Interview: Yura Borisov is the Heart and Soul of ‘Anora’

Gentle giant. Strong but silent type. We’ve seen this description attributed to brutish men in films and in the real world for decades; a symbol of masculinity that bucks traditional tropes to move into a place of empathy, but still guarded.

That is the defining quality for Igor in Sean Baker’s Anora, the quiet thug tasked to rein in the loudmouthed titular character but it’s also a perfect description for Yura Borisov, the actor who plays him. Like Igor (pronounced EYE-gor), Borisov’s physical appearance – bald, stocky but slim build, imposing browline – belies a compassion underneath. One that just moments after seeing him comes through in soulful eyes and a demeanor of safety.

The film, which won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, tells the Cinderella tale of Mikey Madison’s eponymous (but call her Ani) and feisty Brooklyn sex worker, who’s good at her job, even likes her job. But when a window of opportunity presents itself in the form of Mark Eydelshteyn’s extravagant spendthrift Ivan, the young son of a Russian oligarch, Ani grabs the gold ring and holds on. After a whirlwind week of Pretty Woman-ing across Las Vegas, the two lovebirds decide to impulsively tie the knot, setting of an avalanche of screwball comedy hilarity and disasters, from a home invasion gone wrong to an all-night manhunt, broken noses and more.

While Ivan, Toros (Karren Karagulian) and Garnick (Vache Tovmasyan) provide the top tier comedy in the film, it’s up to Igor to be the even-keeled ship in the choppy seas of this adventure and that’s a sweet spot for Borisov. Already famous in his native Russia, the 31-year old has led dozens of films and television shows since he began acting as a teenager. Most will know him from his performance in Juho Kuosmanen’s fantastic Compartment No. 6, about two people in a confined space and at odds with each other who become closer by the story’s end. There’s that sweet spot again. That film was also a Cannes success, winning the Grand Prize and becoming the Finnish submission for the International Feature Film Oscar.

I talked to Borisov recently at at press stop in Los Angeles to chat about being cast even before the script was written, the delicate nature and nurture of his onscreen relationship with Madison and her performance, “Mikey’s hero, she’s just superhero,” he says, and what he would be doing if he wasn’t an actor.

Erik Anderson: First, congratulations on the film’s Gotham Award nominations and for yours. What does that recognition mean to you or is it outside of your focus as an actor?

Yura Borisov: Thank you so much. For me, it’s just I mean I could meet more interesting artists, directors and writers, producers and I like it because it’s only one goal for me. Work with interesting people and it could help with, that’s it.

EA: You were cast before Sean [Baker] wrote the script as he was figuring it out. How did that feel to have somebody recognize your work and want to work with you?

YB: It’s best way because it’s more relaxable. You just feel that you’re already together and you could, it’s like a next step of communication when you could already talking about some interesting things. Not about I don’t have to push something for take this role or this. It’s the best way for actor I think. When someone say that already believe in you and want to work with you.

EA: Yeah, you didn’t have to audition with 20 other guys. It was just you.

YB: Yeah.

EA: Your first time in the U.S. was for Anora, correct?

YB: Yeah.

EA: Were you able to enjoy things as a visitor as well or did it kind of just, I’m in a movie and everything feels like a movie?

YB: It feels like a movie because it was first time in America, and it was part of Igor finally because I was like an alien in America and the Igor is the same. He is very lonely. I can’t say that I was lonely because I had Sean and Mikey and our team and Mark, but of course it was very special moment for me.

EA: What was the hardest part of acting in a different language and what was surprisingly the easiest part?

YB: It’s not about language. I think it’s mostly about sometimes people which speaking one language couldn’t understand each other because it’s not about words. I feel that people connecting not by language, but by energy, by something inside us and we have this connection with Sean. It’s important. That’s why language is language. Of course sometimes I need more time for understand some things, but we are ready for this and it’s okay. It’s absolutely okay.

EA: I understand that you recommended Mark for the film and that you lived together during the production. How did your relationship in real life help how you acted with each other in the movie?

YB: I can say that we have lots of scenes in the movie with each other but, of course, Mark was very important part of this journey for me because as we discussing everything every day about our experience. He was first time in America too and he was, I know I couldn’t imagine this journey without him. No.

EA: I love that.

YB: Yeah.

EA: The relationship between Ani and Igor is the center really of the second half of the film. Can you talk about working with Mikey on scenes that required a lot of physical stunts and then more emotional quiet ones?

YB: Mikey is very open and very professional and she’s very different from Anora and she’s very polite and quiet and… I’m very big fan of her talent and because she’s very open. It was really friendship and it’s still friendship between us and this energy translating. I think that it’s translating through this film to people and I like that we have this energy in real life because it’s true.

EA: We talked to her recently and she said that you’re a very thoughtful actor, very sensitive, and you took care of her on set, fixing cuts and bruises and broken fingernails and that you were always there as a presence for her behind in a way that made her feel very safe.

YB: Yeah, because it was not easy to Mikey to play this role in all this very crazy scenes and emotional parts. And I understood that I’m okay. I just tried to help Mikey with all this stuff because it’s somewhere is super difficult. For example, some emotional scenes or some physical scenes and she never say that, “I can’t do something.” She always ready and she never say to someone that your nail is broken, but it’s crazy. Her nail is broken and I just see this and we tried to fix it because it’s she just keep it and don’t say to everybody for it. Don’t stop the process and somewhere I understand that, but we need stop somewhere because Mikey’s hero, she’s just superhero.

EA: Yeah, I agree.

Yura Borisov: Yeah.

EA: The very large sequence in the middle of the film that’s at Ivan’s house, there’s lots of big comedy, lots of big action. Was there room for improvisation there too?

YB: Yeah, yeah, of course. It was lots of improvisations every time. Sometimes every time changing text, changing a script. Sometimes we changing scenes, place of these scenes, and some point of story somewhere for doing better and better and better and it was really hard. Everybody was very open. Sean was very open to us and wants to give to him lots of options for editing after, and for me it’s the best way for do art.

EA: In thinking about Mikey, talking about you kind of being always behind her as a presence, it made me think the camera often is looking at you, looking at her and there’s something special about that because the audience has been doing that through you. Did Sean give you any special directions for those moments?

YB: It’s impossible. I think that it’s impossible to do some special direction is in so sensitive things. We just discussing every time, everything but discussing by words. It’s one side of this question and really do this it’s another side. So I just try to keep my attention to Mikey all way and after that it’s already part of Sean editing of all this and combine all these frames for explain story of these people and grow in this relationship. It’s all Sean’s editing. Yeah.

EA: Was there a scene in the script that you were looking forward to shooting the most and were there any that you were scared about?

YB: No, it was absolutely not scary. I really wanted to do this already to start and it was very, very interesting and because of Sean was very open. It was absolutely not scary. And script is just a map and of course I read the script and understand, okay, it’s story about that, but finally nobody knows what will happen and I can’t wait for already start this magic.

EA: Compartment No. 6 is where Sean saw you and wanted to do something with you and that won a prize at Cannes and then Anora won the top prize at Cannes. Are you the lucky charm here?

Yura Borisov: (laughs) I know. You say, I don’t know. (laughs)

EA: We’ll see what’s next.

YB: We’ll see.

EA: You’ve been acting since you were a teenager, and most people will know you now from Anora and Compartment No. 6. Is there a film or a television series that you’ve done that you want people to watch to start looking back at your career?

YB: You know, people could watch what they want. It’s not depend on me (laughs). And there are lots of very interesting things in universe, more interesting than my films, I’m serious, and I believe in it. That’s why if someone interesting of something, of course you can Google and find it-

EA: Sure.

YB: But I can’t recommend some.

EA: What would you be doing if you weren’t acting?

YB: When I was in kindergarten, I said that I want to be cosmonaut. Yeah. I don’t know why just now I already understand why it’s cosmonaut. It’s very fractured people but for me it was mostly about like a dream. Like I want to go somewhere where nobody was before, you know?

EA: Yeah.

YB: Something like that. It’s all about feeling. That’s why I can say that. I can say that I’m an actor. Of course, technically I’m an actor, but it’s just for me trying to live my life. Just trying to live my life. I don’t know why I’m an actor.

EA: But you are. Here you are.

YB: Yeah.

EA: I looked at what you have coming up and I saw three television shows and two movies. Do you ever take a break?

YB: (laughs) No, of course. I have breaks with my family and I like it and it’s giving me power every time, but I like work because for me I don’t feel that it’s work. I feel that it’s part of my life and it’s more easy to work for me than not to work. That’s why I can’t say that it’s hard and I don’t want to do it or this is for money or for, I don’t know. It’s just very, very interesting. Sometimes you meet some interesting people and discussing some interesting things about life, about universe, about God and I just trying to find truth in my life always. And it’s cool that I have people around me and artists around me with who I can try to find it. Yeah.

EA: Is there a type of character or a movie that you haven’t done that you would like to do?

YB: It’s interesting for me trying to do some body language comedy or maybe not comedy, but some bad, bad language without words, but mostly it’s, you know what I mean. But I don’t know what, and I’m sure I’ll do something like that, but I don’t know where, with who, when. But I think for me it’s like top of my part job. If I could tell the story only by my energy, by the eyes. It’s tough for me.

EA: And you do that so much in Anora, I think that’s the energy that you’re bringing that and giving out. Thanks for taking some time with me today, Yura.

YB: Thank you.

Anora is currently in theaters from NEON.