Why wasn't Sacha Baron Cohen in character on Letterman last night?
Not that we minded, because the real guy is pretty charming and a
great raconteur, but it was just curious because in the past the
comedian, currently promoting
Brüno, has been so committed to in-character appearances.
Maybe the story he told—about meeting a real-life terrorist while
preening as the outrageously gay Austrian fashion reporter Bruno—was
just too good and could only be told in person. It’s also possible that
after years of his masked shtick, the real Baron Cohen wants some
notice for being himself.
Or maybe the character is just a bit
too outrageous? Not that
Dave Letterman would mind either way, obviously, but it is possible
that he’s been asked by ominous Powers That Be to scale back the hard
sell. Borat was a funny guy because he was a weird foreigner Muslim.
Bruno is funny because he’s a weird foreigner but he’s also, you know,
gay and that’s just so tetchy these days, best to leave it alone.
Ah well. No matter what, it’s a great story.
As reported by Defamer