Sacha Baron Cohen, really just confirming what’s been suspected for a while, has talked up the deaths of Ali G and Borat to The Daily Telegraph. After nearly ten years on screen as Ali G, Choen says he’s never going to play he and Borat again.
This can’t come as a surprise to anyone who understands the way those two characters work(ed) — it must be nearly impossible to dupe people when posing as a globally famous character, especially when you’re on the verge of becoming a globally recognizable star, like Mark Dacascos or Jeff Speakman, while out of character. Cohen, in fact addresses exactly that in a well-chosen quote from the paper.
"It is like saying goodbye to a loved one. It is hard, and the problem
with success, although it’s fantastic, is that every new person who
sees the Borat movie is one less person I `get’ with Borat again, so
it’s a kind of self-defeating form, really."
Not that there’ll be any shortage of SBC. He’s already a highlight of Sweeney Todd, just like he was a bright spot in Talladega Nights. And this should cast doubt about the future of Bruno which, given how irritating it’s become to hear any dialogue from Borat in the wake of that movie’s remarkable success, is probably best put behind him as well.