Best actor nominees George Clooney and Jean Dujardin hit the Academy Award red carpet Sunday night to the delight of fans in the bleachers outside the Hollywood & Highland Center, but comedian Sacha Baron Cohen threatened to upset the chic Hollywood tone.

Cohen arrived dressed in an over-the-top white military uniform, sunglasses and a thick beard to promote his upcoming film "The Dictator." Holding an urn he jokingly claimed were the ashes of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il, Cohen then dumped the container onto "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest.

The stunt couldn't dampen Dujardin's hopes. He would like to become the first Frenchman to win best actor and his "The Artist" is favored to become the only silent movie to take the best-picture prize since the first Oscar ceremony 83 years ago.