How Sacha Baron Cohen Created the Character Borat
The British entertainer stumbled upon an experiential form of comedic storytelling, pitting his exaggerated characters against unwitting regular folks to expose the truths about society.
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Photo: Vince Bucci/Getty Images
The British entertainer stumbled upon an experiential form of comedic storytelling, pitting his exaggerated characters against unwitting regular folks to expose the truths about society.
It started as an accident of sorts. Sacha Baron Cohen was hosting
TalkTV on London Weekend Television and went out on the streets to pre-tape a few segments in character. He was dressed up as a hip-hop DJ who was “so keen to be presented as a gangsta,” when he spotted a group of “skateboarders who were also dressed like wanna-be gangstas.” So he started interacting with them as his alter egos.