May 8, 2009, 9:05 GMT
Sacha Baron Cohen suffered serious burns after trying to bleach his body hair.
British actor Sacha Baron Cohen as Bruno. The comic star - who plays a gay Austrian fashion reporter in his new film 'Bruno' - used strong chemicals to make him look "all-over hairless".. EPA/GIULIO DI MAURO
The comic star - who plays a gay Austrian fashion reporter in his new film 'Bruno' - used strong chemicals to make him look "all-over hairless".
But the 37-year-old star suffered an allergic reaction to the bleach and broke out in a painful rash. He was taken to hospital for treatment and couldn't sit down for days.
A source revealed to Britain's The Sun newspaper: "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.
"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."
Doctors prescribed a soothing cream and antihistamines, but Sacha took days to fully recover, delaying filming for nearly a week.
The source added: "He had to make an emergency appointment with the doctors, who gave him some medication to counter the irritation.
"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."
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