FROM COMEDY KING TO MARVEL MUSCLE HOW SACHA BARON COHEN GOT SERIOUSLY FIT

If there’s one thing you don’t necessarily associate with Sacha Baron Cohen, it’s fitness.

- Rob Kemp

The man behind Borat, Ali G, and General Aladeen is far better known for fearless satire and surreal comedy than for six-pack abs. But when he was cast in a major Marvel role, transformation wasn’t optional. The character demanded not just sharp wit, but a sharp physique to match.

Enter celebrity trainer Alfonso Moretti, the man behind the scenes who has shaped Hollywood royalty and Fortune 500 execs alike. His minimalist, brutally effective methods would soon become the key to one of the most surprising body transformations in showbiz.

But Sacha's first challenge when taking on the role wasn’t physical - it was logistical. How to get into superhero shape in three weeks. Frustrated, he reached out to Matthew McConaughey, who passed along Alfonso’s number. “I called Matthew and asked for help. After asking who I was and how I'd gotten his number, he finally gave me Alfonso’s contact,” Sacha jokes.

Alfonso, aka The Angry Trainer, had a well-established reputation for transforming physiques to nigh' on impossible deadlines, using a no-nonsense, gimmick-free approach to training and nutrition.

Alfonso's opening move? A FaceTime session and an immediate request for Sacha to strip down to his underwear. "He said, 'Hold on, you haven't even taken me out for dinner,'” Alfonso laughs. But Sacha was all in.

Dictator of Discipline

Alfonso’s approach boiled down to one word: consistency. No marathon workouts, no extreme dieting. Just show up every day. “Fitness is like saving money,” Alfonso explains. “It’s not about dropping a grand all at once - it’s about putting in a dollar every single day.”

For Sacha, this meant 25-minute workouts that were sustainable. Even while filming, the workouts happened. “In the past, I would’ve thought you needed hour-long sessions,” Sacha admits. “But the short sessions made it so much easier to stay consistent - even with the demands of being on set.”