Yura Borisov does not have a flashy entrance in “Anora.” His character Igor isn’t even introduced until the movie’s nearly halfway through. He’s just the hired muscle, quietly observing and reacting to the quickly devolving situation around him. And yet you can’t take your eyes off of this stranger.
Up until that point it’s been the Mikey Madison show, a chronicle of her character Ani’s whirlwind romance with the spendy, wild son of a Russian oligarch. Igor arrives at the turning point, the end of the honeymoon and the beginning of a swift descent into a chaotic, all-night manhunt. And soon he establishes himself not just as an intriguing outsider, but the soul of the film: The henchman with a heart.
It’s a performance that has caught many off guard: An introduction to a fresh face with an undeniable star quality that has earned him nominations from the Oscars, the Screen Actors Guild and the BAFTAs. But Borisov, 32, is only a newcomer in some parts of the world. Already a star in Russia, Borisov broke through on the international scene in the Cannes title “Compartment No. 6” as the uncouth miner sharing a cramped room with a Finnish student on a long train ride through Russia.
That was the performance that made filmmaker Sean Baker take note and give him a call about participating in what would become “Anora.” Baker has described his secret weapon, who quickly becomes the beating heart and soul of the film, as the “Russian Ryan Gosling.” Borisov is flattered, but also little confused by the comparison.
“I love Ryan Gosling and very interested to work with him one day. I’ve seen his films. He plays very, very cool. But I don’t know what he means,” Borisov laughed. “Let’s ask Sean.”
Baker, for his part, knew he had a ringer in Borisov but doesn’t show his hand from the top. He strings the audience along, letting them feel like they’re discovering something too. The 28-minute real-time home invasion scene where we meet Igor was actually Borisov’s first to film. It was rehearsed and discussed in detail before the cameras started rolling. In all, it took about eight days to film and three months to edit.
“We discussed everything trying to find the balance humor and scares and drama and comedy because it’s important for this scene to,” Borisov said. “But for me I’m just thinking about a real person named Igor and a real person named Anora.”
He and Baker spoke a lot about Igor’s past, his story, his dreams and his clothes. The white Nike sneakers as contrast to Igor’s all black outfit, he thought, were particularly poignant — a symbol of Igor’s soul. He liked that his director would ask him if he thought Igor might do this or that instead of just telling him to do something.
But Borisov is not the kind of actor who thinks that he has much interesting to say or explain about his performance. If he could, he said, he’d be a writer. For him, it’s the work that does the talking.
“The most important is what do you feel when you see the film,” he said. “It’s not so important what we were discussing.”
The week that Borisov spoke to the AP was the week “Anora” had emerged as the frontrunner in an awards race that had previously been wide open. The supporting actor category however, competitive as it may be with nominees like Edward Norton, Guy Pearce and Jeremy Strong, has been considered Kieran Culkin’s to lose for some time now. But it’s still significant: Borisov is the first Russian actor to get an Oscar nomination since Mikhail Baryshnikov’s nod in 1977 for “The Turning Point.”
“I’m happy that it means something for a lot of people and that’s why it means a lot for me,” he said. “People could feel some hope maybe inside them, maybe proud inside them, you know? “
It’s been a wild ride since Cannes and the end is now in sight. Soon he’d be leaving for London, to attend the BAFTAs — where he would get to celebrate Madison’s surprise win (seriously, no one looked more exited than Borisov and Mark Eydelshteyn )— and in two weeks Los Angeles for the Oscars. The accolades and nominations have been exciting, though the impulse to keep the conversations going with all the interesting people he’s met along the way has led to more than few late nights.
“It’s kind of a crazy, crazy time,” he said.
It’s too early for him to talk publicly about how much the raised profile has impacted his career, but, he teased “life is changing.” And if he’s being completely honest, he’s happiest about simply getting to spend more time with the people he made the film with.
“Maybe it looks like kind of stupid because you could say that ‘man, it’s awards, it’s big opportunities for you, why are you talking about spend time with your friends?'” Borisov said. “Maybe it’s kind of stupid, but for me, it’s still important to spend this time with them together. Because without this stuff, we will go to live our life separately. And it will be one day, of course, and I’m kind of sad about this but it just will come. Now we’re still together and I’m happy about this.”
