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Sacha Baron Cohen is set to play a performer even more flamboyant than himself, following an announcement from GK Films that the Borat star has been lined up for the role of Freddie Mercury in a forthcoming movie featuring the Queen icon.

British screenwriter Peter Morgan (The Queen, Frost/Nixon and The Last King of Scotland) is working on the script of the currently untitled film which is believed to focus on the years leading up to Queen’s memorable appearance at the 1985 Live Aid concert. The project has the backing of surviving Queen members, with Brian May and Roger Taylor overseeing the film’s musical content.

Change of Direction for 'Borat' Star

The role marks a change in direction for Baron Cohen’s career, one built on larger than life characters of his own creation causing havoc in public with their outrageous behaviour.

He found fame on the 11 o’clock show in the late 1990s, interviewing public figures as rap-culture obsessed ‘voice of da yoof’ Ali G. His first film, Ali G Indahouse, was released in 2002. Subsequent films Borat and Bruno attracted controversy for their uncomfortable comedy and claims that they stereotyped minorities. Any negative publicity certainly didn’t harm the films at the box office, which were both hugely successful on both sides of the Atlantic.

A spokesman for GK Films, which is co-producing the movie with Tribeca Productions and Queen Films, said: ‘Freddie Mercury was an awe-inspiring performer so with Sacha in the starring role, coupled with Peter's screenplay and the support of Queen, we have the perfect combination to tell the real story behind their success.’

Trust Raises Millions In Fight Against AIDS

Queen continued to tour and perform after Freddie Mercury’s death in 1991, aged 45, a day after confirming that he had AIDS. A foundation set up in his memory, the Mercury Phoenix Trust, has since been responsible for donating more than $15 million in the fight against AIDS making over 750 grants to charities worldwide.

Mercury Phoenix Trust Homepage