Elon Musk, who appears to think about himself a comic, has opined that “Essentially the most entertaining end result is the most probably.”
So it appeared affordable to ask Grok, the artificial-intelligence chatbot from Musk’s xAI startup that final month turned public to all customers on X (née Twitter): Who can be probably the most hilarious actor to painting Elon Musk in your opinion?
The reply from Grok: Sacha Baron Cohen, the British comedic actor recognized for “Borat,” “Brüno” and his Ali G rude-boy character. One purpose, in accordance with the AI bot, is the shock issue: Casting Baron Cohen “can be sudden in a means that might generate buzz. Followers won’t see it coming, and the distinction between Cohen’s ordinary characters and Musk’s tech mogul persona may present a comedic goldmine,” Grok mentioned.
Final 12 months got here information {that a} biopic of Musk, to be directed by filmmaker Darren Aronofsky and primarily based on Walter Isaacson’s approved biography of the tech mogul, is within the works at A24. No casting for the challenge has been introduced — however the guessing recreation has been below means on who would possibly land the position of Musk within the film.
With Baron Cohen, “Musk’s public persona, with its mix of genius eccentricity, and controversy, could possibly be ripe for the type of satirical remedy [Baron Cohen] excels at,” in accordance with Grok. “Think about [Baron Cohen’s] tackle Musk’s tweets, interviews, or public appearances — it could doubtless be each entertaining and insightful.” As well as, per Grok, Baron Cohen’s reward for bodily comedy may “be utilized to magnify Musk’s mannerisms, his peculiar means of talking, and even his notable moments like using the Cybertruck or the Tesla Roadster into area.”
Within the Musk-casting recreation, Grok additionally famous that Canadian actor Kevin Durand (“The Pressure,” “X-Males Origins: Wolverine”) has been “a well-liked selection on account of his bodily resemblance to Musk, with followers and commentators noting his potential to painting Musk’s eccentricities.”
The AI chatbot additionally talked about different actors which have been floated for the position, together with Nicolas Cage (whose capability to convey “distinctive, manic vitality to roles” may “seize Musk’s reported temperament”), Robert Downey Jr. (recommended partially as a result of Musk had a quick look in “Iron Man 2” as himself), Rami Malek, Jon Hamm and Michael Fassbender (who “has expertise with biopics, notably enjoying Steve Jobs” in Danny Boyle’s 2015 biopic of the late Apple co-founder and CEO).
In the meantime, Isaacson mentioned in an interview that Musk wish to see himself performed by Benedict Cumberbatch. And Grok can be conscious of memesters snarkily suggesting Kathy Bates ought to painting Musk “for her bodily similarities to Musk.”
Be aware that Musk has expressed an affinity for Baron Cohen’s work. In response to Musk, Baron Cohen’s 2012 movie “The Dictator” offered inspiration for Musk on the pointy-tipped design of SpaceX’s Starship. On Joe Rogan’s podcast in 2021, Musk cited a scene within the film by which Cohen’s titular dictator says of a nuclear missile “It’s too spherical on the highest. It must be pointy. Spherical will not be scary. Pointy is horrifying.” Equally, Musk advised his engineers that Starship should be “extra pointy”: “I believed it could be humorous to make it extra pointy, so we did,” he advised Rogan.
And in 2020, greater than two years earlier than Musk purchased Twitter, the tech billionaire replied to Baron Cohen’s tweet about Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg — by which the actor mentioned, “Why can we let 1 man management the data seen by 2.5 billion individuals? Fb must be regulated by governments, not dominated by an emperor!” — saying, “#DeleteFacebook It’s lame.”
Baron Cohen, an Oscar-nominated actor and screenwriter, most just lately starred alongside Cate Blanchett and Kevin Kline in Alfonso Cuarón’s Apple TV+ thriller collection “Disclaimer,” which premiered on the Venice Movie Competition and was launched on the streaming service in October. Baron Cohen will subsequent be seen starring reverse Rosamund Pike within the upcoming Netflix romantic-comedy “Girls First.”
