While 2020 wasn’t the best year for the entertainment industry following a worldwide pandemic, one thing fans didn’t expect that year was a sequel to Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat. And unlike most comedy sequels, the 2020 mockumentary did succeed in satisfying fans, however, things almost took a wild turn during the filming of a certain sequence involving disgraced politician Rudy Giuliani.
Although Borat Subsequent Moviefilm has its fair share of controversial scenes, surprisingly, most of them weren’t scripted. However, during the shooting of one of the most harrowing scenes in the mockumentary involving Giuliani, Baron Cohen feared that things might turn ugly.
Sacha Baron Cohen Feared About the Safety of Maria Bakalova
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm witnesses Sacha Baron Cohen‘s titular character joining forces with his 15-year-old daughter Tutar (played by Maria Bakalova). In the film, the Borat crew pulls off a prank on the former New York City mayor and Donald Trump’s lawyer, which wasn’t something new for them, but the way things unfolded was even surprising for Cohen. Reflecting on the interview scene, involving Bakalova and Giuliani, the actor expressed that he was “scared that it would veer into an even more ugly situation.” after being shocked by Giuliani.
Things quickly escalated after the completion of the fake interview, as the disgraced politician accompanied Tutar (Maria Bakalova) to the bedroom. But thanks to Borat, who was hiding in the wardrobe, things de-escalated after he arrived to stop the scene in his own typical fashion.
Speaking with Ben Affleck on Variety’s Actors on Actors, Cohen said,
“I never thought that he was actually going to go into the room with her. I mean, I was hoping for the movie they would, But also as a producer and a director, I have an actress there who I need to look after — and protect as well — because we’re putting her in a situation with a powerful man who may or may not have been in this situation beforehand.”
Considering Baron Cohen’s phone battery was on low charge at the time, the scene could’ve gone definitely south but fortunately, it didn’t, and they succeeded in making a fool out of Giuliani.
No More Borat?
Although Borat Subsequent Moviefilm was able to live up to its predecessor, it seems we won’t be witnessing Sacha Baron Cohen in the gray suit again. While explaining his reasoning why there isn’t going to be a Borat 3, the actor expressed that it’s way too risky. Cohen told ET’s Matt Cohen:
“Because it got too dangerous… For Borat, there were a couple of times I had to put on a bulletproof vest to go and shoot a scene, and you don’t want to do that too many times in your life. I was pretty lucky to get out this time, so no, I’m not doing it again. I’m going to stay with the scripted stuff.”
Like Baron Cohen, Maria Bakalova deserves major applause, as she didn’t break character despite the horrifying situation that was unfolding during the scene.
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm is available to stream on Prime Video.
Source: Variety | Actors on Actors
