Sacha Baron Cohen has reportedly been “persuaded” by Steven Spielberg to play Vietnam War activist Abbie Hoffman in DreamWorks’ “The Trial of Chicago Seven,” according to London’s “Sunday Times.”

The British actor has reportedly decided to take on a more serious and political role, that of 1960s Vietnam War protester Abbie Hoffman.

Baron Cohen is well-known for his crazy antics as Borat, a fictional Kazakh reporter who visits America or as Ali G, a wannabe hip-hopper and even as the very recent Signor Adolfo Pirelli, a flamboyant sham Italian barber in Tim Burton’s “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.”

Spielberg’s forthcoming DreamWorks film, “The Trial of the Chicago Seven,” centers on the seven protesters who were put on trial after disrupting the 1968 Democratic Party convention with a Vietnam War protest. The protest turned into a riot and police resistance was fierce.

Hoffman was one of the seven accused of conspiracy and inciting a riot.

The Sunday Times reported that Spielberg himself persuaded Baron Cohen to take on the role however, Variety reports that reps for Spielberg would neither confirm nor deny the report. The British paper also reported that Baron Cohen will earn approximately $6 million with his new role.

DreamWorks worked out a deal with Aaron Sorkin in July to write the script. Spielberg is producing alongside Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald.

Abbie Hoffman was a co-founder of the Yippie movement. He wrote “Steal This Book,” published in 1971, which advised readers how to live for free (mostly through illegal means). He was diagnosed with a bipolar disorder in his mid-40s and committed suicide by overdose in 1989, at the age of 52.

Hoffman’s life was dramatized in the 2000 film “Steal This Movie,” in which he was portrayed by Vincent D'Onofrio.

Baron Cohen is also reportedly set to portray another of his popular characters, ostentatious Austrian fashion reporter Bruno, in a film.