Sacha Baron Cohen shocks fans with major body transformation as he explains how he did it

The newly musclebound Sacha Baron Cohen has opened up about his crazy body transformation.

Best known for his comedy characters Borat Sagdiyev and Ali G, the 53-year-old unveiled his chiselled physique in the latest issue of Men's Fitness UK.

Resharing the photoshoot on his Instagram Stories, Cohen jokingly captioned it: "Some celebs use Ozempic, some use private chefs, some use personal trainers. I did all three.

"This is not AI," he pointed out after fans questioned the authenticity of the imagery. "I really am egotistical enough to do this. Debuting my new character. Middle aged man who replaced beer with protein shakes.

"Thanks @theangrytrainer for doing the unthinkable - putting up with me for 25 minutes a day."

So, what's the real story behind Cohen's eye-popping physical upgrade?

Surprisingly, it's all down to Marvel Studios casting him as the hellish supervillain Mephisto in the new Disney+ series Ironheart.

To get into shape for the part, the actor - who recently announced his divorce from wife Isla Fisher - acquired the renowned services of fitness guru Alfonso Moretti, aka The Angry Trainer, who had just three weeks to work his magic in this unlikely collaboration.

"I called Matthew [McConaughey] and asked for help. After asking who I was and how I'd gotten his number, he finally gave me Alfonso's contact," the star told Men's Fitness UK.

Moretti demanded nothing but complete and utter commitment to the cause; daily 25-minute workouts, even between shooting the MCU show.

"Fitness is like saving money," he shared with the same publication. "It's not about dropping a grand all at once – it's about putting in a dollar every single day."

Cohen went on to reflect: "In the past, I would've thought you needed hour-long sessions. But the short sessions made it so much easier to stay consistent – even with the demands of being on set."

His rapid-results regime consisted of 100 push-ups per day, a low-sugar and high-fibre/protein diet, plus guidance from Moretti via FaceTime and the celebrity trainer's Beverly Hills Workout app.

"To be fair to Sacha, he wasn't out of shape," added Moretti. "But visually, he didn't have that 'in-shape' look. He looked more like a ruler – straight up and down. The studio was even thinking about fitting him with prosthetic muscles.

"I'm not going to take ultimate credit for this. Sacha had a good base to start with. He has good muscularity: the shape of his muscles, his insertions (where the muscle fibres attach to the bones via tendons), the length of his attachments – he was like an athlete in hiding," he explained.

"But we had a very short timeframe to achieve the look the studio wanted."

Thanks to Moretti's disciplined workout structure, which garners unbelievable results in such a small space of time, Cohen's approach to fitness has 'definitely evolved'.

"My favourite exercise is X-ups. I've always found core workouts challenging, as I'm blessed with the core strength of an arthritic jellyfish, so being able to do them now is a reminder of how far I've come," shared the actor.

"I now believe that just 20 to 30 minutes of movement a day can make a real difference – and it's something anyone can fit into their routine, especially celebrities with personal assistants to do all the boring stuff like shopping and attending friends' funerals. So, no excuses!"

Judging by what Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige revealed in a recent press conference, Mephisto has a devilishly bright future in the MCU, meaning Cohen can't afford to take his foot off the gas.

"He's another character that, pre-MCU, would have been hard to do," noted Feige. "He's a devil. How do you do that character? 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."