How Sacha Baron Cohen’s Identity Was Kept Secret During Borat 2 CPAC Prank

Sacha Baron Cohen revealed how his identity wasn’t found out after the infamous CPAC convention crashing scene in Borat Subsequent MovieFilm. The film was shot over the end of 2019 and part of 2020 – largely without any public knowledge that a Borat sequel was being made. Finally, in September of 2020, it was revealed that Baron Cohen was releasing a new Borat film, and it had already finished shooting. Given the popularity of both the first Borat film and the character himself, many wondered how exactly Baron Cohen managed to shoot the entire movie without word getting out about what he was doing.

In one of the film’s most outrageous stunts, Borat, while dressed up like Donald Trump, crashes the CPAC convention while then-U.S. Vice President Mike Pence is giving a speech. Borat has his daughter, Tutar (Maria Bakalova), slung over his shoulder, and screams out to Pence – offering his daughter to the Vice President as a gift from Kazakhstan. Quickly afterward, Borat is escorted out of the building by the Secret Service. Baron Cohen spent a long time planning out the stunt – and many wondered how his identity wasn’t leaked after the event. In fact, footage of the event was even put online prior to Borat 2′s release – but no one was able to figure out that Baron Cohen was behind the stunt.

Speaking with Ben Affleck on Variety‘s Actors on Actors, Baron Cohen revealed how exactly he managed to keep his identity secret while filming the CPAC stunt. The actor revealed he had one goal in mind while being escorted out by the Secret Service: keep them from seeing his ID. Baron Cohen figured he could delay handing over the ID and just hope that eventually, the Secret Service would either forget to ask him for it or just let him go. His assumption proved to be right – the Secret Service let him go after Baron Cohen made several excuses as to why he couldn’t hand over his ID. Check out his full comments below:

Baron Cohen: And then you get into CPAC, you do the scene, I get escorted out by a bunch of Secret Service, about 11 guys. And my main aim was not to give over my ID, because I felt like the moment they knew it was me, Sacha, that will become a big news story. And that would destroy the rest of the movie.

Affleck: How did you manage not to do that?

Baron Cohen: One of the cops goes, “Give me your ID.” I knew I had to delay. I knew if I delayed long enough, maybe they’d forget. So I said, “I’m not giving my ID until you show proof that you are a law enforcement officer.”

Another says, “Give me your ID.” I go, “Listen, I’d like to, but my ID is in my shoe. Do you want me to take off my shoe?” And the guy goes, “No, forget it.”

Although the CPAC stunt was certainly the most high-profile, it was far from the only one where Baron Cohen’s identity was at risk. Scenes like the one set at a pro-gun rally in Washington – where Borat was disguised as a country music singer – eventually lead to Baron Cohen’s identity being leaked to the audience and them turning on the actor, forcing him to make a dramatic exit among angry protesters.

Baron Cohen has been on the record about how filming Borat 2 in secret is necessary for the film to be successful. The character’s humor and the shocking revelations he gets out of his unknowing marks are a trademark part of Borat and most of Baron Cohen’s work. His tenacity in keeping his identity a secret in scenes like the CPAC crash are required for the film to be as impactful as it could be – and Borat Subsquent Moviefilm is better because of it.

Source: Variety

About The Author