​Borat Actor Ken Davitian Reveals Why He Didn't Reprise His Role As Azamat In Sequel

Borat actor Ken Davitian has revealed why he doesn't feature in the new sequel, despite playing such an iconic role in the original.

In the first film, 67-year-old Davitian played Borat's faithful sidekick and producer Azamat Bagatov.

But the American actor didn't crop up in the recently-released follow-up movie, with many disappointed fans taking to Twitter to share their disappointment.

"Azamat not being in Borat 2 was a huge loss," one said.

"You can't have Borat without Azamat Bagatov..." another wrote.

20th Century Fox

Now Davitian has explained why he didn't end up returning to screens as the loveable Azamat, saying there were a handful of reasons why it didn't quite work out.

Speaking to YouTuber Shamoon Reacts in a video interview, Davitian said he'd been under the impression the project wasn't actually a sequel to the first Borat film.

"They told me that Sacha was doing a big film, and there was a small part in it for the two of us," he recalled.

"And I said, 'I don't want to reprise the character unless we're doing Borat 2.

"And they said, 'No, it's not Borat 2, it'll never be Borat 2. It's never happening'.

"I said, 'Okay then, what are you offering me to do this small part?'

PA

"They offered me a very little amount of money - and in the first movie I only made 60,000 [dollars], and all they wanted to do was pay me a little more than that."

He decided he didn't want to reprise the role as it was 'a different movie and a different concept', adding: "I said 'No I want to do Borat 2, that's what I was promised, that's what I want to do'.

"And so I didn't jump on board and then it comes out that it's Borat 2."

Davitian continued: "I just hope it's half as funny as the first one, because the reactions that I'm getting are not funny, more borderline 'Oh God, that's disgusting'.

"I personally thought incest was not a good place to go."

The star also claimed that Baron Cohen, who plays the franchise's titular character, 'does his own thing'.

"He's not into buddy movies, so what can I tell you?" Davitian added.

Watch Borat 2 on Amazon Prime now.

Topics: Entertainment, TV and Film

Jess Hardiman

Jess is a journalist at LADbible who graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Film Studies, English Language and Linguistics - indecisiveness at its finest, right there. She also works for FOODbible and its sister page Seitanists, which are both a safe haven for her to channel a love for homemade pasta, fennel and everything else in between. You can contact Jess at [email protected].

@Jess_Hardiman