In the persona of Ali G, Baron Cohen has interviewed myriad famous figures, including former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and former United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, asking him to translate expletives into French, and throwing superfluous “Boutros”’s into the conversation.

In a 2000 appearance in Britain, he interviewed Real Madrid soccer player David Beckham and his wife, Posh Spice Victoria Beckham, in a burgundy leather suit with the words “Save Africa” written on the back just above a map of Italy.

In a characteristic play on words, he commented to David Beckham, “Cos I heard you was well good at getting round the back and bending your balls in.”

While some play along with Baron Cohen’s antics, others have gotten annoyed or even furious—Donald Trump ended his Ali G interview after two minutes.

Baron Cohen first gained popularity in his native Britain on “The 11 O’clock Show,” a satire of nightly news.

His character is well-known for his unique dialect, a combination of British and street slang that has sparked numerous online translator sites.

In “Da Ali G Show,” he also appears as two other characters, Borat, a naive Kazakhstani reporter who travels to the U.S. to report on American culture, and Bruno, a self-obsessed Austrian fashion reporter.

This year will be the third consecutive Class Day that features a comedian as the speaker—Will Ferrell spoke last year and Al Franken ’73 addressed seniors in 2002.

“Harvard students want to be enlightened, and I think he’ll do that,” Corker said. “These past three years, they’ve all been incredible individuals who have enlightened this world with their insight and their breadth of knowledge, which are core values to Harvard University.”

—Staff writer Katharine A. Kaplan can be reached at kkaplan@fas.harvard.edu.