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Mikey Madison is having a fairytale year. The 25-year-old Los Angeles native, so far best known for her parts in Better Things, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Scream, and Lady in the Lake, is about to become a household name with her barnstorming leading role in Sean Baker’s Anora, the madcap tale of a Russian-American stripper with a heart of gold. Street-smart but hopelessly romantic, steely but impossibly sweet, this New Yorker is in for one hell of a ride.
When we first meet the vivacious Anora, who goes by Ani, as the camera sweeps through the strip club while Take That’s “Greatest Day” is on full blast (yes, really), she’s in her element—dressed to kill, with glittering tinsel in her hair and her charisma undeniable as she works the room. But then, one VIP—the bumbling young Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn), the errant son of a wealthy Russian oligarch—changes her life. They take a shine to each other and, before she knows it, Ani is giving him the girlfriend experience and then—wait for it—flying to Vegas to elope.
However, Pretty Woman this is not: What begins as a sweeping romance morphs into a raucous screwball comedy as Ivan’s family attempts to stage an intervention—one involving physically restraining the formidable Ani as she throws punches and her new husband flees. After that, in the film’s final act, the tone shifts once more, and Ani’s righteous fury gives way to an overwhelming heartbreak.
It works because Madison is simply extraordinary—and the world is taking notice. She was the toast of Cannes back in the spring, floating down the Croisette in air-light, cotton candy-pink Chanel and celebrating with Baker when the mile-a-minute romp went on to scoop the Palme d’Or. And now, as Anora is finally about to hit the big screen, she’s leading the pack in the 2025 best-actress Oscar race.
Ahead of the movie’s London Film Festival screening, I met Madison—soft-spoken, incandescently beautiful, and dressed head to toe in black—at the Corinthia hotel, where she opened up about leaning to twerk, doing her own stunts, her fashion evolution, and how she transitioned from competitive horseback riding to acting for The Run-Through with Vogue. Read an edited excerpt of our conversation below.
Vogue: How did Anora come to you? I read that Sean Baker saw you in Scream and immediately called your agent?
Mikey Madison: Yeah, Sean saw me in Scream opening weekend and reached out, like, a day after and said he wanted to pitch me a movie. We met for coffee, he told me a loose idea for the story and character, and I immediately said yes. Then came all of the preparation I had to do, so it was about a year later that we were on set filming.
What was it like having a part like this written especially for you?
It’s really special. I’ve never had a director want to write a film for me before, especially somebody like Sean, whose films I really loved. I think a part of me definitely had some imposter syndrome, but I tried to put that aside and just focus on the character.
Ani is fascinating. What were you most excited to explore with her?
She’s very different from who I am. I admire her fighting spirit and her hopefulness—she’s very scrappy. She fights very dirty—physically and verbally [laughs]. She doesn’t think before she speaks. She believes everything she says with every fiber of her being. Energy-wise, we’re so contrasting.
And I know you guys made a Pinterest board of inspiration for the film. What was on it?
I love making those—I do it for a lot of characters that I’ve played. For Ani, I had long acrylic nails and fake lashes. Sean also sent me some film references before we started shooting: the Japanese film Female Prisoner, Lulu, and some ’70s Italian sexploitation films as well.
How else did you prepare?
While Sean was writing the script, he and I were constantly talking. I was able to read memoirs written by sex workers. I watched documentaries. I devoured YouTube videos that were like “A night in my life as a dancer.” I learned some Russian, which I had no prior knowledge of, which was cool. I worked on a dialect for the accent—it’s very specific to Brooklyn and Brighton Beach. And then obviously dancing—I worked with an amazing coach. I had no dance experience. I was embarrassed at times. There was a moment when we’d been doing, like, a month of dance training, and my coach turned on the music and was like, “It’s time to talk about twerking.” I was so scared. I was like, “This is not going to be something I’m good at. Nothing’s going to move!” But we started slowly. It was so important to get the twerking right! I think I was naïve about how difficult it would be, but I’m also very stubborn, so I was able to get it done.
And you did your own stunts, too?
Yeah, this is my first time doing absolutely everything myself, and it was important to me, for this film and this character. I wanted to experience everything. I’d immersed so many other parts of myself—like, my entire life—into creating this character. I was giving everything to it, so I was like, I might as well do the stunts too.
And you ended up quite bruised, right?
After the first take, Sean and I looked at each other, because to, like, actually jump in and film those scenes was scary. I didn’t think I’d actually get hurt, but I was literally covered in bruises. I bruise easily [laughs]. We’d take like an hour in the morning to literally paint my legs so that you couldn’t see the bruises anymore.
Your screaming is also very impressive.
I was screaming for a lot of takes [laughs]. The weirdest thing about that was everyone on set was kind of distraught—it’s a pretty intense scene—and then I find out that Mark [Eydelshteyn], who plays Ivan, was upstairs taking a nap that entire time.
That’s so funny. He’s so great in the film. Did you get to hang out much?
He’s such a funny person—really hilarious. We had time to get to know each other a little bit before filming, and his English wasn’t as evolved as it is now. I remember one of the first things he said to me was, he was describing what it was like to look out the window onto New York City, and he was like, “I had the world at the tip of my nipple.” I was like, “What?” Like, he was trying to say that the whole world was in the palm of his hand, but he said that. I think I laughed for like 30 minutes. I think that summed him up as a person, and also what he brought to the character. He injected him with this earnest naïveté in the beginning, which was really disarming for me as an actor and I think also for Ani as a character.
Anora weaves together comedy and tragedy so beautifully. Is that a fine line to walk in your performance?
I spent a lot of time thinking about this character and asking myself lots of questions about who she is and what her morals are. I wanted to know her like the back of my hand. She’s very layered and complex. Having done that work, each scene felt kind of intuitive. She’s a very sensitive person, but she’s constantly covering it with some kind of pain or anger. But nobody is just angry or sassy. There’s always something underneath that. It was important for me to always be conscious of that.
The film won the Palme d’Or at Cannes. What was that moment like?
It was quite surreal. It had been my dream to go to that festival since I became an actor, and that was the first time I’d ever been to any film festival! I remember Sean calling and telling me we were going to be in the main competition and I was like… I could have cried.
And now you’re a best-actress Oscar frontrunner going into 2025. How does that feel?
I’ve been asked a version of this a lot, and all I can say is, I’m just really happy that people feel so strongly about the film and that it’s creating conversation. It’s exciting.
I have to ask you about fashion, too. I loved seeing you in Chanel at Cannes. How do you approach red-carpet dressing? Do you have a stylist?
I do! I started working with Jamie Mizrahi, who I really like and I think really understands my sense of style, which has evolved quite a bit over the past two years. I found myself getting into a place of only dressing very comfortably—like, jeans and a T-shirt or a cashmere sweater and some cowboy boots. So it felt a little unnatural to put a gown on, and I was like, “I don’t really know what I like and what I don’t like.” So, it’s nice, because I now have a much better sense of that and it’s great to be guided a little bit.
Are you excited to dress for awards season?
I’ve always loved fashion and, when I was younger, I was so experimental with clothing. There was a period just a couple years ago when I was super into Victorian dresses and I would mix them with combat boots, so it was this grunge look with a very delicate dress. And then, when I was 18 or 19, I was really into ’70s-style dresses. I’ve always loved vintage and I have a crazy collection of very interesting clothing that I don’t quite feel comfortable wearing now, but I cannot give up.
You absolutely can’t.
Do you know what I mean? I have this closet full of crazy vintage clothes, and I need more space, but I can’t ever get rid of these dresses. I’m excited about experimenting more because you don’t often get to wear dresses like that in everyday life. I don’t really get to go to parties where you get to be that glamorous all the time. It’s really fun.
I’m excited to see you do more of that going forward. Speaking of your childhood, I know that your parents are both psychologists and no one in your family comes from an acting background. How did you realize you wanted to be an actor?
I’d actually been doing competitive horseback riding my entire life, and then I sort of started to become interested in film. I’d always liked movies—growing up, I loved Stand by Me, Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles. I loved Molly Ringwald. When I saw Pretty in Pink, I was like, Maybe I want to be a clothing designer? And so my mom signed me up for sewing classes. That wasn’t quite right and then I realized I actually just wanted to be an actress. I was intrigued by the intimacy and the connection that comes with acting. To me, it seemed very brave, deep, and emotional, and I don’t know if that’s something I was feeling as a horseback rider.
That’s so interesting. Are you into equestrian style, too? I feel like it’s having a moment.
I love that, because I literally lived in, like, polo shirts my entire childhood and teenagehood. There’s always something very chic and polished about equestrian gear.
Do you still ride?
Not as much as I used to, but sometimes. I’d like to get back into it more, which is also an excuse to go buy a new riding wardrobe, which would be exciting. I think I’d be more adventurous in the outfits I’d choose now as opposed to when I was younger. I kind of played it by the book. I wanted to be seen as a very serious rider [laughs]. And so I never chose any color pants except for beige. I’d probably get white now.
I don’t know if riding helps you unwind, but how do you relax when not working? I know you have a new puppy.
I do, yes, but that does not help me unwind [laughs]. It’s like the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and also the worst, if I’m being honest. He’s the love of my life and it’s also absolute chaos. He’s six months old now, so he’s calming down a little bit, but he’s six pounds of like… the biggest personality in the world. He’s very cute, he’s a little rescue dog. But to relax, I watch movies, hang out with my friends, cook, and bake a lot. I love cooking and baking for other people specifically, though—it relaxes me. It’s my happy place.
What’s your speciality?
My crowd-pleaser is my chocolate chip cookies, which are, I have to say, very good. I’ve perfected the recipe—it’s been like 10 years now. I do a good lemon loaf as well.
I hope you have more time for baking after all this. What else is next for you?
Right now, I feel like I’m still waiting for that really special character or story to come my way—something I absolutely have to do. That’s important because I’ve realized how emotional my job is, and I feel like I need to have some kind of deep connection to the character that I play in order for it to be meaningful—to me and to the audience.
Anora is in theaters on October 18.
This article was originally published on Vogue.com.
