Baron Cohen injured during gay stunt

Sacha Baron Cohen suffered serious burns after trying to bleach all his body hair, it has emerged.

The 37-year-old was taken to hospital after trying to pull off the stunt for his latest movie Bruno, in which he plays a gay Austrian fashion reporter.

"Sacha is committed to as much realism as he can muster in his films. He'd heard that all-over hairlessness is a popular trend in the gay community, so he thought he'd bleach all his hair so it looked invisible," a source told The Sun.

"But it quickly turned into a disaster. Shortly after having the procedure done he felt a burning sensation and it grew steadily worse.

"He had a bad allergic reaction to hydrogen peroxide, which is a strong bleaching agent. It was so severe around a certain part of his anatomy that he couldn't sit down for three days."

Baron Cohen was forced to delay filming for the movie in order to make a full recovery from the burns.

"Crew members found the whole incident hilarious and it slowed down filming for a bit, but Sacha soon got over the discomfort. He has suffered no long-lasting ill effects," the source added.

Bruno lands in UK cinemas on July 10.

> Click here to watch the Bruno movie trailer