SACHA BARON COHEN - COHEN SAYS GOODBYE TO BORAT

COHEN SAYS GOODBYE TO BORAT

Despite the huge success of the film, Sacha Baron Cohen has said he is unlikely to ever play Borat again.

After appearances in series on Channel 4 and HBO, the antics of Kazakh journalist Borat Sagdiyev were adapted for the big screen in 2006 and took over £130 million worldwide.

But the popularity of the film has forced Cohen to abandon the character, in the same manner in which he stopped playing Ali G, he told the Daily Telegraph.

"When I was being Ali G and Borat, I was in character sometimes 14 hours a day, and I came to love them, so admitting I am never going to play them again is quite a sad thing," he said. "It is like saying goodbye to a loved one."

The 36-year-old added: "It is hard, and the problem with success, although it's fantastic, is that every new person who sees the Borat movie is one less person I 'get' with Borat again, so it's a kind of self-defeating form, really."

As well as scoring massive success at the box office, the 2006 film has inspired several lawsuits from allegedly unwitting cast members, including two college fraternity members, a group of southern conservatives, the residents of a Romanian village and a businessman who claims he was subjected to ridicule after being shown fleeing from the British comedian posing as Borat.

Cohen and his wife, actress Isla Fisher, welcomed a baby daughter in October, but the famously private actor shedded some light on his willingness to undergo publicity tours under the guise of his most famous characters, rather than in person.

"I try and keep that part of my life separate from the professional part because I don't think it helps people appreciate the work or the comedy or make me any funnier if they know what's going on at home," he said.

Cohen can next be seen in Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd, released in the UK on January 25th.