Comedian Sacha Baron Cohen lived in-character with two conspiracy theorists for the upcoming Borat 2, directed by Jason Woliner. The new film was shot in secrecy throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, making Borat 2 the first film to undergo production and an official release during this time.
After the success of 2006’s Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, Cohen became one of the most notorious comedians on the planet. His ability to take on seemingly anything, as well as his steely nerves in the face of highly cringe-worthy confrontations, make it hard to look away from his elaborate pranks. In the years following Borat’s release, Cohen took on a handful of other characters to varying degrees of success. However, in terms of pure shock value and hilarious moments of irony, Borat is the character people can’t get enough of. There’s also been more than a fair share of those who didn’t take kindly to Cohen stringing them along on camera. Lawsuits and arrests have followed Cohen everywhere he goes in the wake of each new project he takes on, but to date, nothing stops the talented comedian from doings just what he wants.
With Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm now mere days away from its release on Amazon Prime, more information about how it was made is gradually being revealed. The film’s recent trailer teased numerous situations that will likely bring plenty of laughs, and one such moment was when Borat appears to be staying at the rural home of two men. As The New York Times revealed in an interview with Cohen, not only did the Borat star spend time with the two conspiracy theorists, but he actually lived with them - in character, for five days. Cohen defended the men, blaming their viewpoints on social media, which he calls “the most effective propaganda machine in history.”:
“...they’re 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 through the most effective propaganda machine in history.”
As for living with the men while in-character, Cohen said it was “the hardest thing I had to do” during the undoubtedly challenging production:
“...the hardest thing I had to do was, I lived in character for five days in this lockdown house. I was waking up, having breakfast, lunch, dinner, going to sleep as Borat when I lived in a house with these two conspiracy theorists. You can’t have a moment out of character.”
It may surprise some that this was what Cohen found to be the most challenging, considering that previous reports on Borat 2 have revealed that he feared for his life at some points. What’s more, Cohen has found himself in nothing but stressful situations since the first time he ever decided to play the Kazakhstani explorer. The key thing to remember, however, is that having to keep an act going for five straight days without letting up is much different from doing brief interviews with people. For those who have an interest in method actors, it really can’t get more method than what Cohen is doing with Borat.
It is perhaps arguable that Cohen isn’t really treading any new ground here, and that the shock value is long since gone at this point in Borat’s existence. But it’s best to never underestimate Cohen - he seems to have a natural talent for finding the most absurd and hilarious situations and mining them for every last bit of comedic potential. So far, 2020 has been a rough year. Perhaps the world is in desperate need of the laughs that Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm looks more than ready to bring.
Source: The New York Times
