Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 star Maria Bakalova didn’t know she was auditioning for Cosmo the Dog

Maria Bakalova didn’t know she was up for the role of Cosmo the Space Dog when she auditioned for ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’.

The 28-year-old actress voiced the otherworldly mutt in the 2023 Marvel Cinematic Universe blockbuster, though director James Gunn and casting director Sarah Finn kept the role she was auditioning for a secret.

In an interview with Collider, Bakalova said: “I got this audition not knowing what I'm auditioning for because it wasn't written, like, ‘It's going to be ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’, or, ‘It's going to be a dog.’ Nothing.

“I just did an audition where I was required to do something with, like, high-pitched energy. Then the next thing was to do a Zoom audition with Sarah and James, and then I saw that that's a dog.

“I was like, ‘Okay. That's interesting. Should I go on all fours? What do I do?’. And he was very supportive from the beginning.”

‘The Apprentice’ star heaped praise onto Gunn, and said the director was “incredible from the auditioning process until the end”.

She gushed: “I was a fan of ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’. It made me feel very special because I think that's what James does so brilliantly.

“He creates stories about these misfits, like characters that don't belong somewhere, but they're in search of belonging somewhere. At the end, they found their chosen family, they found their friends, and it gives you a bit of hope that there is always somebody for you, somehow a friend, and it's important.

“It brings some heart-warming feelings to you and it's always very funny.”

‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ follows Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), Nebula (Karen Gillan), Groot (Vin Diesel) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff) as they attempt to save the life of Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) after he is fatally injured by Adam Warlock (Will Poulter).

Reflecting on joining the series in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ - which also featured Sean Gunn, Chukwudi Iwuji and Nathan Fillion - Bakalova thanked her co-stars for taking her under their wing and welcoming her into the family.

She said: “You have some of the coolest, nicest, talented people in this franchise.

“You have Chris Pratt, you have Zoe Saldana, you have Dave Bautista, you have Karen Gillan, you have Sean Gunn. You have so many incredible people that have been, honestly, the nicest creatures, the nicest people, the most welcoming people.

“They've been together for 10 years, and when you're new, you don't know where you're going. You don't know how the atmosphere is going to feel. Will they be welcoming? Will they be a little bit taken aback that there is a new person? And they always made me feel like I belonged there, similarly to the movie.”