'They wanted to really kill me' - Cohen details Bruno disaster (+video)

Sacha Baron Cohen (pictured as The Dictator) says he nearly died while filming Bruno. Photo / AP

Sacha Baron Cohen says he nearly died while in character for his outlandish comic creation Bruno.

Cohen, currently starring as military tyrant General Aladeen in his latest film The Dictator, says filming for his 2009 film Bruno took a turn for the worse when he was dressed as a camp version of a Hasidic Jew in Jeruselum.

He told The Mirror he only survived by taking refuge in a nearby shop.

"A bunch of Hasidic Jews ran after me with rocks and I ended up hiding in a bathroom store," he said.

"Normally in dangerous situations I have a getaway car. But as I ran towards the getaway car it drove away. So I found myself running down the street, running for my life, and being chased by these Hasidic nutcases.

"I turned round to calm them down, and I shouted in Hebrew, 'I am Jewish', which apparently is the worst thing ever you can tell Hasidic Jews.

"It was then they decided that they wanted to really kill me."

It's not the only time Cohen has feared for his life. He admitted to the Mirror that he also risked his life while filming Borat and Bruno.

"In those last two movies there were lots of people with guns who got angry and it became a little hairy at times.

"I never felt I'd get killed, but it has been close."

Watch the trailer for The Dictator:

- Herald online