Sacha Baron Cohen stuns with six-pack abs, ripped physique for Marvel 's Mephisto, credits Ozempic, not AI for it
On Wednesday, Sacha Baron Cohen shared his Men's Fitness UK cover on Instagram, showing off his chiselled physique in a series of shirtless photos.
Actor Sacha Baron Cohen has stunned fans with his dramatic physical transformation to portray Marvel supervillain Mephisto, revealing he used Ozempic as part of his overhaul. Meanwhile, Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige has hinted at a significant future for the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Sacha Baron Cohen's jaw-dropping transformation
On Wednesday, Cohen, 53, shared his Men's Fitness UK cover on Instagram, showing off his chiselled physique in a series of shirtless photos. The series of photos featured the 53-year-old actor posing shirtless, doing pull-ups, and working out with gym equipment, giving fans a glimpse of his transformation for his Marvel role.
It was revealed that the actor’s transformation is for his onscreen role as Mephisto in Marvel's Disney+ series Ironheart. The transformation has left fans gobsmacked.
One asked, “Is this AI?” with another writing, “I'm sorry, but thirst trap Borat was not on my 2025 bingo card.”
“And he's 53. Dude looks incredible,” read one comment. One social media user shared, “Single mode activated” and one wrote “the only thirst trap I can respect.”
“Revenge body,” one wrote referencing his split from actor Isla Fisher.
According to Cohen, nothing about the pictures was fake. “This is not AI,” he wrote on his Instagram Story while sharing the picture of his cover of Men’s Fitness UK. The actor added, “I really am egotistical enough to do this.”
Cohen shared a workout photo showcasing his toned back, revealing that he used Ozempic as part of his regimen to achieve his new physique. He said, “Some celebs use Ozempic, some use private chefs, others use personal trainers. I did all three."
Cohen poked fun at his transformation on Instagram Stories, joking that he is "hard launching my mid-life crisis" and "debuting my new character: middle-aged man who replaced beer with protein shakes" as he shared photos from his Men's Fitness UK cover shoot. In the captions to those photos, he also thanked personal trainer Alfonso Moretti "for doing the unthinkable — putting up with me for 25 mins a day."
According to Deadline, Cohen reached out to Matthew McConaughey to find a trainer, who suggested Moretti. In their first Zoom call, Moretti made Cohen strip down to his underwear, and planned disciplined and consistent regie which included 100 pushups per day.
Mephisto’s future in MCU
Cohen was seen in the role of Mephisto in Ironheart's season finale on July 1. The appearance marked his second live-action acting role since he released Borat Subsequent Moviefilm in 2020.
Marvel Studios executive Kevin Feige recently told reporters at a press conference that Cohen will reprise his role as Mephisto in future MCU projects. However, he did not specify what projects or when they may release, as per Gamesradar+.
"He's another character that, pre-MCU, would have been hard to do. He's a devil. How do you do that character? But he's a formative character. He was a big part of Thanos' storyline in the comics. So again, now that he's here, the potential is clear,” Feige said.
