It’s no secret that the most talented people are able to shine in a variety of situations and actor Ken Davitian recently showcased his versatility. The man who previously played sidekick to Sacha Baron Cohen in the politically incorrect hit movie Borat back in 2006, also earned tons of praise for one of the top films of 2011: The Artist.
So, he’s able to play serious and comical roles. That doesn’t sound too hard, but what you might not know is that The Artist was different than pretty much any movie that’s been released in decades because it embraced an old-school cinematographic style. They took a silent film to the big screen in the 21st Century!
“I’ve had training in theater. I was a theater arts major and all of that,” Davitian told StarCam’s Aiden Simko. “We never discussed silent! They didn’t think it was coming back…That was hard. You’ve got to do it all with your face and your feelings.”
Recognizing the contrast in roles, Aiden brought up one of Davitian’s most well-known on-screen moments: Davitian’ s less-than-dressed scene in Borat!
“You can say it. One movie I’m running around naked, the other I’m not even talking.” Davitian said. Aiden asked a big question about the memorable film from the past: How much of Borat was adlibbed? To this, Davitian said 110 percent! This earns the actor some major brownie points because it shows he can not only make a scripted scene funny or serious depending on the type of film, but he can create hilarious movies by just being himself!
“We just knew we were going to do a scene. We had discussed it maybe a week before. I even didn’t know it was going to be that naked,” he said. “…you thought somebody would tell you, ‘no, you can’t really run around naked,’ but no, I was really naked and it was all adlibbed.”
He told Aiden it was definitely one of the craziest things he’s ever done, but it demonstrated something that is absolutely essential for a Hollywood actor.
“The whole thing was crazy, but it was commitment,” he said. “You gonna do it, you do it. You’re not gonna do it, get out and we’ll get somebody else.”
Check out the full interview below!