Maria Bakalova: The Borat Star On Her Oscar Nomination & ’Guardian Angel’ Sacha Baron Cohen ELLE UK

As the Oscars bring the 2021 awards season to a close, it marks the end of a whirlwind few months for Maria Bakalova. With her first international film, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan), Bakalova has won a Critics Choice award and been nominated for a Golden Globe, SAG, BAFTA and Oscar. The Bulgarian native was selected from hundreds of ambitious actresses by Sacha Baron Cohen to play his daughter, Tutar, in the long-awaited satirical sequel chronicling the misadventures of Baron Cohen’s infamous and controversy-driving Kazakhstani journalist character. Immediately after the release of the comedy, Bakalova received huge critical acclaim and praise for her hilarious and brave performance, including the most talked-about scene, involving then-President Donald Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani. On the day of the 2021 Oscars, ELLE UK joined Bakalova while she was preparing for the awards