The 2018 Oscar-winning role that got away from Sacha Baron Cohen: “He would have been utter shit”
Sacha Baron Cohen’s style of humour may not be for everyone, but the reason that films like Borat, The Dictator, and Bruno have succeeded is that he is so convincing that he could interact with real people without breaking character.
That level of dedication takes a tremendous amount of perseverance, and Cohen has only gotten more ambitious with the wacky scenarios he’s gotten himself into, to the point that he’s made an enemy out of a famous musician.
Cohen is a comedian first, but he’s also shown a few signs that he’s interested in more serious acting, starting with a more dramatic supporting role in the Martin Scorsese film Hugo, and subsequently, turning in a highly acclaimed performance as Abbie Hoffman in Aaron Sorkin’s historical drama The Trial of the Chicago 7, for which he received an Academy Award nomination for ‘Best Supporting Actor’. It was a particularly notable showcase for his range, given that the film was released the same year as Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, for which he earned an Oscar nomination for ‘Best Adapted Screenplay’.
While the industry seemed to recognise Cohen’s talents, he had long been attached to star as Freddie Mercury in a biopic of the band Queen. Given that the surviving members of the band had a say in the film’s creative direction, the casting search to play the frontman was quite intense; Cohen didn’t land the role, however, which ended up going to Rami Malek. The film, Bohemian Rhapsody, became a massive hit and nearly made $1billion globally, with Malek’s performance widely acclaimed, earning him the Academy Award for ‘Best Actor.’
Some speculated that Cohen could have won the same trophy if he had stuck with the project, but the opinion isn’t shared by the Queen band members. Robert Taylor didn’t think Cohen could have played the part, flatly declaring, “I think he would have been utter shit. Sacha is pushy, if nothing else”.
In addition to not liking Cohen personally, Taylor didn’t think he had the range needed to play the legendary frontman, adding, “He’s also six inches too tall. I watched his last five films and came to the conclusion he’s not a very good actor”.
Although it is entirely likely that Cohen could do a decent impression of Mercury, Bohemian Rhapsody wasn’t just an extended music video; the film attempted to investigate how Mercury emerged from being a shy immigrant boy into a music icon and one of the most important LGBTQ+ figures in history.
Malek wasn’t nearly as famous as Cohen when he was cast, but had already proven to be a better actor, landing the role only shortly after picking up a Primetime Emmy Award for ‘Best Actor in a Drama Series’ for his phenomenal work as Elliot Alderson in Mr Robot.
While Cohen may have given an interesting performance, his career choices as of late don’t suggest that he’s in a great place. Between the terrible Netflix romantic comedy Ladies First and a bizarre appearance in the Disney+ show Ironheart, he needs to return to his roots in order not to dilute his appeal.
