Latest news with #SachaBaronCohen
West Australian
37 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- West Australian
Isla Fisher: Perth-raised star ready for her next chapter after ‘tough years' with Sacha Baron Cohen split
Following her divorce from Sacha Baron Cohen, Perth-raised Isla Fisher is embracing her next move in a career that's seen her tackle countless genres and multiple continents. The 49-year-old was born in Oman to Scottish parents, then spent her early life in Cambridge in the UK, before her family emigrated to Perth when she was six. In a recent interview with Harpers Bazar , Fisher elaborates on her childhood in Perth and how she considers herself Australian at heart. 'I definitely have a complicated cultural identity because I ended up becoming friends with everyone from all these different backgrounds,' she told Harpers Bazar. 'I feel like a citizen of the world, but Australia is ultimately where I'm the happiest, because my most influential years were spent in Perth.' Fisher attended Perth's Methodist Ladies' College and discovered her passion for acting as a teen; she featured in local TV ads and children's series Bay City and Clowning Around before securing her first major role as Shannon Reed on Home and Away in 1994. After stepping away from TV and pursuing further training at l'École Internationale de Théâtre in Paris, she dabbled in theatre and the 'horrible' audition circuit before she made her Hollywood debut as Shaggy's love interest in Scooby Doo . Once established in Hollywood, Fisher built a diverse career, earning acclaim in comedies like Confessions of a Shopaholic , thrillers like Now You See Me , and dramas such as Baz Lurhman's The Great Gatsby which Fisher notes was a career highlight. 'Baz was my best experience ever for so many reasons – because of the scale of the sets, the attention to detail visually,' she said. When asked what advice she would give to her 20-year-old self, Fisher alluded to the self-doubt she faced early in her career. 'In my twenties, I don't know if it was homesickness or just life challenges, but I used to cry a lot. I was so worried that I wasn't going to meet anybody or get a job that I wanted. So, I would tell [her], 'Don't worry. It all works out,'' she said. When considering future roles, Fisher is hoping to push herself out of her comfort zone to avoid slipping into being typecast. 'If you do a certain job and you nail that character, every time a character that's similar to that [comes up], a casting director will think of you. Now my goal is to be more fearless around my choices and to push myself into areas where there's room for growth,' Fisher reflects. Fisher's personal life has been in the spotlight for the past few years following her split from actor Sacha Baron Cohen in 2023, after 14 years of marriage. Their divorce was finalised in June, though they have emphasised their mutual respect and commitment to co‑parenting their three children. 'I've had a tough couple of years, but I'm making it through,' remarks Fisher. 'I'm really excited for the next chapter. I'm refocusing on my career, because previously I was very much focused on my kids, which I still am, obviously, because (they're) my true love. But I'm enjoying tackling work again.' Fisher says she's embracing the huge change that comes with the challenge of moving forward post-divorce. 'That's been one of the benefits of a challenging situation: the luxury of asking myself, ' What would I like to do professionally and privately?' I'm trying to remind myself of my new identity as somebody outside of a partnership and to stay as buoyant as possible. Any time there's change, it's hard to adapt. But hopefully I'm doing an okay job, ' she said.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
If Edinburgh Fringe wants more hits like Fleabag and Baby Reindeer, it needs a complete overhaul
When the TV channel Dave announced it was scrapping its long-running Joke of the Fringe award, I felt a weird mixture of relief and trepidation. Yes, the widely publicised one-liners increasingly felt like a bit of a disservice to all the actual comic genius you'll find at the world's biggest arts festival (2023's Lorna Rose Treen winner 'I started dating a zookeeper, but it turned out he was a cheetah' was only ammo for pub bores across the land to say they could do better). But all the same, it's this kind of mainstream attention that makes the Fringe what it is: a place where hit shows like Fleabag and Baby Reindeer emerge from dingy tents, and comedy legends from Bridget Christie to Sacha Baron-Cohen to Miranda Hart find their feet, victors of a fevered battle against the odds, the Scottish rain and public indifference. The loss of Dave's headline-grabbing annual award feels like a warning sign. Is the fest coming dangerously close to losing its relevance? Before the pandemic, the story of Edinburgh Fringe was one of unstoppable growth and opportunity. Each year, press releases trumpeted the 'biggest arts festival to date' line, as it ballooned from a plucky band of eight companies in 1947 into an event with 3,548 shows at its still-unsurpassed peak in 2018. But in recent years, some of its sheen has worn off. The tide started turning in 2017, when activist group Fair Fringe drew attention to the appalling pay and living conditions of Fringe workers in roles that stretched the term 'volunteer' beyond its reasonable limits. Meanwhile, outcry gathered as profiteering festival landlords began to distort the city's housing market, all year long. But it wasn't until the festival started to get back up to speed after the fallow Covid years that these issues dominated the conversation. Wasn't the pandemic-induced break meant to be an opportunity to build back, better? Instead, accommodation costs have since soared to new heights: 'I can't afford Edinburgh Fringe accommodation – so I'm sleeping in a tent,' said cash-strapped comedian Narin Oz in The Times. A recent Guardian article warned that university comedy revues are struggling to afford the festival, where comedians from John Cleese to Ed Gamble cut their teeth as students. Leeds Tealights paid £6,500 for their accommodation this year, in a huge increase on the £4,000 spent in 2023. And key venues have struggled, too. This year feels artistically depleted by the absence of influential venue Paine's Plough Roundabout, which presented some of the festival's biggest success stories, including hit West End musical Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder! in a tent in Summerhall courtyard. Funding challenges, too, have meant that this year's International Festival is presenting a diminished programme of local shows. In a major financial blow, key sponsor Johnnie Walker has pulled out after six years, and the Fringe has struggled to attract new corporate sponsors – many of whom are spooked by the idea of funding the arts, when highly publicised campaigns have forced institutions to reject backing from Baillie Gifford (Edinburgh Literary Festival) and Shell (National Gallery). So many of the Fringe's problems could be solved by a massive injection of cash: to subsidise performers' costs, to shore up struggling venues, to make sure everyone's paid fairly. But outgoing Fringe Society director Shona McCarthy sounded a gloomy note as she left her role this spring. 'This festival is not seen as something that you invest in,' she said. 'It's seen as something that's a money-spinner that you can extract from. And I think that's a real problem.' As she reminded us, the Fringe is the third-biggest ticketed event in the world, after the Olympics and the Fifa World Cup. But while those cultural institutions are given billions in funding by both governments and corporate sponsors, the Fringe is funded in a piecemeal fashion. Its biggest investors are the impecunious artists and comedians who shell out for accommodation and venue hire each year, in the hope of making it big. Last year's scandal over box office takings at Summerhall highlighted that central unfairness. Artists who'd brought shows to the venue were left out of pocket by up to £15,000 each, after their ticket income was caught up in a corporation tax dispute with HMRC (they eventually got their money back in January this year). It's this kind of situation that risks deterring future artists from bringing work to the Fringe – and artists' confidence matters, because although the outside world might love an overnight success story, the truth is generally less romantic. Baby Reindeer seemed like an overnight sensation when it debuted on Netflix in 2024. In reality, its success was years in the making. Richard Gadd had premiered the play at Summerhall in 2019, after nearly a decade of bringing dark, disturbing and increasingly successful shows to the fest (including another stalker narrative, 2013's Cheese & Crack Whores). As his trajectory shows, mainstream success only comes when artists have had time and space to trial their work on the fringe, in front of crowds who are uniquely receptive to brave experiments. But they can only keep going if they can afford to. The Edinburgh Fringe is a hard sell for corporate sponsors, due to its uncurated messiness, its profiteering landlords and its boundary-pushing artistic values. Still, what's heartening is the way that arts industry leaders are increasingly dreaming up new ways to make sure the Fringe lives up to its own mythos, as a place where luminous new talents can emerge from tiny dark spaces. Francesca Moody, the producer who famously locked Phoebe Waller-Bridge in a room until she finished the script for her Edinburgh hit turned telly sensation Fleabag, is running a new Fringe venue this year. Shedinburgh has a uniquely nurturing model: it pays artists' travel and accommodation, plus a fee or box office split, whichever is higher. Another break with tradition comes courtesy of The Keep It Fringe Fund, which launched in 2023 with a £50,000 donation from Waller-Bridge, the honorary Fringe Society president. Now, the fund has secured UK government funding that means it can support 180 shows a year with grants of £2,500, prioritising working-class and disabled artists who might otherwise struggle to attend. In some ways, these measures are drops in the ocean. But they do suggest a key shift. Historically, the Edinburgh Fringe prided itself on being an open-access festival where anyone could turn up and try their luck – provided they didn't expect a leg up beyond a listing in the programme. Now, at least, there's an understanding that the Fringe will only live up to its promise if it supports its participants to take risks in an increasingly tough economic landscape. Changing the Edinburgh Fringe will be costly – but it can't afford to stay still.
The Sun
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Drake leaves fans fuming as he cancels Manchester gig hours before he's due onstage
US star Drake has left fans fuming after he cancelled his Manchester gig just hours before his performance. The One Dance singer, 38, was forced to miss his show due to "travel logistics and unforeseen ferry schedule". 4 4 Drake was set to perform at Manchester's Co-op Live arena on Monday as part of his Some Special Shows 4 U tour. But the Canadian hitmaker informed fans that he had rescheduled for August 5, with organisers ensuring "all tickets remain valid for the new date". A statement on the arena's website read: "Due to unforeseen ferry schedule and travel logistics, tomorrow's performance in Manchester on July 28th has been rescheduled. "The good news is that Drake will now perform in Manchester on Tuesday, August 5th, and it's set to be an unforgettable night." The singer had already played in the city on Friday and Saturday. Earlier this month, Drake left fans disappointed when he ended his three-show extravaganza at Wireless after 40 minutes. An insiders revealed the Canadian star threw an epic party after his last gig — which saw him partying at Mr Porter in Mayfair until after 5.30am. A source said: 'After his back-to-back shows on Friday and Saturday, Drake had a party. 'He hired out Mr Porter in Mayfair and was seen arriving around midnight. 'There were loads of celebs there like Casey Affleck and Sacha Baron Cohen. Weirdly, Lily Phillips — the X-rated adult performer — was also on the guest list. 'The party went on all through the early hours of Sunday morning, with Drake finally heading home not long before 6am. 'It was a great bash and everyone who came out looked like they'd had a really good time. 'Drake looked a bit tired when he came out with some of his entourage, so it's not surprising that his final show at Wireless was cut short. 'He probably needed some extra sleep.' After his final show at Finsbury Park, North London, Drake took to Instagram to speak directly to his fans and said: 'Thank you London. 'Need some time to process what just happened so I don't have my usual caption . . . just thank you so much for the best three nights of my performance career.' Drake's fans, who had tickets to his final performance night, were not too impressed though. His shows on Friday and Saturday ran for 90 minutes, with the latter featuring 13 special guests. On Sunday, the official setlist had advertised two sets for Drake, one at 6.25pm and one at 8.55pm. But the first randomly disappeared from the schedule, with Drake coming on after Burna Boy had finished. His first track was an unreleased collaboration with Central Cee, who was seen mouthing the words from the front row, which was projected on to big screens. One concert-goer said Drake then raced through hits, with a surprise appearance from Nigerian rapper Rema and Jamaican dancehall star Vybz Kartel. There was then only time for a few more tracks, with Drake finishing to Whitney Houston's I Will Always Love You for a third night in a row. 4 4
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Sacha Baron Cohen, 53, admits to using Ozempic to help him achieve his revenge body for new Marvel role
Sacha Baron Cohen claimed he used Ozempic to help him achieve his ripped physique. The actor, 53, who is starring as Marvel's newest supervillain Mephisto, underwent an incredible body transformation for his role, which he revealed this week. As he showed off his chiselled abs in the new issue of Men's Fitness UK, Sacha, who split with Isla Fisher in 2023, after more than two decades together, re-shared the photoshoot to his Instagram Story and got candid about how he achieved his results. He wrote: 'Some celebs use Ozempic, some use private chefs, some use personal trainers. I did all three.' Sacha's representatives later insisted to MailOnline that the Borat star was 'only joking' and his new buff physique 'all down to hard work'. In a second post, Sacha added: 'This is not AI. I really am egotistical enough to do this. Debuting my new character. Middle aged man who replaced beer with protein shakes.' Sacha then thanked his personal trainer, writing: 'Thanks @theangrytrainer for doing the unthinkable - putting up with me for 25 minutes a day.' He revealed he had just three weeks to get into superhero shape, putting in the 'hard work' ready to portray Mephisto, a devil-like figure who makes Faustian bargains. Speaking to Men's Fitness UK, the actor revealed he turned to Matthew McConaughey to get the phone number of celebrity trainer Alfonso Moretti, who has well-established reputation for transforming physiques on impossible deadlines. Sacha went on to have a FaceTime meeting with Alfonso, who got him to strip down to his underwear during their first chat. Due to the short time frame and Alfonso workout methods, Sacha was tasked with being 'consistent' by doing '100 push ups a day'. Sacha's incredible transformation was far from marathon workouts and extreme dieting, as they concentrated on short workouts and a diet high in fibre and protein as well as low in sugar. He said: '25-minute workouts that were sustainable. Even while filming, the workouts happened. In the past, I would've thought you needed hour-long sessions'. He admitted at the beginning of the regime he 'had the core strength of an arthritic jellyfish... but the short sessions made it so much easier to stay consistent - even with the demands of being on set.' By the two-week mark, Sacha's wardrobe team had to spend $5,000 (£3,600) altering costumes because his body had changed so significantly. He was leaner, stronger, and fitter than ever before. His trainer also shared the magazine's photos to Instagram and wrote that he 'could not be more proud' of Sacha after working out with him. In a recent press conference, Marvel chief Kevin Feige confirmed that Sacha will be portraying MCU character. Sacha first rose to fame in the 1990s with his Ali G character, the infamous spoof wannabe gangster who became a comedy star. He also starred as Borat, a journalist from Kazakhstan, and played the role of flamboyant Austrian fashionista Bruno. The actor made his Mephisto debut in the finale of miniseries Ironheart earlier this month, marking the first appearance of the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe after years of speculation. One of Marvel's key villains, Mephisto is a demonic entity who acquires souls by making pacts with mortals and has battled the likes of Spider-Man and Doctor Strange.
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Sacha Baron Cohen's Ali G character 'makes surprise comeback' as he 'films new scenes' at Cotswolds Zoo
is reportedly 'bringing back his iconic comic creation Ali G', more than two decades after the character first appeared on screens. The actor, 53, was spotted last week filming new material while in full Ali G mode at a wildlife park in the Cotswolds. Dressed in a bold new look featuring a colourful crocheted rastacap, gold bling and trademark tinted shades, the actor was unmistakably back as the Staines-born MC. Fans in Chipping Norton were left stunned to see the cult character back in action, as Sacha was surrounded by a full production crew while shooting scenes on location. A source told The Sun: 'He was with a whole film crew and was in full character. 'He seemed very comfortable in the role. I was amazed, I thought to myself 'that's Ali G'. He clearly updated Ali G's wardrobe. 'He's replaced his tracksuit and skull cap, but he still had gold jewellery and tinted shades.' Ali G, known for his infamous line 'Is it coz I is black?', first appeared in 1998 on Channel 4's The 11 O'Clock Show. The streetwise satirical figure quickly gained popularity, going on to star in Da Ali G Show and hit 2002 movie Ali G Indahouse. The new wardrobe hints at a modern twist for the classic character, but the essence of Ali G remains intact - complete with the same swagger, shades, and gold jewellery fans remember. Sacha's return as Ali G comes after years of focusing on other projects, including his award-winning turn in Borat and more recent political satire work. It's not yet confirmed whether the footage will form part of a TV special, online release or a brand-new series and details of the new project remain under wraps, but the sighting has sparked major excitement among longtime fans. MailOnline has contacted Sacha Baron Cohen's representatives for comment. It comes after Sacha is reportedly 'terrified' his ex-wife Isla Fisher will ' spill secrets' following her recent 'sausage' gag about men on social media. Isla who was married to Sacha for 13 years, made some barbed comments about men as she took to Instagram on Wednesday to share a brutally honest quote about modern relationships The actors finalised their divorce in June after quietly separating in 2023 following 13 years of marriage. Isla has since been making barbed comments about men as she took to Instagram on Wednesday to share a brutally honest quote about modern relationships. The actress fired off a cheeky take on an age-old saying – and turned it completely on its head. 'For all the men who say, "Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?" Here's an update for you,' her post began. 'Nowadays, 80% of women are against marriage. Why? Because women realise it's not worth buying an entire pig just to get a little sausage.' Just days earlier, Isla took another cheeky dig at her ex after spotting him at a Wimbledon match in England. Isla showed that things were still amicable between the pair as she made a hilarious quip about their co-parenting relationship. Sharing a screenshot of a MailOnline article about the pair's separate appearances at Centre Court, the Aussie actress tagged the Borat star and joked: 'Hang on? Who's watching the kids? @sachabaroncohen' The former couple met in 2001 and tied the knot nine years later, welcoming three children, before they announced last year that they'd split in 2023. Coincidentally, the duo used the medium of tennis to make the separation announcement, with a photo of themselves posing in matching tennis outfits. Sharing the photo to both of their Instagram Stories in April 2024, they declared their split with the caption: 'After a long tennis match lasting over 20 years, we are finally putting our racquets down.' The exes also confirmed their divorce had been finalised last month, with another simultaneous statement posted to their Instagrams. It read: 'Our divorce has now been finalised. 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. We ask for the media to continue to respect our children's privacy.'
