Arguably the most dangerous thing Borat ever did was foist catch-phrases like “my wife” and “nice” on an unsuspecting world, but at the time the film was being made, it appears that U.S. authorities considered him to be an actual security threat.
In a recent interview with Marc Maron‘s WTF podcast, Sacha Baron Cohen revealed that his swarthy Kazakh persona attracted so much attention on American soil that the FBI “compiled a little file” on him.
Cohen travelled the country in an ice cream truck while shooting Borat, and so many concerned citizens called in about it – and his stunts – that he found himself under investigation.
The comedian told Maron:
“[The FBI] got so many complaints there was a terrorist traveling in an ice cream van. 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 they were like ‘FBI’s downstairs. Sacha, disappear.’”
There were so many complaints surrounding the film that the crew eventually had to hire a person to deal with law enforcement, and explain what the hell the weirdly-accented man was doing.
A later brush with the law, while filming Bruno in the United States, brought Baron Cohen to actual, physical harm, when he jumped out a window and broke his heel upon learning that Kansas police were en route to make arrests.
The comedian is currently on the publicity trail for his newest film, The Brothers Grimsby, which also stars Rebel Wilson.
Souce: NME.
Photo: Jason LaVeris / Getty.
