Sacha Baron Cohen Brings Borat Back on The Tonight Show – But Only for a Bit

On October 24, comedian Sacha Baron Cohen made a surprising return as his character Borat Sagdiyev on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Though Cohen had previously said it was “too dangerous” to play the character again, he decided to bring Borat back, just for a short time, to joke about politics and entertain fans.

The 53-year-old actor first came out on the show dressed as Ali G, another funny character he created years ago. Fallon then joked about how funny it would be to see Borat interview the presidential candidates, asking, “What would Borat do?” Fallon even brought out Borat’s signature coat and mustache, saying they keep it on set “just in case.” With a little push from Fallon, Cohen decided to put on the costume and transform into Borat again, to the audience’s delight.

Once dressed as Borat, Cohen got into character quickly, humorously calling Fallon “Jimmy Phallus” (a joke that sounds close to Fallon’s last name) and kissing him on the cheek. He then started making jokes about Donald Trump, Kamala Harris, and Stormy Daniels, a name connected to Trump’s past. With classic Borat humor, he pretended to confuse Daniels, an adult film actress, with someone in the studio, saying, “Is this Storming Daniels? She is very nice!” Fallon and the audience burst out laughing.

The character Borat was first introduced in Cohen’s 2006 movie Borat, where Borat, a fictional journalist from Kazakhstan, explores the U.S. to make a “documentary.” Known for being awkward and over-the-top, Borat’s interactions with real people often surprise and shock them. Cohen brought Borat back again in 2020 for a sequel, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, which featured his daughter, played by actress Maria Bakalova.

However, after filming the sequel, Cohen admitted it had become risky to play the character. In a 2021 interview with Entertainment Tonight, he revealed that he had worn a bulletproof vest while filming certain scenes, including one at a far-right rally, where tensions were high. “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,” Cohen said. This led him to step away from Borat for his own safety.

He shared that the night before those high-risk scenes, he couldn’t sleep because he was so nervous about what might go wrong. Instead of focusing on his acting, he’d think about escape plans. He told Entertainment Tonight that he’d mentally prepare by thinking, “If a bunch of guys with guns come from that side of the stage, have I got a way to get out?” The production team even made a bombproof speaker setup as extra protection for Cohen.

With all of these precautions and near misses, Cohen eventually decided to stick with safer, scripted acting roles. Still, his short appearance as Borat on The Tonight Show showed fans that the character’s wild, satirical humor is still alive. Even if he doesn’t bring Borat back for another movie, Cohen’s brief performance gave everyone a fun reminder of what made the character so memorable. 

As for the future, it seems unlikely that Cohen will do more as Borat, but his fans can appreciate the character’s unexpected return, even if only for a few minutes on The Tonight Show.

News Source PEOPLE MAGAZINE