Yura Borisov is taking over Hollywood.
The Anora star, 32, has catapulted to fame since the October 2024 release of Sean Baker’s comedy-drama movie, which won the top award, the Palme d’Or, at the Cannes Film Festival last May.
Borisov, whose Russian henchman Igor grows close to Mikey Madison’s titular character over the course or Baker’s unpredictable odyssey, has been dominating awards season for his breakthrough performance. On Jan. 8, the actor was nominated for the 2025 Screen Actors Guild Awards in the category outstanding performance by a male actor in a supporting role, alongside Jonathan Bailey, Kieran Culkin, Edward Norton and Jeremy Strong.
He also received nominations from the Golden Globes, Critics’ Choice Movie Awards and Independent Spirit Awards – putting himself on the road to the upcoming Oscars.
VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty
(L-R) Lindsey Normington, Karren Karagulian, Yuriy Borisov, Sean Baker, Mikey Madison, Mark Eidelstein, Daria Ekamasova and Vache Tovmasyan attend Beyond Fest’s West Coast premiere of “Anora” at the Vista theatre in Los Angeles, Oct. 1, 2024
Speaking with PEOPLE in an exclusive interview, Borisov reflects on navigating the movie’s buzzy release and the ongoing awards circuit. The experience, he says, has been “really great” and he enjoys reuniting with Baker, Madison, as well as costars Mark Eydelshteyn, Karren Karagulian and Vache Tovmasyan.
Want to know more about the Russian-born actor, who made his English language debut in Anora? Continue reading for a deep dive into his career and life.
Borisov admittedly wasn’t familiar with Sean Baker’s work before Anora.
Baker had his sights set on Borisov before he had finished the script for Anora. The filmmaker told IndieWire in October 2024 that he first saw the actor in 2021 when they both had movies playing at the Cannes Film Festival. For Baker, it was Red Rocket, and for Borisov, it was Compartment Number 6 and Petrov’s Flu. With a ringing endorsement from one of the movies’ director Juho Kuosmanen, the director set off with work with Broisov.
But there was still one hiccup: when Broisov first met with Baker, the filmmaker behind Tangerine and The Florida Project, as well as the co-creator of the comedy series Greg the Bunny, he had no idea who he was.
Related: Anora Review: Mikey Madison Gives Breakthrough Performance in Funny, Heartbreaking Tale of Mad Romance
“I didn’t know Sean [Baker] before our first meeting, and I didn’t know his films, because … my bad,” Borisov tells PEOPLE, before adding that he’s glad to have now met him. “It is better than some awards for me, because now I have this person in my life, and I’m happy about this.”
During the encounter, the actor recalls asking Baker where he could find his previous movies. “Sean is very open person and he just answered, ‘Okay, I’ll send you links to my films and we will discuss it next time,’ ” he shares. “Another director could say, ‘Oh, you don’t know my films?’ “
The actor was born in Moscow Oblast.
Borisov may be taking over the American film scene, but his roots go back to Russia. The actor was born on Dec. 8, 1992 in the town of Reutov, which is located in Moscow Oblast, on the outskirts of Moscow.
Speaking about the reaction from his hometown, the actor says his family is “crazy proud” of him. “They are so proud of me,” the actor shares, “and it’s most important for me that I don’t need to show them some results for [them to be] proud.”
Neon /Courtesy Everett
(L-R) Yura Borisov, Mark Eidelshtein, Karren Karagulian, Mikey Madison in “Anora”
Borisov also recognizes how the movie’s success has resonated with other artists in the country. “For a lot of people in Russia who work in art, it is a very important moment of our life — all these awards and nominations. A lot of people are very proud. They write me about this and call. I meet someone on the street and every time [they share] how important it is for them,” he explains. “I feel that it’s not mine. Of course it’s happening with me, and with Mark [Eydelshteyn], Maria Tichinskaya and Aleksei [Serebryakov]. Russian actors.”
Borisov was inspired by a friend for his infamous burger scene.
There is a hilarious scene in Anora where Borisov annihilates a burger in a diner. As most people know, most movie scenes are not one-shot wonders and require several takes. So, how many burgers did the actor really devour? “It was very crazy,” recalls Borisov. “We spent like, I don’t know, six hours shooting this scene…”
Related: All About Mikey Madison’s Parents (and the Unexpected Way Their Careers Have Helped the Anora Star Get into Character)
Borisov claims he does not routinely eat his own meals in such a manner and found inspiration for the character choice from a friend. “I have one friend who eats burgers like that,” he says. “He is very aggressive with … it’s like a fight with food every time”
He has over 50 movie and TV credits to his name.
Anora may have been Borisov’s breakout role in the U.S., but he has accumulated over 50 other credits to his name since 2010, including the 2020 Netflix original The Silver Skates. The epic movie was nominated for 12 Golden Eagle awards — Russia’s equivalent to the Oscars.
Other buzzy Russian titles he has starred in include Elena, The Bull and AK-47. For the latter, he won the Golden Eagle Award for best actor in a motion picture.
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Borisov honestly doesn’t care if Anora and Igor end up together.
“It’s not important,” Borisov says when asked if he thinks his character Igor and sex worker Anora end up together after the movie’s ambiguous ending. “It is impossible. We could do a big film about only one day, one day after this day, for example, and it could be a great film too.”
Ultimately, his decision to not share his own interpretation is out of respect for the audience, as he wants to “give them this ground of thinking about what’s possible.”
Todd Williamson
(L-R) Mikey Madison, Yura Borisov and Mark Eydelshteyn attend the Beyond Fest x ANORA Los Angeles Premiere at The Vista Theater on Oct. 1, 2024 in Los Angeles
“No, they are not going together. No, of course they’re going together,” he imagines people saying, before adding that he’d probably “kill” all these potential conversations if he gave a straightforward answer.
The actor told Madison to actually hit him on set.
In separate conversations with Interview Magazine, both Borisov and Madison opened up about the volatile, and sometimes violent, relationship between their two characters. In one interview, Madison revealed that the Russian actor asked her to hit him “as hard as I could” during a scene.
Reacting to the anecdote, Borisov said, “It’s funny because you could see on screen that it’s real, and you could feel that moment. Why we like video from internet, and some reels or shorts, is because it’s a reality. You see it, you feel it, and in one second, you are inside the screen, inside the situation. And I liked when she punched me. I can stand the pain.”
Speaking with PEOPLE, Borisov praises Madison is a “brilliant actress and person.”
Anora is currently out on digital platforms, such as YouTube, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.
Read the original article on People
