Sacha Baron Cohen hanging up the mankini, confirms he has retired from 'Borat'

Borat became a worldwide sensation, but it came at a price.  Due to those costs, Sacha Baron Cohen is leaving the franchise in the past.

"Because it got too dangerous," the 49-year-old comedian confirmed to Entertainment Tonight's John Boone in an interview published Tuesday. "For Borat, there were a couple of times I had to put on a bulletproof vest to go and shoot a scene, and you don't want to do that too many times in your life. I was pretty lucky to get out this time, so no, I'm not doing it again. I'm going to stay with the scripted stuff."

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan debuted in 2006 and earned an Oscar nomination for best writing, adapted screenplay. In the comedic mockumentary, Cohen plays Kazakhstani television reporter Borat Sagdiyev, who is contracted by his country's government to infiltrate America and make a documentary. Predictably, crude hijinks ensue. 

The sequel didn't arrive until last year. Borat Subsequent Moviefilm followed the same stencil, as Borat again traveled to America in disguise after his release from a prison sentence for his actions during the first movie. This time, Borat brings his daughter, Tutar (Maria Bakalova), and works to expose America's wrongdoings—everything from the Trump administration to the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to do so, Cohen attended a far-right rally, which as Boone explained, required him to wear "an amplifier that was basically bomb-proof" made by producers.