Sacha Baron Cohen is like a whole troop of actors packed into one, but there’s just one of him with his unique style.
The comedian shot to stardom as Ali G on Channel 4’s The 11 O’Clock Show, and then he went solo with his own gigs like Da Ali G Show, (2006), Brüno (2009), and Who Is America?
Baron Cohen became famous for his wacky alter-egos and epic pranks, sometimes leaving his targets scratching their heads. He has built his career on transforming into iconic characters like Borat, Ali G, and Bruno, and the best part is that he never breaks character. Here comes his most outrageous prank, which happened at the 84th Academy Awards in 2012.
Sacha Baron Cohen Split the Ashes of North Korea’s Late Kim Jong-il Over Ryan Seacrest
Sacha Baron Cohen made quite the entrance at the 84th Annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles when he showed up as Admiral General Aladeen to promote his movie, The Dictator. The actor has a much-anticipated arrival following a rumored ban from the awards ceremony. That’s the reason he stole all the spotlight.
The prankster surely knew how to make a grand entrance, so he carried an urn that he claimed contained the ashes of the late Kim Jong-il. Baron Cohen made headlines in an instant as he spilled the ashes on Ryan Seacrest during an interview, which created quite a chaotic and memorable Oscars moment before Cohen was escorted away.
Seacrest clearly looked pissed by the prank, but the funny part was Cohen was still arguing with the security, trying to get the ashes back.
Sacha Baron Cohen Apologised to Ryan Seacrest About His Oscars Prank
The lesser-known fact about the moment was that Ryan Seacrest wasn’t actually the original target. Seacrest spilled the beans about the incident on his radio show in May of that year. He said he had been backstage at Saturday Night Live and ran into an unexpected face.
It was Sacha Baron Cohen’s wife, Isla Fisher, who made an apology on behalf of her husband — “I apologize for my husband.”
Isla Fisher was at SNL because Sacha Baron Cohen was doing a walk-on cameo as Admiral Aladeen for a Weekend Update segment. Right after the segment, Baron Cohen rushed over to Ryan Seacrest and dropped the act to offer his apologies (as per E! Entertainment). The Grimsby star explained:
“Originally he said that they were going to spill whatever it was in that urn on George Clooney. Someone decided that wasn’t a great idea because he was up for a lot of nominations, it was a big night that night.”
Seacrest then said:
“Then they somehow spun the wheel of tragedy and landed on my name.”
It’s a bit surprising to see that even legendary pranksters like George Clooney can sometimes find themselves on the receiving end of unexpected surprises.
Source: E! Entertainment
