'Wild card' Sacha Baron Cohen rejected by Oscars
11 April 2012
Borat and Bruno star Sacha Baron Cohen was the first choice to host this year's Oscars but was rejected as an unpredictable "wild card".
Risky: Sacha with his Evening Standard Award for Best Comedy for Bruno
Producers instead chose Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin over the 37-year-old British comedian.
Show producer Adam Shankman revealed that when he and fellow producer Bill Mechanic met to decide on a host, both men agreed that Cohen was the right man for the gig.
Shankman said:"The Academy swatted it down...they thought it was too big of a wild card."
