Sacha Baron Cohen to be named ‘Comedic Genius’ at MTV Movie & TV Awards

The ‘Borat Subsequent Moviefilm’ and ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ star will become only the fourth person to receive the honour

Film Awards Season (Courtesy of Amazon Studios)

Sacha Baron Cohen will be honoured with the Comedic Genius Award at the MTV Movie & TV Awards 2021, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The British actor and comedian will become only the fourth person to take home the prize, following Will Ferrell in 2013, Kevin Hart in 2015 and Melissa McCarthy in 2016. 

The Comedic Genius Award is presented “to an actor who has made incomparable contributions to the world of comedy, providing a major influence and transforming the genre”.

Baron Cohen is also nominated for a further three MTV Movie & TV Awards this year for his work on Borat Subsequent Moviefilm and The Trial of the Chicago 7.

MTV is reviving its MTV Movie & TV Awards for 2021, after last year’s event didn’t take place due to the coronavirus pandemic. The show will take place over two nights in May. On Sunday 16 May, host Leslie Jones will present the main movie and television awards, while the following day on Monday 17 May, host Nikki Glaser will present the inaugural year of the MTV Movie & TV Awards: Unscripted, which will focus exclusively on reality TV.

Baron Cohen, who first found fame with his character Ali G, was recently nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as Abbie Hoffman in The Trial of the Chicago 7, but ultimately missed out to Daniel Kaluuya. He has also twice been nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the Oscars, first for Borat in 2006 and then again this year for Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.

His first MTV Movie & TV Award win came in 2007, when Baron Cohen shared the award for Best Kiss with fellow ‘Comedic Genius’ Will Ferrell for their passionate embrace in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.