English comedian and actor Sacha Baron Cohen is planning to revive Ali G—the iconic wannabe gangster character that catapulted him to comedy stardom—for a standup comedy tour, 25 years after the character made his TV debut. Cohen’s satirical take on the British working-class “chav” stereotype—the badly-fitting track suits, the rude-boy-inspired slang, the total lack of self-awareness—was a staple of early 2000s UK pop culture, earning the comedian several awards, including the Best Newcomer at the 1999 British Comedy Awards and the BAFTA for Best Comedy in 2001. So meteoric was Cohen’s rise that in 2002, just four years after taking the character public, Ali G was ranked eighth in a Channel 4 poll of the 100 Greatest TV Characters.

Today—when the sort of prank interviews he pioneered have become a staple comedy format—you might overlook Cohen’s work, but the actor is a master of his craft, going to dangerous lengths to extract the funniest and most shocking truths from corporate big-wigs, politicians and controversial public personalities. To do this, Cohen has created many different characters like Kazakh journalist Borat Sagdiyev (everyone’s heard of Borat, right?), gay Austrian fashion expert Bruno Gehard and—more recently—Israeli anti-terrorism expert Erran Morad. Here are some of the best moments from Cohen’s decades-long career.

ALI G MEETS APPRENTICE-ERA DONALD TRUMP

In this clip, we go back to simpler times, when Ali G was pitching his “$34.6 million billion” ice-cream glove business idea to Donald Trump and other business magnates. Watch as Cohen even breaks character towards the end of the interview, while asking a potential investor to stop acting like a child and take his Back To The Future hoverboard idea seriously. Trump is cold, calculated and distant, even leaving the interview early after refusing to entertain Ali G’s pitch.

A few years later, Cohen—now playing his new character Borat—would wreak havoc on Donald Trump’s presidential re-election campaign. 2020’s Borat Subsequent Moviefilm sees Rudy Guilliani—former Mayor of New York and Trump’s personal lawyer, advisor and campaign supporter—tricked into an interview with actress Maria Bakalova. In his hotel room, the cameras capture Guilliani in a rather compromising position. The prank made headlines across the US, landing a major win for Cohen.

ALI G AND THE BECKHAMS

This is an early internet classic! In 2001, Ali G interviewed musician and Spice Girl Victoria Beckham and footballer David Beckham for British charity Comic Relief. Cohen packed punchline after punchline into this candid interview: there isn’t a sentence uttered here that isn’t worth a laugh. The chemistry between Cohen and the couple is notable, with David taking every joke like a champ and Victoria trading punches with the interviewer.

CAPTAIN ERRAN MORAD AND JASON SPENCER

On 2018 political satire/mockumentary series Who Is America? Cohen adopts a new character, Israeli anti-terrorism expert Erran Morad, who was “not in the Mossad for 13 years.” In episode two, Morad meets with Republican state representative from Georgia Jason Spencer and the results are…just sad. Don’t get us wrong, Cohen gets Spencer up to antics that are ridiculous to the point of hilarity. But underneath the ridiculousness is the realisation that people can be incredibly vile.

Spencer is documented on-camera doing everything from racist impressions of Chinese people, using the n-word, and accepting and acting on generalisations about Islam and its ideas of homosexuality. Cohen quite literally pulled the politician’s pants down (in fact, he got Spencer to do it on his own). Spencer initially refused to step down from his post but eventually resigned after losing in the pre-election primary.

CAPTAIN ERRAN MORAD AND ROY MOORE

Republican Senate nominee and former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court Roy Moore has been accused of inappropriate sexual or social conduct by nine women, many of whom were under the age of 18 at the time he approached them. Enter Israeli anti-terror expert Erran Morad, who invites Moore out to Washington DC, supposedly to give him an award for his support of Israel. Supposedly.

After some initial pleasantries—including a painful attempt by Moore to claim a strong connection between Alabama and Israel (“Alabama has always been a state that valued freedom, valued liberty…)—Cohen’s Morad brings out the sex offender wand. This is apparently brand new technology, allegedly developed to identify pedophiles. Every time Morad waves the wand over Moore, it beeps. Awkward hilarity ensues.

CAPTAIN ERRAN MORAD AND PHILIP VAN CLEAVE

Of course, no self-respecting series satirising American identity would be complete without an episode on gun rights, gun lobbies and gun activists. And so, Erran Morad visits ‘distinguished’ gun rights activist Philip Van Cleave to propose an idea: why not arm all American children abovet the age of three? Morad convinces Van Cleave to help him shoot an advertisement for children’s guns. Despite some initial hesitation, Van Cleave gives in. He’s seen posing with and giving instructions on how to use the “puppy pistol,” and singing instructional children’s song “head, shoulders not the toes!” Adorable, right?

PS: If you’re looking to keep your one-year-old safe, why not try the starter gun BFF (Best Firearm Forever). They aren’t old enough to get the Rocket Ship RPG yet, but maybe if they’re really good and study extra hard, they can get it next year!

GIO MONALDO AND O.J. SIMPSON

The Who Is America? season finale saw Cohen attempt to take down one of the most controversial figures in contemporary American pop culture: O.J. Simpson. In June 1994, the American football player and actor was arrested and charged with murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her partner, Ronald Goldman. But in one of the most internationally publicised trials in recent history, the case ended in an acquittal. Simpson walked free.

But Cohen had a plan to take him down. Posing as Italian bad-boy billionaire Gio Monaldo, Cohen arranged a meeting with Simpson—secretly filmed using hidden cameras—on the pretext of being a middle-man for a fictional Sheikh. Monaldo claims that the Sheikh was deeply intrigued by the murder case and would pay a huge sum of money if Simpson confessed to the murder. Sounds like a very intense interview (and for Simpson, it really must have been). But it’s also just such a joy to watch.

DAVID LETTERMAN AND BORAT SAGDIYEV

2006’s Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan arguably launched Sacha Baron Cohen to global fame. When promoting the film, Cohen appeared in character as Borat on David Letterman’s iconic late-night show. Borat fans will know that first introductions with the character often leave people dazed and confused, like they’ve been hit with a big sack of culture shock. Despite his years of experience as a talk show host, even Letterman looks uneasy here. But, even with his extremely ‘cancel’-able nature, Borat manages to endear himself to the crowd, who hang on to his every word. It really is a great showcase of just how talented a performer Cohen is. Anyone can play an ignorant asshole, but it takes real charisma to get people to genuinely like an ignorant asshole.