On Late Show, David Letterman interviewed Sacha Baron Cohen, star of Brüno. What’s significant here is that he interviewed Baron Cohen, and not Brüno. In the past, as when he was promoting Borat and Da Ali G Show, Baron Cohen has preferred to be interviewed as his character.
Some journalists don’t have a problem with that. I do. I don’t blame Baron Cohen for promoting his projects—loved the earlier ones, haven’t yet seen Brüno—or not wanting to dispel an illusion, but to me that crosses the line between reporting and public relations. [Update: Not that I’m saying Letterman is a reporter obliged to follow Associated Press guidelines; my peeve has to do with journalists interviewing actors in character.] Not to mention the line between reporting and being a local-morning-show-host pretending to interview Miss Piggy. Even for funsies, reporting is about relating something actually true, not helping someone create a character. Call me uptight. (When I did a piece on the launch of The Colbert Report, I talked to the actual, real-guy Stephen Colbert, who is a great interview.)
And guess what? Actual, honest-to-God Sacha Baron Cohen is funny! And interesting! After the jump, here he is, telling David Letterman how he found a terrorist to interview (the terrorist, apparently, was also not in character):
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qk2oee2kjT8]
“It’s not that easy to find an actual terrorist. In fact, your government has been looking for one for about nine years.” I’d like to see Brüno top that!
(Gawker, by the way, wonders if it was because Brüno is too gay for The Late Show. Valid question, though it doesn’t change the principle. But tell me if I’m being too uptight here.)
Update: My colleague Richard Lacayo has a new essay on Brüno. Personal note: I sat by Richard at our screening of Borat, and I can vouch from memory that we both experienced the gasping-laughing-beyond-laughing, at the nude-wrestling scene, that he describes in his lede paragraph. Consider that fact-checked!