London: British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen was beaten up in New York City after playing a prank on a passer-by while playing his character as Kazakh journalist 'Borat'.
The actor was on his way to a dinner date with actor friend Hugh Laurie, after they had both appeared on US comedy show Saturday Night Live.
Cohen approached the man and asked, "I like your clothings. Are nice. Please may I buying? I want have sex with it."
The man responded by punching Cohen in the face repeatedly. Laurie was forced to step in and push the man away, so Cohen could escape.
"Sacha couldn’t resist playing the fool as Borat, but picked on the wrong person. I guess this guy thought he was being attacked by someone unstable and lashed out. Sacha is very lucky he didn’t get a much worse beating," the Sun quoted a source as saying.
Laurie, 47, told friends he feared Cohen was going to get badly beaten up, but luckily, 35-year-old actor did not receive any lasting scars.
Studio chiefs have warned Cohen to avoid pretending to be the spoof Kazakhstan TV reporter on the streets. Since the film was launched, he has only appeared in character while promoting the movie on American television shows.
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan is tipped to become the highest grossing comedy of all time.
The movie took in 29 million dollars at the US box office this weekend to hold on to the top spot for the second week in a row.
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