step down on 31 July 2018, leaving the seat vacant. Baron Cohen has denied Who is America? will return for a second season, noting the publicity surrounding the show and his interviews would make it harder for him to dupe guests. In 2018, The Times named him among the 30 best living comedians. Other work Baron Cohen guest-starred in the fifth season of Curb Your Enthusiasm, with Dustin Hoffman, as a guide to Heaven. He also provided the voice of the ring-tailed lemur king, King Julien, in DreamWorks Animation's film series, Madagascar, and appeared as Will Ferrell's arch rival, the French Formula One speed demon Jean Girard, in the hit Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006). He also appeared alongside Johnny Depp in the film Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) as Signor Adolfo Pirelli, co-starred in Martin Scorsese's adventure film Hugo (2011), and portrayed Thénardier in the 2012 film version of the musical Les Misérables. He appeared as a BBC News Anchor in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013). Baron Cohen has twice presented the MTV Europe Music Awards, first as Ali G on 8 November 2001, in Frankfurt, Germany, and then as Borat on 3 November 2005 in Lisbon, Portugal. Baron Cohen appeared out of character to accept an award at the British Comedy Awards in December 2006. He said at the time that Borat could not make it to the awards as "he's guest of honour at the Holocaust denial conference in Tehran", referring to the International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust. In September 2010, representatives for Baron Cohen confirmed that he was set to play Freddie Mercury in the Bohemian Rhapsody biopic about the rock singer. He dropped out of the project in July 2013, citing "creative differences" between him and the surviving members of Queen. Queen guitarist Brian May later said that even though the band and Baron Cohen were on good terms, they felt that his presence would be "distracting". The role was later played by Rami Malek. Baron Cohen shot a spread with supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio for Marie Claire magazine to promote the film Brüno. In 2010, Baron Cohen guest-starred in The Simpsons episode, "The Greatest Story Ever D'ohed", as Jakob, a quick-tempered Israeli tour guide. In 2012, Baron Cohen and his production company Four By Two Films signed a first-look deal with Paramount