B.J. Novak is no stranger to authoritarian regimes. He's put in seven seasons on "The Office," where his character enjoyed a steep rise and fall in power that rivaled many a flashy world leader. He also had the enviable job of killing Nazis in "Inglorious Basterds."
Apparently, he enjoys flashy uniforms and fear -- because now he's enlisting alongside Sasha Baron Cohen in "The Dictator."
"The Dictator" has Cohen doing double character duty as a goat herder and a deposed foreign dictator who gets lost in the United States. It's not known what role Novak is playing, but his reps confirm it is a small one.
A terrified aide? Cohen's more gentle successor? A fellow goat herder? We'd like to see Novak in something besides a sharp suit, turning his wry charm onto some ornery farm animals, but that might just be us.
The cast includes Ben Kingsley, Jason Mantzoukas, Anna Faris and J.B. Smoove along with Megan Fox and John C. Reilly. With that scene-stealing cast and Cohen's track record, it's set to be one of the biggest, smartest and funniest comedies of 2012.
