The year 2020 has already brought us a lot, but it's about to bring more - before the end of the year, we will see the return of controversial Kazakh reporter Borat. Yes - A second Borat movie will be released by Amazon Prime later this month.
The trailer for Borat Subsequent Movie Film: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe To American Regime For Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan was released two days ago.
The trailer features snippets that are shocking - expectedly so - but the question many fans are asking is: Who is Irina Nowak, who plays Borat's daughter, Sandra Jessica Parker Sagdiyev?
Sacha Baron Cohen is known for using unknown actors in his movies. In the first Borat movie, character actor Ken Davitan played Borat's sidekick Azamat Bagatov, and comedian Luenell Campbell played the sex worker who eventually marries Borat.
So who is Irana Nowak? There are no social media accounts listed in her name. Is she an unknown actor or someone picked off the street?
According to an article by the Evening Standard, there's some deception afoot: Irina Nowak is not even her real name. She's actually Bulgarian actress Maria Bakalova.
This is where things get a little murky. The IMDB page for the Borat sequel credits Maria Bakalova, and not Irina Nowak, but doesn't state her credit as Borat's daughter. Bakalova does look like Borat's daughter in the trailer, however. She does have IMDB acting credits to her name, and played the lead role in the Bulgarian movie Transgression.
If Sandra Jessica Parker Sagdiyev is Bakalova, why all the secrecy? It's not a surprising thing for Cohen to do, but it is confusing, given that even Bakalova is a mostly unknown actress. It looks like Borat fans will have to wait to find out who really plays Sandra Jessica Parker Sagdiyev, and why all the secrecy was necessary in the first place.
Interestingly enough, the reason for the secrecy may have something to do with Cohen's acting philosophy.
The actor has been known to go deep into his characters, and goes undercover for months before filming begins. In a Hollywood Reporter Actors Roundtable discussion, Cohen revealed that he goes through this extensive process so his character's identity is not blown, and he maintains the element of surprise and shock in his scenes.
The secrecy surrounding who is playing Borat's daughter is likely due to the maintenance of the surprise and shock factor for the movie.
The first Borat movie featured a lot of real-life scenarios, particularly at live events. The trailer for the sequel features an appearance by Borat at a live speech made by Vice President Mike Pence. It's surprises like these that make all of the secrecy begin to make sense.
This sequel promises shocking hilarity and surprises. It will be released on October 23rd on Amazon Prime.