As Bakalova started winning critics' prizes late last year, 'a lot of major pundits were saying, 'Oh, this is nice and all, but I don't think it's gonna go the distance.' She has surprised and surpassed our wildest expectations, so it's really cool to see that (Oscar nod) happen, because it's so rare that it does.' 'It would be great for Oscar to break out of its comfort zone and award something outside of the 'typical Oscar bait,' ' says Matt Neglia, founder of awards site NextBestPicture. Wildly dancing and 'swallowing' plastic babies as Borat's unrefined teenage daughter, Tutar, Bakalova brought oddball charm and surprising depth to the ultimately empowered young woman – and helped defy what traditionally constitutes an 'Oscar-worthy' performance. In Amazon's ' Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,' Maria Bakalova bravely engineered a meeting with Rudy Giuliani and shocked a group of pearl-clutching conservatives. But unamused Oscar voters could be her toughest mark yet.Įarlier this month, the 24-year-old Bulgarian breakout earned an unlikely best supporting actress nomination for her star-making role in 'Borat 2,' a sequel to Sacha Baron Cohen's 2006 mockumentary hit.

Borat 2 popcorn time