Italian star Anna Magnani became the first non-English-speaking star to win a best actress Oscar in 1955 for “The Rose Tattoo,” but the film was an in English, co-starring Burt Lancaster.
In 1961, Magnani’s compatriot, Sophia Loren, became the first foreign performer to win the Best Actress Oscar for De Sica’s Italian-speaking picture, Two Women.
This award season boasts top acting contenders from outside the U.S.: Spain, Russia, Brazil.
Karla Sofía Gascón: Spanish Trans
“I’ve worked in Milan, in London, in Mexico, and every time I’ve changed countries, it’s a completely different world,” says Spanish star Karla Sofía Gascón, a trans actor who plays a Mexican drug kingpin before and after her transition in the Spanish-language musical crime film “Emilia Pérez.” “You need to start from zero each time, and that takes a lot of courage.”
She’s won a best actress European Film Award and shared another in Cannes with her U.S.-born co-stars Zoe Saldaña and Selena Gomez and Mexican-born Adriana Paz – and the actors have picked up more nominations since then.
Influx of overseas award contenders?
“Art is something that knows no barriers, no languages, no borders,” she says, “It puts us all in the same place.”
“I’m Still Here” star Fernanda Torres earned her first Golden Globe nomination. She also won a statue at the ceremony, but unlike most other winners, hers came with a sense of déjà vu. Her mother, Fernanda Montenegro – who plays an elderly version of Torres’ character in the political family drama – earned a 1999 best actress Oscar nomination for “Central Station” with the same director, Walter Salles. It’s Torres’ first big international honor since a 1986 Cannes best actress award for “Eu Sei Que Vou Te Amar” at age 20. “Here” is also based on the story of a family who Salles was close to, whose father was disappeared by the Brazilian government in the early 1970s.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science’s efforts to expand its international membership and diversify across the board – more than doubling the number of women and members of color – have arguably made Oscar voters more open to a wider range of talent.
“When I was an AMPAS docu branch governor, we had the A2020 initiative to expand the diverse voices in the Academy,” says Roger Ross Williams. “We became the first branch to reach gender parity and expanded international membership around the world. It had an incredible impact on the nominees.”
Yura Borisov: Russia
This may help make an international star out of Russian actor Yura Borisov, whose funny and quietly hypnotic performance as a reluctant henchman in “Anora” garnered Indie Spirit, Critics Choice and Gotham supporting actor nominations, plus critics wins in L.A., San Francisco and Toronto.
He’s recently been successful at home, nabbing three Nika nomiations (Russia’s Oscar equivalent) and the title role in upcoming Aleksandr Pushkin biopic, “The Poet.”
Borisov’s English has improved since he filmed “Anora” in Brooklyn, which took him away from his wife and two children. “Every time I shoot a film, I try to live my life with an energy [similar to] my character,” he says. “It was my first time in America, and everything was new for me.” As the first to arrive in New York a few days before he went to the set, he “was feeling very lonely, and I understood that I couldn’t change it. That’s why it had to be part of [my character.]” Things got better when his pal Eydelshteyn, who he recommended for the role of a spoiled billionaire’s son, showed up. And there will likely be more travelling in Borisov’s future. “I want to focus on projects that are interesting all over the world,” he says.
Maria Bakalova: Bulgaria
Maria Bakalova’s career path is a goal for overseas actors looking to work in Hollywood. The Bulgarian actress earned a 2021 Oscar nom for her role in the comedy sequel “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.” It helped her land the role of Ivana Trump in the Donald Trump biopic “The Apprentice,” garnering Globe noms for her costars Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong. Her “Borat” nomination also gave her the clout and connections to launch a production company, Five Oceans, which she used to produce and star in Bulgaria’s official Oscar selection for international feature, “Triumph.” The comedy satirizes a stranger-than-fiction psychic government investigation that actually happened in the 1990s.
Though “Triumph” didn’t make the Oscar shortlist, Bakalova sees getting it made it as a triumph in and of itself. “My producing partner Julian Kostov and I wanted to do something with people from my region who usually don’t get a lot of representation because of stereotypes,” she says. “We want to do films that feel universal and authentic, that are going to shine light on their original stories.”
Not every non-American contender is a newcomer to Hollywood. Italian-born “Conclave” star Isabella Rossellini, a Globe supporting actress nominee and daughter of screen legends Ingrid Bergman and Roberto Rossellini, has starred in U.S. films for decades. And “Anora” Indie Spirit supporting performance nominee Karren Karagulian, who emigrated here from Armenia in 1990, pitched the idea of a Brighton Beach-set film to director Sean Baker years ago. The pair have collaborated on films for a quarter-century. “My connection to the Armenian and Russian communities helped a lot in creating the story and shooting it as well,” he says. “I get messages every day from people thanking me for portraying the cultural nuances with such precision.”
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