Sacha Baron Cohen to play Saddam Hussein

(01-20) 15:20 PST LOS ANGELES, (AP) --

As if his portrayals of Borat and Bruno weren't outrageous enough, Sacha Baron Cohen's next role will be playing Saddam Hussein.

The British comic will star in and co-write "The Dictator," which is scheduled for release in May 2012, Paramount Pictures said Thursday. Larry Charles, who directed Baron Cohen in "Bruno" and "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan," will direct once again.

"The Dictator" is inspired by a book the former Iraqi leader himself wrote, titled "Zabibah and The King."

Paramount joked in a news release: "The film tells the heroic story of a dictator who risked his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed."