ANORA Star Mark Eydelshteyn is COSMOPOLITAN’s ‘Love Issue’ Cosmo Centerfold

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We are all crushing on Mark Eydelshteyn. He was one of the breakout stars from 2024’s ANORA, and since then, he has captured the hearts of many onlookers. Aside from being in one of the buzziest—and most awarded—films of last year, Mark is cementing himself as both an international star and a total dreamboat. As COSMOPOLITAN’s Love Issue Cosmo Centerfold, the 22-year-old actor shares how wild the awards campaign process has been, how he feels about taking his clothes off for Cosmo, and whether he considers himself a romantic person.

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On what doing screenings with the cast of Anora feels like: “You’re swimming in this reality, and you don’t know where—you’re just swimming straight…. Every day there’s a very high degree of pride and happiness, and every day is full of emotions. I’m realizing that it’s a big job to accommodate all these feelings and emotions inside you and analyze it. In this journey of Anora, it’s very important to really understand it. Right now, you have to be happy, because all of us did it, and it’s already done. Sean and Mikey and Yura (Borisov, who plays Igor) and the whole team deserves it, and we have to be happy and open.”

On what he thinks Ivan really feels about Anora, whether Ivan loves Anora from a real place: “My question to you is, do you think it’s good for the audience to know my answer? Our story between Ivan and Anora, I love it because it feels like, firstly, a romantic comedy, then it’s like a road trip, and then drama. It’s like a movie from the past, an iconic Hollywood movie without special effects. But what’s very unique and modern in this story that you can interpret it how you want. It’s like the painting ‘Black Square’ by Kazimir Malevich. Everybody will see something important for them. And if I answer this question, it will already be less interesting.”

On how his life has changed since the film premiered: “If our life was a roller coaster, after the premiere, the roller coaster started to go down, down, down, down, down, very fast. And you know this feeling when you’re on the roller coaster? You can’t breathe—you’re just so excited. Because you know that then it will be a little bit slower, and you will go up again. And the thing that helps me not pass out on the roller coaster is our amazing crew. Sean is close to me, Mikey is close to me, and Yura. And we are together on this roller coaster, right?”

On what it was like to be asked to be Cosmo Centerfold: “In that moment, I’m thinking about the movie, because I’m pretty sure that Cosmopolitan magazine is very big, and not everybody from your audience is into independent movie making, maybe. And that’s okay, I wasn’t into Sean Baker’s movies before either. When they suggested I do it, I thought, Okay, I have to do it the best I can to tell people about our movie. I’m very grateful to Cosmopolitan magazine that it’s my most extremely nude in the soul way, not like nude. I was nude, for example, in the movie already, and it’s not a challenge for me. But it wasn’t me, it was my character, and in this photo shoot, it was me. It’s some level of intimate—it’s new for me.”

On his version of a perfect date: “The best date is some risky adventure. Because you can really feel if it’s your person or not your person in a risky situation, when it’s dangerous, when you’re doing something unusual. Because you can understand a lot about the person. When you are in risky situation, you no longer have your mask on.”

On whether he considers himself a romantic person: “I’m a romantic person. I feel like every person who is obsessed with art is a romantic person. Being a romantic is about beauty, and art is also about beauty.”

 On seeing beauty: “Maybe it’s some base feature in your identity. If, when you’re a kid, you’re starting to see something beautiful in a common thing, it means that, unfortunately, you have to connect your life with art. You can’t teach yourself how to be romantic. I think girls can feel when it’s fake. I think you’re born with it or it happens when you’re a kid, subconsciously. It’s not your choice.”

On the most romantic thing he’s done for someone: “For a very important person, I created and improvised a fairy tale because they wanted to sleep, and it was very difficult for this person to fall asleep. And I told a fairy tale. She fell asleep. That’s the best appreciation, in this case.”

On how he feels about dating in this moment: “Unfortunately, it feels like it’s not the time for a relationship. Because I want my partner to be confident that I’ll be close and I’ll be a supporter and I’ll be a shoulder to cry on. But because of the circumstances of my life, even for people who I love, I can’t be that shoulder to cry on. I can’t physically be there.”

On love: “I thought that my heart was the most important part of me. But there is not only the heart, but maybe the soul, maybe the mind, that are also important. It’s not like in romantic books, Yes, just turn off your mind. You just have to feel. It’s a trap. It’s a fucking trap. It’s quite easy to follow your heart, but love is not an easy thing. People are very complicated, and relationships between people are even more complicated.

“If you think that love is important for you, you have to be ready for the adventure, the big journey with a lot of drama and lots of sacrifices. Nobody can guarantee that you will be happy.”

[Photo Credit:  Ruben Chamorro for Cosmopolitan Magazine]

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