Ali G might famously hail from Staines — but he has Western Australia to thank for his rebirth.

Sandgropers have been left speechless after global star Sacha Baron-Cohen, known for his slew of satirical characters, revealed his newest film wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for Perth.

The Englishman’s latest box office release Ali G: Who Iz I? hit cinemas to mixed reviews last week — with the raunchy mockumentary following the washed-up gangster as he attempts to relaunch his showbiz career.

In a new interview with the Hollywood Reporter, the Borat creator revealed that the idea for the film was born after he told a cheeky fib to WA Police in 2021.

“During the pandemic, our family moves to Australia . . . my ex (Isla Fisher) is from Perth, so we applied to go there,” he told the outlet.

“She’s rejected and I find out that you have to show that there’s a financial benefit to Western Australia to be allowed in.

“You have to apply to the police, so I say, ‘Listen, I’m doing a stand-up tour, it’s going to create 300 jobs and bring tens of millions of dollars into Western Australia’.

“The police accept me into Perth — we spent 14 days in lockdown and at the end, a police car turns up and an inspector says she is in charge of my stand-up tour.”

There was just one big problem: Baron-Cohen had never intended on actually touring WA.

With the police breathing down his neck, the 55-year-old movie star was forced to utilise his connections with local comedy legends like Rove McManus and organise a secret stand-up performance in Perth.

He descended on the Comedy Lounge stage for two gigs in September 2021, with the icon making sure to whip out all his fan-favourite characters for the audience of surprised WA fans.

“I ended up doing a 90-minute show and what was interesting was that people really loved seeing Borat and Bruno — but when Ali G came out, there was a different response,” Cohen said about the Perth performances.

“It was as if people believed he was real.

“I felt, ‘Hold on, is there another movie in this character’?”

The Perth crowd’s reaction led to the comedian discussing with his team in America on how they could bring the character back in the current political climate.

“We all felt Ali by himself wouldn’t be a satirical movie because he was from a bygone era — this relic from another period who’s unaware that he is deeply problematic,” he said.

“But what if we brought in another character, an ultraprogressive extremist who’s his rival, and make it a thriller?”

After months of chatter and revisions, the team finally had a plan in place for an Ali G sequel and were ready to start rolling cameras.

While filming took place across the UK and US, comedy fans across the world wouldn’t learn of the character’s comeback until years later.

Rumours of Ali G’s return first began swirling in 2023 when sources teased a comedy tour for the character — but this never came to be.

In July, Baron-Cohen formally announced the sequel by appearing at Wimbledon dressed as Ali G — where he found himself questioned by police after attempting to sell cannabis to attendees.

Baron-Cohen said he hopes fans would think the Ali G sequel was worth the two and a half decade wait.

“I want to give the fans who’ve been loyal for the last 28 years something that they’ve never seen before,” he said.

“I want to give them the most ambitious movie I’ve ever made.

“It is my version of the Avengers.”

Ali G: Who Iz I? is at select Perth cinemas for a limited time, before the film lands on Amazon Prime.