As I’ve mentioned in some of the awards-nominations posts, I’m so happy that Russian actor Yura Borisov is being nominated for his wonderful performance in Anora. So far, he’s picked up Supporting Actor nominations at the Golden Globes, SAGs, Gothams, Spirit Awards, plus he’s won or been nominated for a bunch of critics’ awards. Yura is a well-known and acclaimed actor in Russia, and Anora is his first American film. Most of his work in Anora is so subtle – a half-smirk here, a longing stare there. While he doesn’t look super-appetizing in photos, he’s incredible in motion. Yura has been around for the whole awards season, and People Magazine did an exclusive interview with him. His English is great, and he seems to be enjoying himself. Some highlights from People:

Yura had no idea who director Sean Baker was: “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?’ ”

Born & raised in Russia: 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.”

‘Anora’ is a big moment in Russia: “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. 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.”

Whether he thinks 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…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.

He told Mikey Madison to really hit him hard in one scene: “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 as a “brilliant actress and person.”

[From People]

If you’ve seen Anora, there are two scenes which basically solidified several awards campaigns – the setpiece altercation in the living room, and the last scene in the car. Those scenes are why Yura and Mikey are getting so much recognition. Anyway, as I was going through the photos, I was so pleased to see that Yura has been doing so much promotion and he’s been showing up for all of the Hollywood events. While he’s not a neophyte to the actor’s life, doing all of this in America must be so wild for him.

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Getty.