Sacha Baron Cohen was named recipient of the Icon Award at the 24th annual GQ Men Of The Year Awards in association with BOSS.
In an interview with British GQ coinciding with the award, the British comedian discusses a wide range of topics, from COVID-19 misinformation to resurrecting his Ali G character.
“Listen, I’m a comedian, so don’t take anything I say too seriously,” he said, addressing the barrage of untruths about the coronavirus clogging up social media.
“But if you think the fundamental responsibility of government is to safeguard the lives of its people and there were powerful companies spreading lies that killed people? Well, you would think government would try to stop those lies, either by legislation or by fines. There were thousands of people dying from misinformation about COVID, but there were no penalties for social media,” he explained.
Cohen also confirmed a rumour that he performed a top-secret standup comedy set as Ali G at Syndey’s Comedy Store. “Yes. I just wanted to get on stage and muck around and see what Ali G would be like with a crowd. It was really good fun.”
Asked if he plans to do it again, he responded, “Yes, I think I would. Because the reason I became a comedian was that I loved people laughing at my jokes. To actually hear laughter is a rare thing for me. When I do the movies, I think it is funny, but I have to wait three months to hear an audience laugh.”
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Meanwhile, Cohen is insisting that “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” is the last time he’ll ever do that type of movie, and will instead concentrate on acting in more traditional projects.
“I mean, listen, the idea, really, is to give up all my undercover work now,” he said. “I’d far prefer to work with [Aaron] Sorkin or people like Martin Scorsese or Adam McKay. It is a lot easier, more pleasurable and you don’t have to wear a bulletproof vest when going to work.”
