First time Oscars producers Bill Mechanic and So You Think You Can Dance judge Adam Shankman had an unorthodox first choice to host the 2010 Academy Awards: Bruno star Sacha Baron Cohen.

In an interview with Teri Gross of National Public Radio’s “Fresh Air” on Thursday, the always candid Shankman was asked how he and Mechanic had set about shaking up the 82nd annual ceremony. Shankman revealed that when he and Bill first met for lunch, they immediately agreed that Sacha was the ideal person for the job.

After all, the Cambridge-educated Brit was nominated for an Oscar three years ago for writing Borat. But just as quickly as Mechanic and Shankman came up with the idea, “The Academy swatted it down. They thought it was too big of a wild card.”

Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin will host the Academy Awards at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on March 7.