Sacha Baron Cohen has shocked fans with the fitness transformation he underwent to play Mephisto in Marvel’s Ironheart.
The Borat star appeared shirtless on the cover of Men’s Fitness UK, showcasing the results of what he jokingly called his “mid-life crisis”, as well as a combination of Ozempic, private chefs, and personal trainers.
“This is not AI. I really am egotistical enough to do this,” he quipped on Instagram while sharing the cover.
Adding: “Some celebs use Ozempic and some use private chefs, others use personal trainers. I did all three.”
The cover showed a shirtless, visibly bulked-up Cohen gripping a 30-pound weight in each hand.
Commenting on his new look again in another post, he shared: “ Hard launching my mid-life crisis.
“Debuting my new character: Middle-aged man who replaced beer with protein shakes.”
After sharing the cover and images on social media, a fan commented: “I’m sorry, but thirst trap Borat was not on my 2025 bingo card.”
Another added: “And he's 53. Dude looks incredible.”
The transformation began after advice from Matthew McConaughey, who put Cohen in touch with personal trainer Alfonso Moretti.
According to Cohen, Moretti described his body at the start as “like a ruler.”
Cohen made his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut as Mephisto, the devilish fan-favorite comic book villain, in the season finale of Disney+’s Ironheart, which aired earlier this summer.
Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige previously confirmed Cohen will reprise the role in future MCU projects.
While many fans expected Mephisto to show up in WandaVision or the upcoming Agatha All Along, Ironheart producer Ryan Coogler praised the decision to introduce the character through Dominique Thorne’s young tech prodigy, Riri Williams.
Coogler told Variety: “I just absolutely love that we’re not meeting him in ‘WandaVision’ or ‘Agatha [All Along].’ You’re meeting him through this stressed-out, young Black genius.
“When you watch the show, it’s like, ‘Oh, that was how you always were gonna meet him.’ It wasn’t gonna be in ‘Loki.’ That’s the trickster; that’s how he works. That’s where he’s gonna be: in a pizza shop in Chicago, like, where you would absolutely never expect him.”
Marvel has yet to confirm when Cohen’s Mephisto will appear next but judging by his new look, he’ll be ready when the time comes.
