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Judd Apatow stopped filming a scene to tell Maria Bakalova about her Oscars nomination

By Megan Armstrong | Last updated 3/15/21

Maria Bakalova earned her first Oscars nomination Monday morning, making her the first-ever Bulgarian actress nominated by the Academy, and the momentous occasion was appropriately recognized.

The 24-year-old is up for best supporting actress for her work alongside Sacha Baron Cohen in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. Bakalova was hard at work in London filming her next film, the Iris and Judd Apatow-directed The Bubble, when the announcement was made. Judd Apatow interrupted a take to relay the news.

Bakalova described the scene during an interview with Variety's Rebecca Rubin:

"Oh my goodness, I don't know where to start. I can't believe it's happening. It's the best of the best of the best day of my life. I was on set because I'm working on an incredible project with Judd Apatow. In the beginning of the day, Judd asked me, 'Do you want to be private? Do you want to watch the ceremony?' I said, 'I’m really excited but I don’t want to be greedy.' Just the idea of people mentioning my name in the conversation about this huge recognition alongside these inspiring, amazing, great actresses has already been enough. So I was like, 'Let’s just do work!' I was shooting with Pedro Pascal. We were shooting some interesting scene and Judd came into the shot and said, “You just got your nomination for the Oscars.” I said, 'What?!' I think I started shaking and literally lost my mind for a second. Judd Apatow and Pedro Pascal were both so excited."

Pascal recognized the moment on Twitter:

That moment when your scene partner gets nominated for her first Oscar. @MariaBakalova96
— Pedro Pascal he/him (@PedroPascal1) March 15, 2021

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm was the second and final installment. In it, Cohen's titular character returns to the United States from his native Kazakhstan to investigate the country's reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic and its political reckoning. Bakalova played Tutar, Borat's daughter.

Cohen previously confirmed that there will not be any more Borat movies because of how dangerous it was to film, including the need for a bulletproof vest or bomb-proof amplified to attend a far-right rally:

Bakalova talked to Rubin about the difference between Borat and The Bubble:

"The difference is we’re not finishing scenes with police. It’s been great. I’ve been surrounded by people who are nice human beings — incredibly talented actors, all of them ready to improvise in the moment, which is something I’m still learning. Sacha is forever going to be my biggest teacher and mentor. But I’ve never been trained to do it. And now being surrounded by all of these actors who can do it professionally, it’s extremely inspiring and interesting. It’s such a lovely environment. I’m like, “Can I stay on set and live here forever?"

The Bubble is an upcoming inception-like comedy where actors and actresses are stuck in a hotel during the pandemic and struggling to complete filming. It will be Iris Apatow's—Judd Apatow's 18-year-old daughter—debut as a director, producer and writer. She will also star alongside the likes of Bakalova, Pascal, Keegan-Michael Key and Fred Armisen as well as her mother, Leslie Mann.

The 93rd Academy Awards will air Sunday, April 25, from several Los Angeles locations beginning at 8 p.m. EST. The full nominations list is available here.

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