Ben Kingsley Joins Sacha Baron Cohen In ‘The Dictator’
Not counting hisAli G Showcreations and the trio of feature efforts that followed,Sacha Baron Cohen’s winning presence has been put to use in only two films thus far, first inTalladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobbyand not long after inSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. That’s going to be changing in the next couple of years though, as he adds two more films to his roster — the appreciably shorter-titledHugo Cabret(directed by Martin Scorsese) andThe Dictator.
We’ve already gottenan early peekat Cohen inHugo Cabret, along with his Academy Award-winning co-starBen Kingsley, and now a new bit of casting forThe Dictatorinforms us that the duo will be joining forces once again. Is this the result of Cohen and Kingsley sharing strong chemistry on-set? We can only hope. Learn more after the break.
InThe Dictator, Cohen will play dual roles as a goat herder and a deposed dictator who gets lost in the US. Inspired by Saddam Hussein’s best selling romance novel, Zabibah and The King, the film tells “the heroic story of a dictator who risked his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed”. Though it’s not credited as such, it looks to be a sort of modern take on Charlie Chaplin’sThe Great Dictator, swapping out Hitler for Hussein.
Varietysays Kingsley will co-star in the film as “one of two Middle Eastern characters who factor into the plot”.The League’sJason Mantzoukasis in negotiations to play the other role.
Production is slated to begin on the film next month in New York and Morocco. Frequent Cohen collaboratorLarry Charles(director of bothBoratandBruno) is helming the picture.Kristen Wiig,Anna FarisandCommunity’sGillian Jacobsare on the shortlist to play the female lead (a supermarket worker) opposite Cohen. They’re looking to cast someone with strong improv skills, lest they fail to keep pace with Cohen’s off-the-cuff banter.
