SSacha Baron Cohen is a Hollywood actor like no other. While other artists work on movie sets with tightly controlled environments, Cohen made his name playing “undercover” characters like Ali G and Borat, to film himself participating in often disturbing real-world events. In a recent interview with CBS this morning, the actor stated that his days of playing undercover characters are over and that Borat 2 is his last.
“Uh, no. I can’t do it again. I was lucky to get through [the Borat sequel] completely intact. Then no. “
While Tom Cruise is often praised for risking his life to perform daring cinematic stunts in real life, Sacha Baron Cohen is arguably far more dangerous. In his various guises, Cohen has frequently been amid bloodthirsty crowds clamoring for his guts, such as when he found himself inside a caged wrestling ring as spectators hurled projectiles at his head. In an opinion piece for Time, Cohen revealed how he nearly lost his life while filming the Borat sequel.
“While filming my latest Borat movie, I performed as a right-wing singer at a gun-rights rally in Washington state. When the organizers finally stormed the stage, I ran towards a nearby getaway vehicle. An angry crowd blocked our way and began to beat the vehicle with their fists. Under my overalls, I was wearing a bulletproof vest, but it didn’t feel right with some people outside carrying semi-automatic weapons. When someone opened the door to drag me out, I used my full body weight to close the door until our vehicle maneuvered freely. “
Of course, Cohen’s intention with his daring stunts is not to harass crowds without purpose, but rather to use his characters to shed light on the worst aspects of society, from racism to homophobia. Arguably, none of the actor’s films do this as well as the sequel Borat, so it makes sense that Cohen wants to leave the genre of these types of films on a high note.
But just because Cohen is giving up undercover roles doesn’t mean he’s giving up acting entirely. Between his better-known shifts like Ali G, Bruno, and Borat, Cohen has built a solid acting profile, working with the likes of Martin Scorsese on Hugo and Aaron Sorkin on The Chicago Trial of the Seven. Fans are hoping that Cohen can now spend more time on scripted comedies like The Dictator and The Brothers Grimsby, which showed that even when he’s not based on “cover” roles, the actor is one of the funniest people who work. in Hollywood today.
Directed by Jason Woliner, Borat Post-Film: Delivering a Prodigious Bride to the American Regime to Once Benefit the Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan is written by Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Dan Swimmer, Peter Baynham, Erica Rivinoja, Dan Mazer, Jena Friedman, and Lee Kern, with a story by Cohen, Hines, Swimmer, and Nina Pedrad. The movie is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
