Big Lebowski, Arrested Development, More Saddam Hussein Spoofs
Sacha Baron Cohen, no stranger to controversy as Borat and Brüno, has been tapped to play Hussein in The Dictator. From The Big Lebowski to SNL, see Cohen’s funniest predecessors.
Hot Shots! Part Deux
If there were a lifetime achievement award for playing Saddam Hussein in films, Jerry Haleva would run away with the trophy. According to his IMDb page, all the actor’s credited acting roles are of Iraq’s former dictator, including Jane Austen’s Mafia! and Hot Shots. In this scene from Hot Shots! Part Deux, Hussein threatens to kill Charlie Sheen “until he dies from it.”
Arrested Development
Arrested Development’s Michael Bluth knew there were Hussein lookalikes in Iraq—he just didn’t expect to find a few rooming together on his first visit. In the 2006 episode “Exit Strategy,” Bluth runs into a couple of fellows who look exactly like the fallen dictator. Their manners, however, are more that of “Uday lookalikes.”
The Big Lebowski
Mr. Hussein, meet The Dude. The Coen Brothers blended bowling with the Gulf War in a bizarre dream sequence in 1998’s The Big Lebowski. The result? Hussein ruling the shoe-rental booth at a bowling alley. Though he didn’t have any dialogue, we suspect he was ruthless about disinfecting.
House of Saddam
The 2008 HBO/BBC miniseries House of Saddam, the only serious role in this list, was generally well received. The story follows the rise and fall of the president of Iraq. Yigal Naor doesn’t especially look like Hussein but received accolades for his performance. His archnemesis: a certain Texas cowboy.
Alec Baldwin on SNL
When Alec Baldwin played Hussein in an SNL skit in 2006, we had some sympathy for the high-profile prisoner. But, as this clip shows, first you give him a Dorito, then you give him your family’s name… then everyone’s dead.
Seinfeld
Was Hussein a double-parker? In the classic 1994 Seinfeld episode “The Dinner Party,” George and Kramer get their car blocked in by a person they assume has a Mussolini complex. When the lawbreaker returns, he’s a dead ringer for Hussein. Until he speaks in an English accent, that is.
Dane Cook on SNL
Dane Cook really needs to work on his Hussein impersonation. Playing the dictator in 2006’s SNL skit “A Minute With Saddam Hussein,” the comedian sounded like Carlos Mencia and looked like Al from the ’90s sitcom Home Improvement. Cook’s uninspired take makes him the worst Hussein on this list.
South Park Bigger, Longer & Uncut
The 1999 South Park movie promised to push the boundaries of the R rating. What better way to do so than with an animated Hussein as the main villain? In this epic tale, the dictator abuses his lover, Satan, to the point where the devil has no choice but to fight back. SPOILER: In the scene below, Satan exacts his bloody revenge.