Who plays Borat's daughter in the Borat sequel?
Maria Bakalova is a Bulgarian actress who portrays 15-year-old Tutar Sagdiyev, the teenage daughter of Borat, in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, released October 23.
In the film, Borat is tasked by Kazakhstan leadership to deliver a gift, which ends up being his daughter, to Vice President Mike Pence as a means to improve the country's reputation after being tarnished by the first Borat film, released in 2006.
The initial press release reported that the role of Tutar would be played by Irina Novak, which was later discovered to be a pseudonym. Bakalova is 24 years old and studied acting at the Bulgarian National School of Arts.
The scene-stealer previously starred in films from her home country including 2018's Transgression and this year's Last Call.
After starring in the comedy mockumentary film with Sacha Baron Cohen, a controversial scene with President Donald Trump's attorney, Rudy Giuliani, went viral online and in the news.
During the scene in question, Bakalova's character pretends to be a young Russian political reporter as she interviews Giuliani in a private hotel suite, which is rigged with hidden cameras.
At one point, the pair help each other remove their microphones. Giuliani can then be seen laying on his back on the bed while he fiddles with his hand down his pants, with Bakalova still in the room.
Suddenly, Borat (Baron Cohen) bursts into the room and exclaims that the 15-year-old character is too old for Giuliani and that he should have sex with him instead.
Some viewers believe that Giuliani was not simply tucking his shift in after taking his microphone off, but rather getting ready to perform a sexual act. Giuliani addressed the scene on Twitter, claiming that the allegation is a "complete fabrication."