Screenrant
Maria Bakalova's rise to fame in Hollywood is as unexpected as it is refreshing, and her latest movie The Honeymoon is proof that the comedic chops everyone fell in love with during Borat Subsequent Moviefilm are still intact. The young Bulgarian actress has been busy since her Oscar nomination last year, not only starring in the A24 horror hit Bodies Bodies Bodies but also helping to produce the Bulgarian film Triumph, in which she will also star.
It was in fact The Honeymoon that first gave Bakalova a true taste of the work that goes into a film behind the scenes, and her passion for the project is evident both onscreen and off. She plays Sarah, a newlywed who hopes to enjoy a stress-free honeymoon with her husband Adam (Pico Alexander). She soon learns, however, that their troublesome friend Bav (Asim Chaudry) is along for the ride—and he manages to get them in trouble with a handsome mobster named Giorgio (Lucas Bravo, Emily in Paris) in record time.
It was in fact The Honeymoon that first gave Bakalova a true taste of the work that goes into a film behind the scenes, and her passion for the project is evident both onscreen and off. She plays Sarah, a newlywed who hopes to enjoy a stress-free honeymoon with her husband Adam (Pico Alexander). She soon learns, however, that their troublesome friend Bav (Asim Chaudry) is along for the ride—and he manages to get them in trouble with a handsome mobster named Giorgio (Lucas Bravo, Emily in Paris) in record time.
Maria Bakalova: I cannot stop smiling right now seeing that you have a poster behind you. It's been a little bit over a year since we filmed the movie and now, seeing it come to life? It's something that makes me really excited, happy, proud, and smiley.First of all, I was filming Bodies Bodies Bodies with A24 at the time when the script came to me. I was like, "Gosh, I'm covered in blood, mud and water. It's April in New York, it's freezing cold, and this situation [onscreen] is so traumatizing to imagine."
Then I had this beautiful script about a couple and their best friend filming in Venice and Rome, and I was like, "I cannot wait to jump on a Zoom call."Then I saw that it's Dean Craig, who did Death at a Funeral, which is a great movie. We jumped on a Zoom call, and we started talking and talking and talking, discussing the movie and the script. It's a romantic comedy, but we got sucked into the discussion of [Russian novelists like] Dostoevsky and Gogol, and all of these dark writers. I was like, "It's gonna be spectacular to be filming with him." I asked who he was thinking about [casting], and we got into the idea of bringing this international cast together.I was just so excited to be able to play a person from my region of the world, an Eastern European woman, in a romantic and positive light. Usually, you fall into the stereotype of being the hooker or the spy, which is still kind of cool if it's developed enough, but usually it's just on the side with two or three lines here and there. Having this opportunity to portray someone romantic and elegant and feminine has been a dream, and I hope it opens more doors for women like me and for girls from that region of the world—because we also can be nice. [Laughs] Everything fit perfectly with the idea of what I wanted to do next.
