Mikey Madison on Her ‘Anora’ Oscar Moment and Why She Played a Saved Voicemail From Her Father to Shoot Crucial Final Scene
Mikey Madison is still processing her Oscar nomination.
The 24-year-old actress, known for her roles in the FX series “Better Things,” as well as the films “Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood” and “Scream 5,” has been a working actor for over a decade, navigating the highs and heartbreaks of the industry. But this year, after her searing performance in Sean Baker’s Palme d’Or winner “Anora,” she’s found herself in the midst of awards season and an Oscar nominee for best actress.
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Madison spoke to Variety’s Awards Circuit podcast for this week’s episode; listen below.
As much as “Anora” demanded from her, nothing compared to the final scene. Madison had been dreading it. “I would see it on the schedule and just think, Okay, it’s a couple weeks away, I don’t have to deal with it yet,” she says. “But then suddenly, it was right there.”
What makes the scene even more poignant is that Madison drew inspiration from a deeply personal source: a voicemail left by her father. “I listened to it before filming,” she reveals. “I don’t think I’ve ever used something so personal for a scene before. But it felt necessary. That scene, what Annie goes through, needed to feel completely real.”
The result was nothing short of staggering. When “Anora” premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, the audience sat silently for nearly a minute after the credits rolled. “I remember looking at Sean and thinking, Well, damn. That’s it.” she says. “And then suddenly, this massive standing ovation. It was surreal.” The film went on to win the Palme d’Or, securing its place in cinematic history, and now, she’s an Oscar nominee, which is hard for her to believe.
“I mean, obviously, it’s been something that I’ve thought about and daydreamed about for so long,” Madison says during an episode of the Variety Awards Circuit Podcast, as she still sounds slightly dazed by the reality of it all. “To ever be in a position like this, my sense of reality is slightly off. Because then I just went home, it was like scrubbing my house and taking care of my dogs. Everything felt the same.”
Madison is sitting cross-legged in the studio, casually dressed, with her orange Chihuahua, named Larrabee Strawberry Jam, curled up in her lap. The story behind the name? “I just couldn’t decide,” she laughs. “So I figured, why not give him all of them?” She also has a cat named Biscuit, and naturally, the names had to match. Larrabee, unimpressed by the significance of his owner’s Oscar moment, lets out an occasional high-pitched whimper throughout the conversation and stops us in our tracks because he has to poop.
Madison admits she never let herself believe a nomination was possible. “I definitely approach things with a protective layer around me,” she says. “I’ve had so much heartbreak in this industry. There have been so many times where I’ve gotten my dream role, and then, for whatever reason, the rug’s been pulled out from under me.”
Even as buzz around “Anora” built through festival season, she remained skeptical. “I was like, no, it’s not happening. I wouldn’t allow myself to actually think that it was real.”
Baker’s “Anora,” a raw, electric dramedy about a young sex worker who falls in love with the son of a Russian oligarch, came out of nowhere for Madison. “I had just finished ‘Scream,’ and maybe two days later, I got a phone call from my agent saying Sean wanted to pitch me a movie idea,” she recalls. “I was a fan of his work, but I’d never had someone of his caliber just…reach out to me.”
The meeting itself was unconventional. “I remember thinking, Is this an audition? Am I going to have to read?” she recalls. “But he just sat me down and said, ‘Hey, this is a loose idea I have for a movie. I want you to be in it.’ And I was like, ‘Yes… but wait, that’s not how this works.’”
Unlike most of her past roles, “Anora” was the first job she didn’t have to audition for. “I was scrolling through my Dropbox the other day and saw hundreds of auditions I’ve done — so many hours of work. And this was the one time I didn’t have to audition. But then, everything that came after was extremely difficult.”
Baker, known for his immersive, vérité-style filmmaking with films such as “The Florida Project” and “Tangerine,” pushed Madison to her limits. “Anora” required an intensity that was both emotional and physical, as Madison embodied a character who never stops moving, fighting, screaming, and surviving. “I move through the world at a slower pace,” she admits. “I take my time. Annie is the opposite — she lives at the fastest pace possible, constantly going, constantly hustling. It was exhausting.”
By the time filming wrapped, Madison was utterly drained. “I didn’t even realize how tired I was until I stopped. There was a week when I was lying in bed. Why do I feel like I have the flu? And it hit me — I had just been running on adrenaline for months.”
Now, with an Oscar nomination under her belt, Madison is still finding her footing in the chaos of awards season. “It’s all a little overwhelming,” she admits, stroking Larrabee’s tiny head. “But at the end of the day, I just want to keep working. That’s always been the goal.”
For now, she’s savoring the moment — no matter how surreal it feels.
Also, on this episode, “The Wild Robot” composer Kris Bowers, while the Roundtable discusses the wide-open best picture and director race, with DGA and PGA ahead.
Listen to previous podcast episodes
Variety Awards Circuit Podcast
Variety’s “Awards Circuit” podcast, hosted by Clayton Davis, Jazz Tangcay, Emily Longeretta, Jenelle Riley and Michael Schneider, who also produces, is your one-stop source for lively conversations about the best in film and television. Each episode, “Awards Circuit” features interviews with top film and TV talent and creatives, discussions and debates about awards races and industry headlines, and much more. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or anywhere you download podcasts.
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