It’s been over a decade since Sacha Baron Cohen decided to terrorize the streets of New York City on a camel. Watching it now, the cast of the dictator feels like one of those weird, late-night fever dreams where you recognize everyone but can’t quite figure out how they all ended up in the same room. It was 2012. Comedy was in this strange transition phase between the raw, guerilla-style chaos of Borat and the more scripted, polished satire of the modern era. Larry Charles, the director who basically lived in the trenches with Cohen during his previous movies, decided to go "full Hollywood" with this one. Sorta.
I remember the first time I saw the credits roll. It’s a bizarre mix. You’ve got Oscar winners. You’ve got legendary character actors. Then you have Sacha Baron Cohen playing Admiral General Aladeen, a man who literally executes people for not liking his jokes. It shouldn't work. On paper, it looks like a logistical nightmare.
The Sacha Baron Cohen Factor and the cast of the dictator
The whole thing revolves around Sacha Baron Cohen. Obviously. He plays dual roles: the North African tyrant Aladeen and the simple-minded body double, Efawadh. Most people forget that Cohen’s commitment to these roles is bordering on clinical. He didn't just show up to set; he stayed in character for months. During the promotional tour, he famously dumped "Kim Jong-il’s ashes" on Ryan Seacrest at the Oscars. That’s the energy he brought to the set.
But he needed foils. He needed people who could keep a straight face while he was saying the most unhinged things imaginable.
That’s where Ben Kingsley comes in. Honestly, seeing Sir Ben Kingsley—the man who played Gandhi—playing Tamir, the scheming uncle and advisor to a buffoonish dictator, is peak cinema. Kingsley brings this heavy, Shakespearean weight to a movie that features a scene about "the Wadiya Games" where the finish line is literally moved so the leader can win. It’s that contrast that makes the cast of the dictator so effective. If Kingsley had played it for laughs, the movie would have collapsed. Instead, he plays it like a Greek tragedy.
Anna Faris and the "Straight Person" Role
Anna Faris played Zoey. She was the short-haired, vegan, activist owner of the Free Earth Collective. If you’ve ever spent five minutes in a Brooklyn co-op, you know this character. She’s the moral compass of the film, but the genius of Faris is that she doesn’t play it like a boring buzzkill. She’s genuinely funny in her earnestness.
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Her chemistry with Cohen is awkward. Intentionally so.
One of the most underrated parts of the cast of the dictator is how Faris manages to hold her own against Cohen’s improvised lunacy. There’s a specific rhythm to a Sacha Baron Cohen movie. It’s fast. It’s jarring. Most actors would get steamrolled, but Faris had already done years of Scary Movie and The House Bunny. She knew how to handle absurdism.
The supporting legends you probably forgot were there
Look at the smaller roles. This is where the movie really shows its teeth.
Jason Mantzoukas plays Nadal. If you know Mantzoukas from The League or Brooklyn Nine-Nine, you know he’s a chaos agent. In The Dictator, he’s the "nuclear scientist" who Aladeen thought he had executed but actually ended up working at a tech repair shop in New York. Their banter is the heartbeat of the second act. The scene in the helicopter where they speak in their fictional language while terrified American tourists look on? That’s pure improv gold.
Then there’s the cameos.
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- John C. Reilly shows up as a racist private security contractor.
- Megan Fox plays herself in a bit that mocks the way celebrities are hired for "appearances" by wealthy autocrats.
- Bobby Lee is there as Mr. Lao, a Chinese businessman with some... specific tastes.
- Even Edward Norton has a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo as himself.
These aren't just random names. Every person in the cast of the dictator serves a purpose in skewering a different part of Western and Eastern geopolitics. It’s a masterclass in using "names" to ground a ridiculous premise.
Why this specific cast worked in 2012 (And why it’s risky now)
Satire is a moving target. What worked in 2012 is a minefield today. The movie takes aim at everything: democracy, dictatorship, feminism, racism, and the UN. The reason the cast of the dictator didn't face the same level of scrutiny that similar projects might today is because of the pedigree of the actors. When you have someone like Kingsley or Faris involved, it signals to the audience that there’s a layer of intentionality behind the offensiveness.
They weren't just making "dumb jokes." They were highlighting the absurdity of how the West interacts with the rest of the world.
Think about the "Wadiya" language. It’s basically a mix of Hebrew and Arabic, designed to sound "general Middle Eastern" to a Western ear. Cohen, who is fluent in Hebrew, used this to hide jokes in plain sight. Only a specific part of the audience would get the linguistic puns. The rest of the cast had to play along with this invented reality. It required a level of trust that most comedies don't ask for.
The technical brilliance behind the performances
We often talk about the "cast" as just the faces on screen, but the ensemble was supported by a writing team that included Alec Berg and David Mandel. These are the guys behind Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm.
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They understood that for the cast of the dictator to succeed, the world around Aladeen had to feel real. The NYC locations—the hotels, the streets, the UN building (well, a very good recreation of it)—all had to feel tactile. When Aladeen is wandering through the city, the "extras" were often real people who didn't know they were in a movie. That’s the Cohen specialty. Mixing real reactions with scripted performances.
It’s a high-wire act. If the scripted actors (Kingsley, Faris) aren't perfectly in sync with the "real" world, the illusion breaks. They stayed in the pocket.
Actionable insights for fans and film buffs
If you’re revisiting this movie or looking into the cast of the dictator for the first time, don't just watch it for the slapstick. There’s a lot under the hood.
- Watch the background actors. Many of the people in the New York scenes are real New Yorkers giving genuine "get away from me" glares to Sacha Baron Cohen. The contrast between the professional actors and the real public is where the best comedy lives.
- Pay attention to Jason Mantzoukas. This was one of the roles that really solidified him as a premier character actor in Hollywood. His ability to match Cohen’s energy is rare.
- Contrast this with Borat. While Borat was almost entirely unscripted, The Dictator is a hybrid. Notice how the professional cast provides a safety net for Cohen to be even more outrageous.
- Look for the political subtext. The final speech Aladeen gives about "why America would be better as a dictatorship" is actually a very sharp critique of US policy circa 2012. It’s the most "serious" moment for the cast and shows their range.
The movie isn't perfect. Some jokes land like a lead balloon. But the sheer talent packed into the cast of the dictator ensures that it remains a fascinating artifact of a time when Hollywood was still willing to spend $65 million on a hard-R satire. It’s a testament to Cohen’s drawing power and the bravery of a cast that was willing to look absolutely ridiculous in the name of a good gag.
Next Steps for Deep Diving into The Dictator’s Production:
- Check out the deleted scenes: There is a significant amount of footage involving Jason Mantzoukas and Cohen that didn't make the final cut due to length, often featuring even more intense improvisation.
- Research the "Wadiya" language: Hebrew speakers have noted for years that Aladeen’s dialogue is littered with inside jokes that change the context of several scenes.
- Watch the DVD commentary: If you can find it, Larry Charles and Sacha Baron Cohen break down exactly which parts of the "cast" interactions were scripted and which were the result of Cohen going off the rails to see how his co-stars would react.