End of the road for Borat & Ali G

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Sacha Baron Cohen has told Britain's The Daily Telegraph that he is retiring the clueless Kazakh journalist, as well as his alter ego, aspiring rapper Ali G.

"When I was being Ali G and Borat I was in character sometimes 14 hours a day and I came to love them, so admitting I am never going to play them again is quite a sad thing," the 36-year-old actor-comedian says in the newspaper's Friday edition.

"It is like saying goodbye to a loved one. It is hard, and the problem with success, although it's fantastic, is that every new person who sees the Borat movie is one less person I 'get' with Borat again, so it's a kind of self-defeating form, really."

Baron Cohen brought Borat Sagdiyev - an anti-Semitic buffoon in search of Pamela Anderson - to the masses last year with his smash comedy film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. He first introduced the character on Da Ali G Show.

"It's much easier for me to be in character and it's a lot more fun," he says. "If I'd done the entire promotional campaign for (the 'Borat' movie) as myself it wouldn't have developed in the same way."

Baron Cohen - not Borat - can be seen as a singing barber in Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd, co-starring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter.

Thoughts?

I personally, loved watching both of them. Just sad to know that they won't be around anymore.

It doesn't have the same impact though when I learned Santa isn't real.

There's still Bruno, the austrian gay-tv reporter.

He was always my favorite anyway. Borat was good because he got so much coverage, but back when he only had his show, I always liked Bruno the best. His interviews with guests on the show as Ali G were awesome though.

It doesn't have the same impact though when I learned Santa isn't real.

Merry Christmas, kids.

There's still Bruno, the austrian gay-tv reporter.

Damn Right.
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I've never found either character particularly entertaining. To me, they always seemed like the kind of characters that might work in a couple of skits but not for as long as he played them. I guess Cohen has the last laugh over naysayers like myself though, especially given the success of the Borat movie.

I know I'm bringing up old threads but i'm only doing it if i hae something to say: This is the first i've heard of this and is quite depressing. I love both characters (Ali G moreso) due to the sheer absurdity it shows people are dumb enough to believe. How could you not know any of the shit he did was a joke in the world of Jackass and hidden camera shows? I know why he has to retire them but it is quite a shame. so many great 1 liners from each character...

thank god he's quitting.