The Untold Truth Of Borat Star Maria Bakalova

Without Sacha Baron Cohen, we wouldn't have "Borat," or its follow-up, "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm," and without this sequel, we might never have met Maria Bakalova. In that second film, Bakalova played Tutar Sagdiyev, lead character Borat Sagdiyev's daughter, and the two get up to some wild antics. Perhaps the most famous of all the scenes was Bakalova's meetup with Rudy Giuliani. After filming the scene, Bakalova had some pretty clear takeaways about the strange, nearly sexual interview.

Was Bakalova, who's Bulgarian, aware of who Giuliani was? "Yeah, I did know who Rudy Giuliani was because of 9/11," she told W in February 2021. "But I'm not American; I'm not into the American political system. But as an actor, I knew that it was something important and that the whole production, the whole movie, had to have that scene. So I did my best to learn as much as possible about Rudy Giuliani, who he was, and to prepare myself to be his biggest fan!" She was certainly successful in that regard, and the former mayor clearly had no idea he was being pranked. 

Bakalova became a superstar overnight thanks to "Borat," and while she hasn't made a wild fortune (yet), she's certainly off to a good start. Even better, Bakalova has used her "Borat" clout to land new projects. But before we look at her future — which is glittering and bright — let's get to know a little bit about her interesting history.

Before acting, Maria Bakalova was passionate about music and took to the flute, something that still plays a big part in her life. How do we know? Bakalova posted a photo on Instagram in November 2018 with a flute and captioned the photo, "Little me."

Bakalova explained when the passion began in an interview with 1883 Magazine. "Everything started with music when I was 5," she explained. "I was pretty much convinced that my life would take a direction as a singer or as a flute player." Interestingly, Bakalova found acting accidentally. "When I turned 12 or 13, we got a new specialty high school of performing arts in Bulgaria and it had acting. It seemed so interesting. I wanted to escape reality; I wanted to do something else and be something else."

Escape seemed to be an alluring concept for Bakalova as a teenager. When she spoke to The New York Times in November 2020, she explained that after singing and playing the flute, she began looking for something that offered a departure from her everyday life. "Because in acting, you can become anybody," she detailed. "You can do everything. You can live on Mars." Thanks to this fascination, she began researching Danish films, explaining she specifically loved the work that came out of the niche known as Dogme 95. These films, made between 1995-2005, deliberately push back on too much technology that ultimately distracts from storytelling. Sounds like a similar aesthetic to "Borat."

Maria Bakalova had to work hard and get pretty creative to land her role in "Borat." Fans of the first film would have known what to expect for the audition, but Bakalova admitted she hadn't seen it when she read for Sacha Baron Cohen, according to Variety. So the unique world of Borat was unfamiliar to Bakalova, which clearly worked to her advantage, as she came in without any kind of pressure to mimic what had been done before.

Nancy Bishop, who worked as the film's casting director, told IndieWire: "I was told I needed to find an Eastern European girl who spoke an Eastern European language as a first language for a comic role, and was given material to audition them with." She added, "It was mostly improvisation, but eventually they sent me actual text for them to perform to see if they could deliver jokes." The improvisation requirement was next level. "We did all these crazy things," Bakalova told IndieWire. "I drank from the toilet, I tried to eat a fish from the aquarium."

For another callback, Bakalova told Variety that she was supposed to smell bad for it. "I couldn't not shower or brush my teeth for 10 days," she explained, as she was filming another movie at the time, so she created a signature scent out of "onions, vinegar and valerian pills" to create a bad odor. "I'll never forget the smell," she added. "I have PTSD."

Filming a movie as intense as "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm" would naturally create a bond between Sacha Baron Cohen and Maria Bakalova. In the film, she plays Tutar Sagdiyev, daughter to his character, Borat Sagdiyev, though the father-daughter relationship extends beyond the movie. "Sacha, he's my nonbiological father and he will be like that forever," Bakalova told The New York Times. "So I trusted him from the beginning and I knew he would never put me in a dangerous situation." This certainly proved true, in spite of all the risks they took to create the perfect scenes. 

While Bakalova trusted Baron Cohen to keep her safe in the more daring exploits required to create the film, Baron Cohen trusted Bakalova's comedic genius and acting talent to make the movie what it really was. "You can't ask Rudy Giuliani to go back in the room and say, 'Can we do that again?' That's the challenge here, and that's why Maria is a one-off: Somebody who is that funny, that believable, that courageous, that emotional an actor, and that professional that you've got one take, and it's gotta be perfect," Baron Cohen said in an interview with Bakalova for Backstage.

The two appeared in a joint interview for "Good Morning America" and Bakalova posted a clip of it on Instagram. In it, Baron Cohen explained that they had interviewed 600 women for the role of Tutar and they landed on Bakalova. "She is a revelation," he said.

As seems to be the case with every Hollywood starlet nowadays, Pete Davidson has a link to Maria Bakalova, but they have not started dating (that we know of). The Bulgarian actor was cast in Halina Reijn's 2022 film "Bodies Bodies Bodies" alongside Kim Kardashian's ex. The film, created by entertainment company A24, is an exquisitely filmed horror that brought new learning curves for Bakalova. When Variety asked her if she liked scary things, the "Borat" star answered, "I get scared easily, I have lots of fears. But if I have a chance to try something, I think I'm going to try it! I'll regret it later. But I will try it."

So what did Bakalova think of working with Davidson? "He's one of the nicest people that I've met personally and seeing him being that person, it's like, 'How are you even doing it?' He was super disciplined, which made me appreciate him as an actor and artist," she told Variety.

One scene in the movie required the cast to slap each other, something Bakalova was loath to do. "I was so freaking conscious when I hit somebody because I don't really know my strength," Bakalova told Vulture of hitting Davidson, maybe a little too hard. "And I think one of the times my hand was just too heavy, honestly." But knowing how nice Davidson is — and how dedicated an actor — we're sure the scene went great.

Pretty much everyone felt that Maria Bakalova deserved an Oscar for her role in "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm," and Sacha Baron Cohen was one of her biggest advocates. In his joint interview with Bakalova for "Good Morning America," Baron Cohen said: "She is hilarious. She is one of the most courageous actors in history. If she doesn't get nominated for an Oscar, then that's a travesty." He pointed to Bakalova's ability to not only be funny, but to also play a scene with such depth that it made people cry as a reason for her to be nominated.

Bakalova ended up receiving an Oscar nod, the first Bulgarian actor to receive any nomination at the Academy Awards, per Page Six. "Borat" producer Dan Swimer told the outlet just how remarkable she was. "She's bonkers and hilarious but she's also an experienced and very professional actor so she didn't need somebody to hold her hand through it," he explained.

Swimer said part of the audition process involved a British family under the impression they were involved in a TV show about Eastern European people living in England. Bakalova started drinking out of the dog bowl in front of them and the family was completely befuddled. Andrew Newman, the CEO of Baron Cohen's production company, shared his thoughts on the situation. "What this British family didn't realize was that they had taken part in something that led to the creation of a well-deserved Oscar nominee."

While Maria Bakalova might be all about her Bulgarian roots, she doesn't live there anymore. Our girl has set her sights on everything Hollywood, including making it her new home. Since she's moved to Los Angeles, she's been spotted all over town. In June 2022, she attended a party for the opening of By Far, a store founded by three Bulgarians: Sabina Gyosheva, Valentina Ignatova, and Denitsa Bumbarova, according to WWD. Ever the supporter of all things Bulgarian, Bakalova was there with bells on. But she had one complaint: There were no banista pastries that are so famous in Bulgaria. Phyllo dough stuffed with cheese and eggs, their absence potentially inspired Bakalova to start a new business.

While Bakalova is already a recognized star, she's still in a new country, which came up when she was speaking about her role in "Bodies Bodies Bodies." In the film, her character is a newcomer to a tight-knit group, meaning she's excluded from the general camaraderie. "We are both coming from a different place," Bakalova said of her character, per UPI. "I personally like to look at projects, theatrical plays or films that are following the story of the outsider."

"She's trying to be somebody else to try to fit the group she meets," the actor explained. "And she fails, of course, because she is not honest." That might be Bakalova's secret: Though she's new to Hollywood, honesty will be her saving grace.