Borat star behind Azamat claims he was axed over 'ego' during surprising pay reveal for $262m movie

Without Borat, we wouldn't have some of the most quotable catchphrases in film history but many fans were surprised to see one character miss out on the 2020 sequel.

Azamat is a key fixture in the original 2006 mockumentary, which grossed $262 million worldwide, but now the actor who plays him has explained the strange reason why we didn't see him in other Sacha Baron Cohen projects.

American actor Ken Davitian is the man behind the iconic role, and it certainly wasn't his accent skills that cost him future pay cheques, as he actually spoke Armenian throughout the film, with the viewers led to believe that he is speaking Kazakh.

Confessed by the man himself, it was actually 'ego' which cost him future positions in films like Bruno, Borat 2 and The Dictator, while he also revealed his surprisingly low pay packet for his performance as Azamat.

Despite the huge financial success of the film, and Azamat's chemistry with Sacha Baron Cohen being key to the film, Ken revealed that he earned just $60,000 for his efforts.

Davitian claimed that he was due to be in other projects (Michael Tullberg/Getty Images)

Speaking to Cinema Nation, he admitted that he was initially told that Borat 2 wasn't a sequel and was a different film entirely, and he only wanted to return as Azamat.

When he learned the truth, he felt he was misled, especially since he was again only offered a sum which was slightly higher than his initial wage over a decade prior.

He said: "They told me that Sacha was doing a big film and that there was a small part in it for the two of us and I said 'I don't want to reprise the character unless we're doing Borat 2', and they said 'it's not Borat 2, that will never happen'.

"They offered me very little money. In the first movie I only made $60,000 and they only offered me a little more than that. So I didn't jump on board and then it comes out that it's Borat 2."

Sacha Baron Cohen ( Simon Ackerman/Getty Images)

Although he was left feeling a little let down by that incident, there's no doubt the impact that Borat had on his career, as it helped earn him over 100 different roles on our screens, including in Hollywood films such as Meet the Spartans and You May Not Kiss the Bride.

In another interview with 'Funny in Failure', he suggested that it was the 'ego' of the director which saw him fired, despite him doing everything that was asked of him.

He said: "I did everything they said. I ran around naked. Was it a good movie? Did it make money? Yes. So why wasn't I in the other movies. I was supposed to be in Bruno, I was supposed to be in The Dictator."