The Big Picture

Maria Bakalova is a rising star with a roster of highly anticipated projects, including
The Apprentice
with a star-studded cast.
“The Apprentice” explores the volatile relationship between Roy Cohn and Donald Trump, with Bakalova shining as Ivana Trump.
Bakalova discusses her career, including upcoming projects with James Gunn and Martin Campbell.

Few actors working today have an entire queue of future projects, much less a list of majorly anticipated projects, starring and directed by the biggest names in Hollywood. To her immense skill and credit, Maria Bakalova is one of those rare gems. After making her unforgettable American debut in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Bakalova has since worked with Judd Apatow, Sofia Coppola, and Jerry Seinfeld. Next, she shows off her chops in her first performance as a real-life figure in director Ali Abbasi’s controversial new drama, The Apprentice.

The Apprentice is a provacative, gritty exploration of the corrosive and unpredictable relationship of infamous McCarthy-era prosecutor Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong) and Donald Trump (Sebastian Stan) throughout New York City in the ’70s and ’80s. Bakalova stuns on screen as the fiercely independent Ivana Trump.

Collider’s Steve Weintraub sat down with Bakalova to discuss her role as Ivana in The Apprentice. They also discussed a whole slate of future projects, including James Gunn’s Creature Commandos, Martin Campbell’s Dirty Angels, and Learning to Breathe Underwater opposite Rory Kinnear, working with a slew of our most beloved acting legends, and wanting to work for Gunn forever and ever and ever. You can read the full conversation in the transcript below.

Sacha Baron Cohen Changed Maria Bakalova’s Life
Image via Amazon Studios

COLLIDER: Congrats on the movie. I thought that Ali did such a great job with this.

MARIA BAKALOVA: Thank you so much, and thank you for saying this. Thank you for watching it. That’s my biggest dream, that many people go see it and open up a conversation later about it.

That is also my dream, for a shit ton of people to see this movie. That is very important to me. I’m all in on helping you promote this.

BAKALOVA: It’s widely appreciated, I’m sure.

We feel the same way. A number of years ago you were in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, and it obviously changed your life. I’m just curious, what do you get Sacha for his birthday every year?

BAKALOVA: Oof! We’re never in the same place. I never know where he is. I know that he’s in London now, and I’m looking forward to inviting him to watch The Apprentice premiere. But we’re never in the same place.

No, it’s a joke-around question.

BAKALOVA: I don’t think there is any kind of present that is going to be enough compensation for what he did for me. Giving me the chance to audition for this role, being able to play alongside with him, it’s the biggest thing that had happened to me.

Maria Bakalova on Becoming Ivana Trump
“She built both of their lives in a lot of ways.”
Image via Obscured Pictures

When you were getting ready to film the night before, were you more nervous or more excited about getting ready to step on set for the first time?

BAKALOVA: I was nervous. I was actually very nervous, mostly because I’ve never played a real person before. I knew that Sebastian and Jeremy have both played real people before, and they did a great job. I just wanted to be on their level. I wanted to not disappoint them. I was trying my best to listen to as many recordings of her, watch as many videos of her, and know as much about her story as possible so I could deliver what they deserve.

I feel like none of the performances were like SNL performances. They were all capturing the essence of these people. Talk a little bit about getting ready to step on set the first day. Obviously, you did a whole bunch of research. Was there anything that really surprised you to learn about her and the Trump family that you wanted to make sure was in the film?

BAKALOVA: I honestly didn’t know a lot about her. I knew that she’d been a model. I knew that she had a fashion line, an interior design line — any kind of a line that had her name. And I knew that she was the first wife of Donald Trump, the former president of America, but nothing apart from that. I knew that she was from somewhere around my region of the world, but not that she’s been competitive, not that she’s been a hard-working woman, not that she built both of their lives in a lot of ways because she’s been the brain behind everything in the beginning.

I found myself really fascinated by her achievements and the fact that she’s been so outspoken. It’s still challenging to demand your position and your equality, even though we’re living in 2024. That’s been happening since the ‘70s, [her] standing up for herself and demanding to be treated equally, to be his equal — not just a trophy wife sitting at home, but work hand-in-hand with him. It’s been a really remarkable achievement.

People forget how the world has changed, but not changed enough. Especially in the ‘70s.

BAKALOVA: Absolutely, and the fact that, in the meantime, she’s been a very responsible mother. She’s been raising three children pretty much back to back. They don’t have such a huge age gap between each other. She’s been having kids, yet at the same time, being the head of the casino, going to different trips to Italy to pick the perfect pink marble, to be the head of this company, going from one event to another event to another event, being with the kids, cooking dinner, taking them to school, and yet working. How do you do that?

Yeah, I have a tough time just taking care of my cats. Just throwing that out there.

Jeremy Strong Met Maria Bakalova for the First Time Post-Filming
“He’s been very kind, regardless of the fact that he played this vicious person”

You shared some scenes with Jeremy. Jeremy is known for really going method and really going forward in a performance. I’m not sure if you’ve ever worked with someone like that. What was it like working with Jeremy in some of those scenes where he has disappeared into a role?

BAKALOVA: It’s been interesting to witness that. It’s been interesting to be around someone who is so dedicated and has a different method of working than my personal one. Do I think about the character that I’m playing most of the time? Yes, I do. But I still cannot completely stay in that character. I think that’s such a great skill that he has.

He’s been so kind and sweet because we got to see each other the other day, a week ago, for the first time after we shot the movie. We had dinner, the team, and Jeremy was there. Jeremy came to me and was like, “Hold on, hold on. I have to meet Maria because I don’t think we ever met.” He’s been very kind, regardless of the fact that he played this vicious person. You can see that he’s the sweetest human being just by the way he looks.

Image via Briarcliff Entertainment

One of the things about Ali is that he likes to have people improvise on set and find things in the moment. When you were on Borat , you needed to improvise and find things, but this is a radically different thing because you need to stay in character while improvising. I’m just curious, what was that like for you? Especially when you’re sharing scenes with Jeremy and Sebastian, when everyone is in character.

BAKALOVA: It’s really important to have great partners in this. It’s really important because Ali is going to throw something, and you all should be on the same page. You should all trust each other. I think both Sebastian and Jeremy were very open to doing that. Even if an idea comes from you, or from Sebastian, or from Jeremy, or from me, we all just follow, which is great. It’s like a well-oiled machine. Ali set the bar really high. Everybody had to know what was happening exactly in this year, what was happening in this place, which building they’re talking about, how far in the relationship they’re going through. It’s interesting.

I think Borat definitely helped me because we had to stay in character, Sacha and I, the whole time as well, because we’re with real people, and we have to play that we are these real characters. It’s been a bit different, but still as adrenalizing as Borat.

Related Is ‘The Apprentice’ Streaming? Where To Watch the Embattled Donald Trump Biopic If you don’t watch it, you’re fired.

I can’t imagine what it was like for you watching this for the first time. What was your reaction to seeing some of the scenes that you were not a part of?

BAKALOVA:, I was looking forward to watching the film because I’ve been a huge fan of Ali’s work from before. I first got to know about him from Border, which was the Swedish submission for the Oscars. Then I watched Shelley, and then two years ago, when Holy Spider came out at Cannes, I was mindblown by his work there. Probably Holy Spider is one of my top 10 movies of all time. I think it’s brilliant. As a fan of his work, I wanted to see what he’s done.

It’s such a great film. I honestly think it’s a great film. The relationship between these two people, I get a sense of why, for example, Ivana and Roy have hated each other so much. Because it’s like competition for the same guy in a way. It’s like a relationship. It’s like a throuple. You have one human being at home, and you have another one that you’re dealing with as a work relationship, a semi-work relationship. But still, it is a relationship. It’s like three people in this relationship.

No, you’re 100% right.

Maria Bakalova Couldn’t Be More Excited For ‘Mayday’
“I spent two hours just improvising with Kenneth fucking Branaugh!”
Image via Warner Bros.

I definitely want to touch on a few other things because you are acting and part of, I’m gonna say, a thousand other projects. The last year or two has been very good for you. I’m a huge fan of John [Francis Daley] and Jonathan [Goldstein]. T hey are so fucking good. Talk a little bit about Mayday , and getting to work with them and the incredible cast.

BAKALOVA: Thank you so much for shouting out about this! I just saw Jonathan the day before yesterday. We had a screening at CAA for The Apprentice and he was there. It was such a great reunion because he just told me that the movie is in post-production, almost done, and we can see it soon. I’m looking forward to seeing what they’ve done with this film. We have Kenneth Branagh, who is a national treasure for England. You have Ryan Reynolds, who is a national treasure for Canada. It’s been incredible. It’s been educational. It’s been inspiring to have a chance to work with these people. Also, John and Jonathan have been so, so open and so fun and so smart and so kind. It’s such a safe, cool environment that you don’t want this to ever end. You just want to stay in this world in a weird way.

I’m super excited. It’s a beautiful story. It’s a beautiful story about two people who have nothing in common, but at the same time, they build a friendship/family. I’ve been lucky to play Kenneth’s daughter, which is — my god! I just wish to work with him on something else again and again and again and again. On the first day that we got to set and I met Kenneth, he mentioned something, “Do you want to talk about the relationship between our characters?” We started talking, and then we ended up in an hour and a half, two-hour improv talking and throwing things at each other, building the history behind it. It’s been like a workshop. I came home and I texted my agents, all of them, “I’m losing my mind. I cannot believe this is happening. I’m having the best time of my life. I just spent an hour or two hours just improvising with Kennteth fucking Branaugh! I cannot believe it.” It’s incredible.

Both of the directors are incredible. What they’ve done with Dungeons & Dragons [Honor Among Thieves] and having the emotional arc… Mayday is an action-comedy but still emotionally charged to the point of making people feel and root for these characters. It’s really fascinating.

I think Dungeons & Dragons is one of my favorite films of last year. I wish it had made a billion dollars so I could get five more of them. It’s so good.

BAKALOVA: Yeah, it’s really good. It’s really good, and I think that’s why it’s important to have movies like this, as well.

Maria Bakalova Teases Her ‘Creature Commandos’ Role

I believe you’re going to New York Comic Con next week for Creature Commandos.

BAKALOVA: Are you coming?!

I will be at New York Comic Con, but you guys are doing interviews at a different place than the Convention Center. I’ll be there, but not there. Have you seen any of the footage yet besides the trailer? What can you tell me about? What are you excited for people to see?

BAKALOVA: I’m excited. I’m really excited. It’s James Gunn, and it’s a new universe at DC. It’s all of these characters, and my character is originated by James’ exceptional vision. I’m really excited. I’m really, really excited. It’s fun. It’s interesting. It’s entertaining. It’s wonderful. Unfortunately, I’m not allowed to talk about it, but I look forward to people watching it.

I think more information will come out next week.

Related ‘Creature Commandos’ Just Got a Nuclear Update from James Gunn The DCU series will release on Max this December.

I do have to ask you, one of the things that James and Peter [Safran] have talked about is the fact that people who play roles in animation, if it ever goes live-action, you will play it in live-action. You will play it in the video game. What was it like signing on for something that you might be playing this character for many years?

BAKALOVA: I’m going to be completely honest, it’s a dream. I want to work with James Gunn through the rest of my life. I’ve been lucky with a lot of people that I got a chance to meet and work with. James is one of the greatest directors, in my opinion, and I think multiple opinions of our time. He is one of the nicest human beings. It’s always the biggest gift to spend time around him, to listen to him, to see all of the work he puts in before stepping on set and directing you. It’s a great time to be around him. I am looking forward to doing as many things as possible with him. It’s the dream.

I think you’re gonna have a very good time at New York Comic Con.

Maria Bakalova Works With Role Model Eva Green in ‘Dirty Angels’
“This badass, female-driven action thriller about something that is very real”
Image via Element Pictures

So you got to work with Martin Campbell and this great cast for Dirty Angels. Have you been playing the lottery recently? Because it feels like you’ve landed all these cool things.

BAKALOVA: [Laughs] I haven’t played the lottery. Maybe I should. But I don’t wanna curse my karma. I don’t need that. Look, I prefer to keep it in the right place in my working space. Martin Campbell, I mean, his James Bond is the best James Bond. You have Casino Royale, which is, for me, the best achievement that ever has been done. He’s behind The Mask of Zorro and so many other films. And having Eva Green, who has been like a role model, my idol since The Dreamers, working hand in hand with her in this badass, female-driven action-thriller about something that is very real, about the war in Afghanistan and ISIS and things that we unfortunately witness today, as well, it’s so important.

It’s great, and it’s something that I’ve never done before. Being a part of an action film, you use different skills, you use different things that you usually don’t. Physicality, action, can show such a different color palette than just words. It’s been really exciting. Actually, I shot Dirty Angels, and after that, I went to do The Apprentice; I think it helped me a lot. Ivana used to be a skier, so she was very trained, very much in shape, fit. Working with Martin and doing all of these stunts, which majority of them we did ourselves, was interesting.

I’ve spoken to Martin, and one of the things about him is he likes when the cast do stunts. He shoots it in very specific ways where you want the cast doing it.

BAKALOVA: It’s educational. It’s so interesting because you always get to learn new things and work with your body at a different level. I haven’t done it before. It’s really something special.

The Exploration of Grief in Maria Bakalova’s Future Films
Image via Arte France Cinéma

I just want to touch on two other things real quick: Learning to Breathe Under Water and O Horizon . What can you tease about? Again, you’re in a thousand things, but what can you tease about those projects? What are you excited for people to see?

BAKALOVA: When I say that I’ve been lucky, I stand by my words, but I also know that I definitely pour my heart into all of these projects. They mean a lot to me. These characters, these stories, take up a really big space in my heart. O Horizon is a story about grief and loss. I got to play with David Strathairn, who is an exceptional actor. The majority of scenes were supposed to be just a voice because that’s what the story is focused on, but he was there every day that we had a scene and worked with me in person. I cannot wait for this movie to come out because it’s something really special, and I think it’s something really needed. It’s something that we all, one way or another, go through in our lives when we lose someone. When we have to cope with the pain of losing someone and shying away from feeling that way, shying away from the fact that you’re sad — maybe it’s not the right way, maybe you should just stay there and be sad for a moment. It’s an important subject.

Which [leads] to [Learning to Breathe Underwater] because that’s something that also explores the feeling of sadness and loss. We have Rory Kinnear playing a single father whose wife passed away, and a little child taken care of by only his dad, who loves him. It’s still painful and difficult. The movie follows a lot of mental health and depression. Up until the moment they meet this, metaphorically, Mary Poppins character, a new au pair, who comes and brings some life to this house. It’s just a beautiful story with great, great actors. I’m fascinated by this little child that we cast, Ezra [Carlisle]. I’ve never found myself so looking forward to seeing someone’s future. He’s only nine, and he’s brilliant, just brilliant. Also, on the other hand, you have Rory Kinnear, who is another treasure.

Is There More Comedy in Maria Bakalova’s Future?
Image via A24

Are you getting ready to film anything or are you enjoying a vacation?

BAKALOVA: I’m getting ready to film a comedy, which I haven’t done for a while. I think it’s also needed. Thanks to Sacha and Borat, I realized how important comedy is to the world. Satire, and to show people that it doesn’t necessarily need to be very heavy to make you feel something, and to reflect the world. I’m about to start a movie called All Night Wrong with Zach Cherry, who is hilarious as an actor, and he’s also very smart. We’re going to be shooting in Vancouver, and it’s going to be fun.

The Apprentice is in theaters now.

The story of how a young Donald Trump started his real-estate business in 1970s and ’80s New York with the helping hand of infamous lawyer Roy Cohn.Director Ali Abbasi Runtime 123 Minutes Writers Gabriel Sherman

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