Sacha Baron Cohen says he spent 5 days in character while living with conspiracy theorists for 'Borat 2'
- Sacha Baron Cohen told The New York Times that he spent five days in his Borat character for the movie's sequel.
- He was living with two conspiracy theorists at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
- "I was waking up, having breakfast, lunch, dinner, going to sleep as Borat when I lived in a house with these conspiracy theorists," he said. "You can't have a moment out of character."
The comedy genius of Sacha Baron Cohen is how far he will go to land a joke or deep-seated point. But he acknowledges one bit he did for the "Borat" sequel was even over the top for him.
In Amazon's coming "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bride to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan," Cohen has his Borat character move in with two conspiracy theorists during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
"I lived in character for five days in this lockdown house," Cohen told The New York Times' Maureen Dowd in an interview that ran over the weekend. Cohen called it the hardest thing he had to do for the movie.
"I was waking up, having breakfast, lunch, dinner, going to sleep as Borat when I lived in a house with these conspiracy theorists," he said. "You can't have a moment out of character."
Though this part is sure to be a standout in the movie (a moment is featured in the trailer when Borat tells one of the theorists the coronavirus can be killed by hitting it with a pan), Cohen said he went to great lengths for this part of the movie to show that many people who believed in conspiracy theories were "ordinary folks who are good people, who have just been fed this diet of lies."
"They're completely different to the politicians who are motivated by their own power, who realized that they can create fear by spreading these lies," Cohen said.
"Borat 2," directed by Jason Woliner, is scheduled to be available on Amazon Prime beginning Friday.