Back in 2010, it was announced Sacha Baron Cohen would take on the lead role in a biopic about the late Freddie Mercury.

'Sacha Baron Cohen? The guy best known for playing Ali G, Borat, Brüno and other broadly drawn characters? To play the ex-Queen front man?' everyone initially thought, though many came round to the idea.

It was too late however, in 2013, Brian May - the band’s guitarist - announced that the comedian had left the project “on good terms”, adding that his “presence in the movie would be very distracting”.

Almost three years later, Cohen has finally spoken out about the project, revealing exactly why he left on the Howard Stern show: "They wanted to protect their legacy as a band.

“A member of the band—I won't say who—said, ‘You know, this is such a great movie because it's got such an amazing thing that happens in the middle of the movie.’

Loading....

"And I go, ‘What happens in the middle of the movie?’ He goes, ‘You know, Freddie dies.’ I go, ‘What happens in the second half of the movie?’ He goes, ‘We see how the band carries on from strength to strength.’ I said, ‘Listen, not one person is going to a movie where the lead character dies from AIDS and then you carry on to see how the band carries on.’”

He went on to say that May was an “amazing musician” but “not a great movie producer”, adding that Freddy Mercury’s story was “amazing”, "The guy was wild. There are stories of little people with plates of cocaine on their heads walking around a party."

Sacha Baron Cohen: The men in his life Show all 9 1 /9 Sacha Baron Cohen: The men in his life Sacha Baron Cohen: The men in his life Borat, Cohen's most successful creation - the Borat film earned $260m and won Cohen a Golden Globe award Reuters Sacha Baron Cohen: The men in his life As Ali G, the character that made him famous Reuters Sacha Baron Cohen: The men in his life Horseplay: Sacha Baron Cohen as the fashion journalist Brüno Sacha Baron Cohen: The men in his life As Brunon in a scene form the up coming film Sacha Baron Cohen: The men in his life Baron Cohen in character as 'Bruno' filming the new movie. In this photo, Baron Cohen films a scene with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Bruno chases down Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for an interview but Schwarzenegger flees in a waiting SUV Eric Ford/Rex Features Sacha Baron Cohen: The men in his life This summer, Baron Cohen will complete his trio of 'mockumentary' films with a movie following the flamboyant exploits of Brüno, an outrageously camp fashion reporter from Klagenfurt, whose 'MeinSpace' page proudly declares: 'If I vas a Starbucks drink, ich vould be a tall, skinny Austrian mit a great personality und a really big brains.' Sacha Baron Cohen: The men in his life Facing off against Will Ferrell as a racing driver in 'Talladega Nights' Sacha Baron Cohen: The men in his life Baron Cohen played Pirelli, the flamboyant barber, in Tim Burton's film 'Sweeney Todd' Sacha Baron Cohen: The men in his life Keep it real: Baron Cohen with Isla Fisher at the Oscars in 2007 AFP