Sacha Baron Cohen is set to star in Les Miserables.


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The Hugo actor – best known for his roles as Borat and Ali G – will play Monsieur Thenardier in the forthcoming musical, which will be directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Tom Hooper, according to The Sun.

Baron Cohen rounds off a huge cast for the film, which includes Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter and Russell Crowe.

Glee actress Lea Michele is also in the frame for a part, playing Eponine, although Taylor Swift and Scarlett Johansson are also said to be vying for the character.

Hooper – who won an Academy Award last year for his work on The King’s Speech – recently confessed the movie would be shot in 2-D instead of 3-D, although he had flirted with the idea.

He said: “I can definitely announce it’s good old-fashioned 2-D. I did test 3-D and I was very tempted – I think it is a very interesting new form.”

Baron Cohen has a number of films out in 2012, including comedy The Dictator and a part in Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained.