Cohen appeared as the character Mephisto in the season finale of Ironheart, and Marvel Studios executive Kevin Feige has said the character will return in future projects.
Sacha Baron Cohen has officially joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe -- and transformed his physique in the process.
Cohen, 53, shared his Men's Fitness UK cover on Instagram on Wednesday, July 23, showing off muscly physique in a series of shirtless photos. Other pics show him doing pull-ups and posing with gym equipment. The outlet credited Cohen's new look with his most recent onscreen role as the character Mephisto in Marvel's Disney+ series Ironheart.
"This is not AI, I really am egotistical enough to do this," Cohen wrote on his Instagram Stories, as he shared photos from the magazine's cover shoot. "Some celebs use Ozempic, some use private chefs, others use personal trainers. I did all three."
In Cohen's Instagram Stories, he also wrote that he is "hard launching my mid-life crisis" and "debuting my new character: middle aged man who replaced beer with protein shakes" while showing off the magazine's photos. He also thanked personal trainer Alfonso Moretti "for doing the unthinkable -- putting up with me for 25 mins a day" in the captions to those photos.
Moretti also shared the magazine's photos to Instagram on July 23 and wrote that he "could not be more proud" of Cohen after working out with him.
"Sacha trusted my process and followed the plan exactly. Not only did he earn better health and fitness with incredible aesthetics...but also... The COVER of Men's Fitness!!!" Moretti wrote. "From Borat to Buff full article coming this Friday! For now, enjoy the pictures. Tell me he doesn't look absolutely incredible!"
Cohen, who finalized his divorce from ex Isla Fisher back in June, took to the small screen to portray the Marvel Comics character Mephisto in Ironheart's season finale back on July 1. The appearance marked Cohen's second live-action acting role since he released Borat Subsequent Moviefilm in 2020. According to Deadline, which received an early preview of Cohen's Men's Fitness UK article, Cohen reached out to Matthew McConaughey for guidance on who to train with in preparation for the role.
Marvel Studios executive Kevin Feige recently told reporters at a press conference that Cohen will reprise his role as Mephisto in future MCU projects, but he did not specify what projects or when they may release, as Gamesradar+ noted in a Monday, July 21 interview.
"He's another character that, pre-MCU, would have been hard to do. He's a devil. How do you do that character?" Feige said. "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."