Maria Bakalova talks about “Borat,” “The Apprentice” and Ivana Trump

When Maria Bakalova was first introduced to American audiences Borat Subsequent Movie FilmShe played the fictional daughter of a Kazakh journalist who tried to deliver a pet monkey to then-President Donald Trump. Four years later, she now plays Trump's late ex-wife Ivana The apprentice (Now available digitally).

On the surface, the films couldn't seem more different, but the Bulgarian actress sees some similarities between the satirical comedy and The controversial biopic follows a young Donald Trump (played by Sebastian Stan) who rises to power under the tutelage of his nefarious mentor Roy Cohn (played by Jeremy Strong).

In addition to becoming a lightning rod for legal threats, both films sparked “a lot of discussion about what kind of people we should support and what kind of people we should criticize,” Bakalova says Weekly entertainment. “I think both films are similar in that we shouldn't focus on what's good and what's bad, but instead spark conversations. It should open up discussions about how things can be better.”

Sparking conversations like this is part of what Bakalova loves about being an artist. But at first, becoming a movie star seemed like a far-fetched childhood dream. “My biggest escape was acting, and I wrote on my school desk, 'One day I'll be a great movie star,' quoting Marilyn Monroe, drawing the palm trees and the Hollywood Walk of Fame sign and everything,” shares them with.

“And then something extraordinary happened to me in 2019 when I saw a Facebook post that said, 'We're looking for a lead actress for a major Hollywood film,' which sounded like a scam,” she adds, referring to the casting -Calling you looked online for that Borat Consequence. She was impressed when she chose the role Borat Star Sacha Baron Cohen and got the role. For her first English-language role, Bakalova received an Oscar nomination as Borat's daughter Tutar in the comedy, which featured numerous improvised hidden-camera stunts, including a now-infamous encounter with former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani.

While Bakalova received widespread recognition for her comedic skills, Borat was actually the actress' first leading role in a comedy. “I had never done improv before Borat. “I was just thrown into the world of comedy,” she says. “I didn’t know much about comedy either, and it was a big mistake not to pay attention to this powerful tool because I believe in it.” The apprentice“We have a lot of comedic moments, which elevates the story even more because we're exploring this horror story, but at the same time it's hilarious in parts.”

Not only The apprentice have comedic moments, but director Ali Abbasi also encouraged his actors to improvise. Still, Bakalova says the process was “much different” than Boratin which she often had to interact with non-actors who didn't know they were being filmed for a film. “With Borat“We improvised a lot, but for the most part we followed people's instructions and adapted as the moment came,” she explains. “But I think working with Sacha was helpful.” And I love him; He is my hero forever.

Bakalova spends most of her time on screen with Stan, who she calls “an absolutely amazing” scene partner, especially in these improvised moments. “It was wonderful working with him because even if none of us know what's going to happen in a scene, he just jumps into it. And I know I can trust him, so I jump after him,” she says. “When I suggest something he’s not surprised but he actually follows through and it’s a great team game. So it was wonderful.”

“Maria was excellently prepared. We had a lot of trust,” agrees Stan. Recalling a partially improvised scene in which Ivana Trump reveals her dreams and ambitions, Stan says: “I felt like there was real truth in what she expressed, that she came to this country and “I wanted something specific and wanted to make something of myself.” I felt at that moment that only someone like Maria could really understand that in Ivana, considering who Maria is and coming from Eastern Europe.”

Abbasi knew from the start that he wanted to cast an Eastern European actress in the role of Ivana, but the idea wasn't always well received by the film's potential backers. “Every financier that came on board, their first input was, ‘Okay, is it going to be Jennifer Lawrence? And I said, 'No, of course it will be someone from Eastern Europe.' And they looked at me like I wanted to walk to the moon or something,” Abbasi says. “This is something I don’t understand. You have all these fantastic, accomplished actors from the right region giving you authenticity, and by the way, it's not just an accent, it's a way of life, it's a culture, it's a mentality.

While Bakalova notes that as a Bulgarian, her accent is “really, really” different from Ivana's Czech accent, she agrees that her background played an important role in channeling the former model's personality. “These countries have gone through a very different political system that is difficult to explain,” she says. “You have to have gone through it, or at least you have to have been in a family that has gone through it. I remember when I experienced inflation as a child, the price of chewing gum went from $100 to $10. A penny. And it's important because it changes your mentality. You can have everything and then lose absolutely everything.

Of Ivana, she adds: “I understand her in many ways. I also criticize her in many situations, but in most cases I can empathize with her.”

Finding ways to engage with her character was crucial to Bakalova's process. “It was kind of scary because when you play someone who actually exists, even if it's a controversial character, you still have to have some empathy for them. And I wanted to play her with respect and dignity.”

“Maria’s job was quite difficult,” notes Abbasi. “She had to establish the stereotype of the Eastern European social climber and her dream woman coming to America, but also break that stereotype and give us humanity back.”

Like her colleagues, she began by throwing herself into a meticulous research project, reading everything she could get her hands on and sharing notes with Stan. The more she learned, the more she recognized herself in the late socialite and businesswoman. “She was born in communist Slovakia. I’m from Bulgaria and I wasn’t a communist when I was born.” [country]“But it was still a period of adjustment from communism to socialism to democracy, and it is still difficult,” Bakalova explains. “It’s inspiring to see someone who came from nothing accomplish so much, and she did it all by herself.”…. When you come from nothing, when you come from a place that has no support for you, you have to constantly prove yourself, which I can relate to. I know how much it costs.

Abbasi recognized Bakalova's commitment to proving herself when they first met. For her audition, the actress did her own hair and makeup to emulate Ivana's famous '80s style. “She came in with a lot of makeup and all this hair and I was like, 'Wow.' She tried to sell Ivana to me right away. remembers the director. Bakalova adds: “I volumized my hair for two hours before I started. I thought, 'This is so inconvenient, but it's worth it.'” The actress prepared so carefully that day that Abbasi ended up changing his makeup department's designs for Ivana's look to reflect the work Bakalova did for her had done an audition. “I thought that was actually better,” Abbasi recalls. “So we actually went back to their version.”

While the actress didn't stay in character throughout filming like Stan and Strong did, merely choosing to maintain Ivana's accent during production, she shares her co-stars' deep commitment to their art. “As an Eastern European who trained in theater and stage acting for ten years between Bulgaria and Russia, I was told to do your best – even if it was physically and mentally dangerous for you,” she says. “Maybe it's not right, but if you have to do it, just do it. You do it for the sake of art.”

Strong, who has given his colleagues pause in the past with his intense commitment to his performances, says of working with Bakalova, “She's a heavyweight actress and her work is brilliant in that.”

“If you look at Maria's last years, it's really incredible what she accomplished,” adds Stan, who knew Bakalova before The apprentice from her work in the MCU. “She came out of nowhere and did this really wild, yet grounded performance.” Boratand then she does it body, body, body, and it is very delicate and subtle. Then she comes in here and asserts herself, and they're all completely different things.

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Whether she plays a telekinetic dog Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3Whether she's a final girl in an A24 horror comedy or the complicated, controversial wife of a future president, Bakalova always tries to find the humanity in her characters. “You can empathize with them, you can criticize them, as long as it makes you feel something,” she says. “This is the most important part because at the end of the day we all have good and bad sides and it just depends on the circumstances and stages of your life whether you decide to go this way or that.”

With nearly a dozen upcoming projects listed on her IMDB page, it seems the only direction Bakalova is headed is up. “The better the competition, the better you become,” she says of working in Hollywood. “I like it because it makes me better. It’s important to keep going and become a better version of myself every year.”