Sacha Baron Cohen debuts ripped — and hairless — physique after Isla Fisher divorce: ‘This is not AI'
Sacha Baron Cohen showed off his eye-popping physique in a cover shoot for Men's Fitness UK.
In a sneak peek of the August issue shared on Instagram Wednesday, the actor — who plays the MCU's newest supervillain Mephisto — displayed his oiled-up abs while pumping iron.
Other photos showed the ultra-ripped 'Borat' star doing pull-ups and posing in the gym after bulking up for his recently debuted role on Marvel's Disney+ series 'Ironheart.'
In the caption, the magazine teased its interview with the 'king of comedy' about the jaw-dropping physical transformation.
Cohen, 53, shared the post on his Instagram Stories, joking, 'This is not AI, I really am egotistical enough to do this.'
In another slide, he boasted, 'Some celebs use Ozempic, some use private chefs, others use personal trainers. I did all three.'
He also quipped that he was 'hard launching [his] mid-life crisis' before hilariously debuting his 'new character: Middle aged man who replaced beer with protein shakes.'
The 'Dictator' star reportedly divulged in the cover story that he previously wasn't in prime physical condition.
Cohen described himself prior to the transformation as 'having the core strength of an arthritic jellyfish,' according to a preview obtained by Deadline.
In order to get into shape, the comedy icon reached out to Matthew McConaughey for a recommendation on a solid trainer.
'He looked like a ruler, straight up and down,' Alfonso 'The Angry Trainer' Moretti recalled to the outlet of making Cohen strip down to his underwear during their first Zoom meeting.
Still, the trainer could see 'an athlete in hiding.'
Moretti help Cohen transform his body with a low-sugar, high-fiber diet and an intense training regimen that included 100 daily push-ups.
On his Instagram Stories, the 'Bruno' actor thanked Moretti for 'doing the unthinkable — putting up with [him] for 25 mins a day.'
The father of three's dramatic fitness reveal comes weeks after he finalized his divorce from Isla Fisher in June following nearly 14 years of marriage.
'We are proud of all we've achieved together and, continuing our great respect for each other, we remain friends and committed to co-parenting our wonderful children,' the former couple said in a joint statement last month.
'We ask for the media to continue to respect our children's privacy.'
Solve the daily Crossword
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Insider
4 minutes ago
- Business Insider
The big question inside Disney: What's going to happen to Hulu?
Nine Disney streaming staffers tell Business Insider that it's become impossible to ignore the company's increasing emphasis on Disney+ over Hulu. "Internally, the Hulu brand isn't a priority," an employee on the ads side of Disney's streaming business said. The Mouse House has been steering bundle subscribers to the Disney+ app by loading it with most Hulu movies and shows and some ESPN content. Unbundled Disney subscribers can also watch some Hulu and ESPN shows free of charge on Disney+. But Disney+ content isn't available on Hulu. Disney CEO Bob Iger said in May that these changes are "definitely having a positive impact" on the streamer's engagement and cancellation rate. Disney is also making changes internally. It's discouraging Hulu-only ad buys and merging the platforms' ad servers, employees said. Two sales-side employees said they need special permission to sell a Hulu-only ad spot, excluding certain interactive ads that only work on Hulu. They said the sales team is pushing advertisers instead to buy across both Disney+ and Hulu, as part of what one of the staffers called a "massive" companywide push "to prioritize Disney+ over everything." And last week, Disney moved to a unified ad server for Disney+ and Hulu. This shift, known internally as "Mission Control," was labor-intensive and at times painful but necessary, the employees said. "Everything going through one ad server makes a lot less work for everyone involved when it comes to getting ad campaigns live," the first ads employee said. Disney's changes show the Hulu brand is now decidedly on the back burner, this person said. They viewed the shift as mostly positive and said further unification of Disney+ and Hulu would give consumers a better experience while simplifying the ad sales process. Hulu fans' migration to Disney+ is off to a slow start, so far. Two Disney streaming employees with access to viewer data said the overwhelming majority of Hulu viewership still comes directly from the Hulu app, not through Disney+. Hulu has centered its identity on dramas and comedies for adults and next-day TV. Disney is seeing some progress, though: One Hulu-focused streaming employee said the "Hulu on Disney+" section has been starting to get more engagement as subscribers start to discover that they can use Disney+ as an all-in-one app. However, the Hulu-focused employee, who's familiar with the service's analytics, said many Hulu subscribers don't pay for Disney+ and aren't necessarily interested in its family-friendly content dominated by franchises like Marvel, Star Wars, and Disney animation. Several media analysts support Disney's direction, though, in going all in on Disney+. Further integrating Hulu into Disney+ could save the company about $3 billion through "the elimination of duplicative technology and administrative costs," MoffettNathanson's Robert Fishman said in a mid-July note. UBS media analyst John Hodulik told BI in July that Disney fully consolidating Hulu into Disney+ is "one of the steps they need to take to Netflix-ify their streaming business." Impacts on Hulu's business Although Hulu still gets most of its viewership from its stand-alone app, there are signs Disney's emphasis on Disney+ could be affecting its ad business. According to analysts at MoffettNathanson, Hulu generated the most US ad revenue of any paid streaming service in the second quarter, thanks to its mature ads business, which launched in 2008. However, Hulu's ad revenue fell an estimated 0.3% last quarter, MoffettNathanson said. Hulu was the lone paid streaming service that didn't grow ad revenue in the second quarter, according to the firm. Meanwhile, Disney+ saw its advertising revenue soar 67% year-over-year in that same span, MoffettNathanson said. Despite that, Disney+ has a long way to go to catch up. Hulu's ad revenue was more than four times that of Disney+ last quarter, MoffettNathanson said. "Hulu having slightly lower ad revenue year-over-year while Disney+ has seen a huge increase makes perfect sense to me," the first employee on the ad sales side said, considering the company's continued emphasis on Disney+ over Hulu. Another Disney+ employee said that "eyeballs are shifting into the Disney+ interface," in line with what one of their Hulu-focused colleagues said. Both Disney+ and Hulu have seen gradual subscriber growth, even though Disney hiked prices of each service's ad and ad-free tiers last October. Hulu is well ahead of Disney+ in how much money it makes per subscriber in the US. Hulu brought in $12.36 per subscriber in the first three months of this year, while Disney+ only generated two-thirds of that sum. But Hulu's average revenue per subscriber has fallen in each of the last three quarters, while Disney+'s has steadily risen. Life after Hulu? The idea of shuttering the stand-alone Hulu service has been raised internally as a thought experiment, an employee on the business side of Disney's streaming division who had been involved in those discussions said. "Every time we go through that in our long-range plan, these things come up," this person said. "You're looking at, 'Alright, what would happen if we did this? Could we cut this? Could we merge? What would happen?' So you do those analyses in the background, but not all of them ever come to see the light of day." A longtime Hulu employee said that Disney's focus with streaming has been on a "unified platform." They added that Hulu's tech had "serious degradation" issues and could feel outdated, given that it's one of the oldest streaming services. Still, one potential issue with shutting down Hulu as a stand-alone app is that it's emotionally intertwined with the brand for staffers, sometimes called "Hulugans." "Old employees have an affinity for it," a second veteran Hulu employee said.
News24
4 minutes ago
- News24
Ozzy Osbourne died of cardiac arrest, reports say
Ozzy Osbourne, heavy metal legend and former Black Sabbath frontman, died at 76 of a cardiac arrest. Known as 'The Prince of Darkness,' he sold over 100 million records and gained fame for his wild lifestyle, iconic music, and later as a reality TV star on The Osbournes. He is survived by his wife Sharon, five children, and several grandchildren. Ozzy Osbourne died of a cardiac arrest and had been suffering from Parkinson's and coronary artery disease, according to a death certificate filed in London. The death certificate was reportedly filed by his daughter, Aimee, The New York Times reports. According to the certificate published by The Sun he died of 'out of hospital cardiac arrest' and 'acute myocardial infarction.' Best known as the 1970s frontman of the legendary heavy metal band Black Sabbath, Osbourne made his mark on music history and popular culture. He famously earned notoriety for biting the head off a bat during a live performance and living a drug-fueled lifestyle before transforming into a beloved, albeit foul-mouthed, reality TV icon. Known to fans as The Prince of Darkness and the Godfather of Heavy Metal, Osbourne's musical legacy included Black Sabbath hits such as Paranoid, War Pigs, and 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath' alongside a successful solo career, together selling over 100 million records worldwide. Following his death Osbourne's family issued a heartfelt statement: 'It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has died this morning. He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family's privacy at this time.' Osbourne was no stranger to controversy. He became a frequent target of criticism from conservative and religious groups that viewed his persona and music as a negative influence on youth. While acknowledging his past excesses, he firmly dismissed exaggerated rumours about being a devil-worshipper. As he shared in his 2010 biography: 'I've done some bad things in my time. But I ain't the devil. I'm just John Osbourne: a working-class kid from Aston who quit his job in the factory and went looking for a good time.' His reinvention later in life began in 2002 when he became the star of the US reality show The Osbournes. The show captured his daily life, as fans watched the ageing rock legend wander around his lavish home, share his thoughts in his distinctive Birmingham accent, and react to his family's unpredictable antics. The show gained him a new wave of adoring fans. Osbourne is survived by his wife and manager, Sharon, their five children—Jack, Kelly, Aimee, and two others, and several grandchildren. Osbourne was honoured with a funeral cortege through his hometown of Birmingham last week before a private family service.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Watch: Ralph Fiennes makes music amid WWI in 'The Choral'
Aug. 5 (UPI) -- Sony Pictures is previewing The Choral, a film starring Ralph Fiennes as a chorus master during World War I. The preview released Tuesday shows the Ramsden, Yorkshire Choral Society struggling to continue as many men leave to fulfill their "patriotic duty" in 1916. "They must also engage a new chorus master, and despite their suspicions that he has something to hide, their best bet seems to be Dr. Henry Guthrie (Fiennes) -- driven, uncompromising and recently returned from a career in Germany," an official synopsis reads. "As conscription papers start to arrive, the whole community discovers that the best response to the chaos that is laying waste to their lives is to make music together." Roger Allam, Mark Addy, Alun Armstrong, Robert Emms and Simon Russell Beale also star. Nicholas Hytner, well known for directing the 2015 film The Lady in the Van, also directs The Choral from a script penned by Alan Bennett. The Choral arrives in theaters around Christmas.
