote.
His 2006 film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan won a Golden Globe and received an Oscar nomination for best adapted screenplay.
British Sacha Bron Cohen is married to The Great Gatsby actress Isla Fisher, with whom he has two children.
The BAFTA LA awards lunch will be shown on in the US on BBC America on November 10.
Isla Fisher stole the show from her husband Sacha Baron Cohen in daring plunging white gown by Willow with triangular cut out panels which accentuated her slim figure and red hair at the London premiere of Les Misérables.
But it must have got a little chilly as the pair posed up and ever the gentleman, Sacha Baron Cohen offered his wife a chivalric hand and helped her into her black jacket.
Although all eyes may have been on Isla Fisher, 36, her 6ft 2in husband perhaps had the best view of her daring satin gown as she shone on the red carpet.
Sacha Baron Cohen, who plays Monsieur Thénardier alongside Helena Bonham Carter, did his best to look dashing next to his stunning wife.
There was a general theme of innocence as star of the show Anne Hathaway wore a glamorous pearl Givenchy gown that boasted sequin detail and off the shoulder sleeves.
The floor-length gown fell perfectly over her figure, hugging her hips before flowing out around her feet but the real drama of the dress came from the back.
The gown boasted a dipped hemline that scooped to the small of her back, leaving plenty of skin on show.
Isla Fisher stole the show from her husband Sacha Baron Cohen in daring plunging white gown at the London premiere of Les Misérables
Sacha Baron Cohen’s onscreen wife Helena Bonham Carter , who plays Madame Thénardier, looked just as quirky as usual in a black gown.
Isla Fisher recently said being “Mrs. Borat” can be rather embarrassing.
“I cannot tell you how embarrassing he is in social situations,” Isla Fisher said.
“To him, there’s no difference between the awkward gaffes he deliberately makes as a comic, and the terrible faux pas he innocently commits as my husband.”
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Sacha Baron Cohen is as zany and unpredictable in real life as he is on screen, says his long-suffering wife, actress Isla Fisher.
“I cannot tell you how embarrassing he is in social situations,” says Isla Fisher.
“To him, there’s no difference between the awkward gaffes he deliberately makes as a comic, and the terrible faux pas he innocently commits as my husband.
“One problem is that he doesn’t always recognize stars when they are not in character.
“He once told Diane Keaton at a dinner party that she should have won an Oscar for her performance in The Kids Are All Right because he thought she was Annette Benning.
“Another time he asked Oscar-winning Cate Blanchett: <<So what do you do for a living?>>.”
But perhaps his worst gaffe was at a screening of a Jack Black movie, when a buxom woman made a very long speech, followed by a very short address by Jack.
Isla Fisher explains: “After the film, Sacha said to Jack: <<Why did you make such a short speech? You should have shut up the woman with the big bosoms and said more yourself>>.”
Jack Black said through gritted teeth: “That was my mother.”
“Although even that didn’t silence Sacha. He told Jack: <<Well, at least your mother has a fabulous bosom>>.
“And he turned to me and said: <<You’ve always wanted larger breasts, haven’t you, Isla?>>.
“I wanted the floor to swallow me up. I would like to think Sacha is putting in rehearsal time for all those hilarious gaffes his characters make in movies.
“But I’m by no means certain that’s why he does it. I don’t think he can help himself!”
But Sacha Baron Cohen’s lack of tact can sometimes have its uses, admits his wife.
“I was working all hours in the studio in California on the film The Rise Of The Guardians. I was feeling down and lonely, but I had to find a way to lighten up to bring a comedic touch for my portrayal of the Tooth Fairy in the movie.
“All of a sudden I thought of the times Sacha has put his foot in it, with me standing right beside him. Cringe-making moments, yes – but as I relived them, I began to laugh, and that was all I needed to get myself in the mood for the film.”
Sacha Baron Cohen is as zany and unpredictable in real life as he is on screen, says his wife, Isla Fisher
Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher, who met at a party in Sydney in 2002, married in 2010 and are parents to daughters Olive, 5, and Elula, 2.
They make a contrasting couple – and not only because he stands 13 inches above his 5ft 2in tall wife.
Sacha Baron Cohen’s brand of entertainment is dangerously cutting edge, whereas hers tends to be a little more middle of the road.
Raised in Australia by Scottish parents, Isla Fisher started her career playing Shannon Reed in Home & Away before going on to appear in Hollywood movies Scooby-Doo, Wedding Crashers, and Confessions Of A Shopaholic.
Now Isla Fisher is starring in the $135 million Rise Of The Guardians, in which the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman, Jack Frost and the Easter Bunny join forces with Father Christmas to see off the malevolent Bogeyman.
It’s a sweet contrast to the jaw-dropping and controversial comedies of her husband, who put on medallions and a shell suit to play the unspeakable Ali G.
“Sacha and I have entirely separate careers and while the movies he makes are not suitable for family viewing, I’ve hardly specialized in that genre of movie either!
“Not even The Rise Of The Guardians will be suitable for my girls, especially not my little two-year-old. ‘With a PG certificate, of course there are plenty of youngsters who will enjoy it but the character of the Bogeyman – brilliantly voiced by Jude Law – is just a little too scary for my munchkins, especially in the parts where he turns dreams into nightmares.
“When Olive and Elula are a little older they can see Rise Of The Guardians, but not yet.”
But Isla Fisher isn’t in the process of building up a huge canon of work on which her daughters can feast in later years.
She deliberately turns down parts in order to be a mother, explaining: “I just don’t want to miss anything in the lives of my children while they are still young. It’s why I don’t audition for leading roles at all, and why I say no to some of the supporting roles that I do get offered.
“I’m happy with the idea of being a mum first and an actress second – I’m perfectly content for people to think of me as a stay-at-home mum, rather than an actress, if that is their perception.
“That may change in future years but, for the moment, the place in which I want to spend most of my time is my home with my family.”
With Sacha Baron Cohen only making one movie every three years, it’s a place in which both parents are normally in residence. It’s also, admits Isla Fisher, a home which is more than a little out of the ordinary.
“Sacha does fully embrace the people he plays and you don’t know the half of it when it comes to him getting into character for a movie,” she laughs.
“I’ve lived with Borat’s handlebar moustache, Bruno’s Justin Bieber flick and The Dictator’s accusing finger.
“At the moment, I’m having it easy! Sacha is writing so he isn’t in character. But watch this space.”
Isla Fisher’s determination to separate the fantasy of her husband’s career from the practicalities of parenthood is clear. She is proud, she says, that life at their seven-bedroom English manor-style mansion in Los Angeles is as down to earth as possible – and honest.
“I’ve yet to tell my children a lie – even a white one. Mind you, discussions about the existence or otherwise of Father Christmas, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny have yet to take place.”
Having converted to Judaism before marrying Sacha Baron Cohen, Isla Fisher says: “At Christmas, the children get their gifts from my parents, so it’s all a little foggy on the Santa front!
“As for the Tooth Fairy, I’m sure those conversations about her existence, or otherwise, will occur but as neither of my daughters has lost a tooth yet, she hasn’t really been on the agenda. We’ll have to cross that bridge when we come to it!
“Although I sort of know that I am going to play along with it because that is what happens when you put a tooth under the pillow. You get some money for it, don’t you?!
“But it won’t be anything excessive. I don’t think one should incentivize the losing of teeth.
“I find the idea of a child getting an iPad, or a £20 note, for losing a tooth, utterly abhorrent.
“Fifty pence, or a pound at most, is what my children can expect from the Tooth Fairy.”
Sacha Baron Cohen plans to develop a film inspired by Hong Kong billionaire Cecil Chao who offered $65 million to any man who succeeded in marrying his lesbian daughter.
The comedy – based on the story of Cecil Chao – is set to star Sacha Baron Cohen, who will produce the Paramount Picture film through his company Four By Two.
Sacha Baron Cohen’s latest movie The Dictator made $177 million worldwide.
He is currently working on a 007 spoof.
According to Variety, the untitled film – also for Paramount – follows a James Bond-like spy who goes on the run with his football hooligan brother.
The Hong Kong comedy has yet to announce a writer.
In September, shipping magnate Cecil Chao publicly promised the huge sum of money after reports emerged that his businesswoman daughter, Gigi, had married her long-term girlfriend in France.
Cecil Chao rejected the rumors of a civil partnership, and said his daughter was still single and needed a “good husband”.
Same-sex unions are not recognized in Hong Kong, although homosexuality was decriminalized in 1991.
Sacha Baron Cohen will next be seen as innkeeper Thenardier alongside Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe in the all-star film adaptation of the long-running West End hit Les Miserables.
Tajikistan has decided not to screen Sacha Baron Cohen’s latest offering, The Dictator, after authorities ruled that the movie was incompatible with the nation’s “mentality”.
The Dictator, which features Sacha Baron Cohen as General Aladeen, depicts a fictional Middle Eastern dictator risking his life to crush signs of democracy, has been refused a distribution license.
“It’s wrong to compare us with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and with other countries,” said Daler Davlatov of the Tatan distribution company in Tajikistan.
“It’s incorrect because we have a different mentality. We’re not going to give Dictator a premiere because of these considerations,” he told the Kyrgyz news website kloop.kg.
Tajikistan’s distributor of international movies, Tantana, said it would instead encourage people to watch Will Smith’s Men in Black 3, the Central Asian News Service reported yesterday.
The Dictator, which features Sacha Baron Cohen as General Aladeen, depicts a fictional Middle Eastern dictator risking his life to crush signs of democracy, has been refused a distribution license in Tajikistan
Sacha Baron Cohen has already denied the role was an attack on Arabs and said the only people who would be offended by it would be “dictators and fans of dictatorship”.
It’s not the first time Sacha Baron Cohen has had his work censored – in 2006 Russia banned his hit comedy film, Borat, which had been accused of poking fun at Moscow’s neighbor and close ally Kazakhstan.
Tajikistan is an ex-Soviet state ruled by President Emomalii Rahmon since 1992.
A rugged, mountainous country, Tajikistan is Central Asia’s poorest nation.
One Tajik political scientist, Muso Asozoda, forecast the ban would be similarly counterproductive as the Borat ban.
The fact that two cinema’s in Dushanbe , the capital and largest city of Tajikistan, were not screening the film would add viewer interest, he told the Guardian newspaper.
This week Sacha Baron Cohen claimed he was banned from shooting scenes for his new film The Dictator at the United Nations because it might upset real-life despots.
He said: “The interesting thing is, when we asked to shoot inside the United Nations, they actually refused.
“We said <<this is a pro-democracy movie>>. They said <<that’s the problem – we represent a lot of dictators, and they are going to be very angry by this portrayal of them so you can’t shoot in there>>.”
This week Sacha Baron Cohen, 40, continued his array of stunts to promote the film by arriving at the 65th Cannes Film Festival in a bright orange Lamborghini.
The actor was in full character as General Aladeen and was once again surrounded by an array of beautiful women who were dressed as his bodyguards.
Wearing a blue denim-looking jumpsuit that was covered in badges and images of the character, Sacha Baron Cohen kept a cigar hanging from his mouth at all times and played up to the camera as he kept a close eye on his female friends – in particular model Sasha Volkova who wore a black dress.
He completed his look with a pair of snakeskin boots and some blue-tinted sunglasses as he strolled around outside the French venue.
Sacha Baron Cohen then made his way over to another lady and enjoyed a quick kiss as he filmed a slot for the Le Grand Journal TV show.
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