SACHA BARON COHEN - SACHA BARON COHEN'S CLOSE SHAVE

British funnyman SACHA BARON COHEN is taking his role as a hairdresser in new movie SWEENEY TODD very seriously, hiring a real-life barber to give him private tuition. According to his personal hairdresser CARMELO GUASTELLA, the BORAT star has spent weeks perfecting shaving and styling on his willing chauffeur for the part in the movie, which also stars JOHNNY DEPP. He says, "Johnny wasn't sure what I was doing on the set and Sacha told him that I was his drama coach. In fact Sacha is determined to put in a convincing portrayal of a barber. "I gave him 16 hours of lessons shaving with a cut-throat razor and he picked up in that time what it took me 22 years to learn. He used his driver to test his shaving techniques on - at first the poor guy was rather apprehensive, but no blood was spilt."