Not very nice! During an interview on the WTF With Marc Maron podcast on Monday, February 22, Sacha Baron Cohen revealed that the FBI “started compiling a file” on him while he was filming wild antics for his 2006 comedy, Borat.
Cohen, 44, whose Kazakh character drove around in an ice cream truck pranking strangers, explained that his appearance — along with his outrageous behavior — almost landed him in some unlikely legal trouble.
“[The FBI] got so many complaints there was a terrorist traveling in an ice cream van,” the actor said. “So the FBI got so many complaints that they started compiling a little file on us and eventually they came to visit us at the hotel. I obviously went missing when I heard because [the film crew] were like, ‘FBI’s downstairs. Sacha, disappear.’”
Although Cohen never dreamed that playing the outlandish faux-journalist would grab the attention of the FBI, he was aware that Borat’s tendency to tick off locals in conservative parts of the country might have consequences.
The same went for Cohen’s 2009 satire, Bruno. In preparation for portraying the movie’s flamboyant titular role in rural Kansas, he employed security to help keep him from getting handcuffed.
“We hire a guy and his job is, he’s a bit like [The Brothers Grimsby’s] Nobby, actually … his job is to prevent me from being arrested,” admitted the father of three, who is married to actress Isla Fisher.
Cohen can next be seen in The Brothers Grimsby, which hits theaters on March 11.
