Sacha Baron Cohen explains what Borat and Ali G reveal about the people around them

Sacha Baron Cohen described the choices behind his undercover comedy in an October 18 interview with Ariel Levy on 60 Minutes: whom to approach, and what an encounter reveals.

Choosing who appears in the scene

According to TheWrap’s October 19 report, Baron Cohen said his team rules out potential interviewees behind the scenes. He rejected the idea that participants always embarrass themselves: some come across positively, and Borat can reveal kindness alongside prejudice.

CBS recounts an early Ali G test with London skateboarders.

When Ali G fans did not recognize him

In Terry Gross’s independent Fresh Air interview, first aired February 22, 2021, Baron Cohen recalled standing in a London record store dressed as Borat while customers bought an Ali G VHS. They failed to recognize the performer behind the character. He also remembered hearing people imitate Ali G on the Underground without realizing he was nearby. He told Gross that becoming famous as himself made undercover work harder.

Laughter and a serious purpose

In a separately published 60 Minutes clip, Baron Cohen described laughter as his main aim, with satire worked into the comedy. Taken together, these accounts identify practical parts of his method: selecting participants, protecting an invented identity and using the encounter to carry the joke. The 2021 recollections are background; the newly aired television conversation is the reason to revisit them now.

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Sacha Baron Cohen at the BFI London Film Festival on October 10, 2024. Archive photo by Raph_PH, CC BY 2.0; the Commons portrait is a crop of the original photograph. Website image resized/compressed with responsive display cropping. Social cards add crop, contrast, NewsCubby branding and translated headlines. No endorsement is implied. Original photograph and rights record; license.