Mikey Madison has had one of the year's major breakthroughs for her role in director Sean Baker's "Anora". The film received the finest prize, the Golden Palm, at the festival in Cannes in May, and Mikey Madison is expected to be Oscar-nominated for her performance.
If the 90s classic "Pretty Woman" with Richard Gere and Julia Roberts presented a romanticized image of prostitution, "Anora" is a more socially realistic story about stripper Ani, who gets paid by the Russian spoiled oligarch son Vanja to become his wife.
It's an iconic film, of course. I honestly didn't make that connection while we were filming, but now several people have made the comparison, notes Mikey Madison.
A lot of research
Mikey Madison spent time at strip clubs to learn about the daily life of the women who work there.
I wanted Ani's situation to be very credible and realistically portrayed. So, to be able to portray sex workers in a nuanced way, it was important for me to do a lot of research.
She even moved to the Brighton Beach neighborhood in New York before filming to learn more about the area where many Russians live.
I wanted to live in her world, and I had already learned the accent I do in the film. So, I could fine-tune it when I finally lived in Brighton Beach. I tried to learn as much Russian as I could during the time, she explains.
Screwball comedy
"Anora" starts as a drama, but soon develops into almost a comedic farce, inspired by "screwball" comedies from Hollywood's golden age. Vanja dumps Ani and flees when his rich and ruthless parents back in Russia discover what's going on in New York.
The hunt for Vanja becomes increasingly desperate – and violent and funny.
Mikey Madison is previously best known from the comedy series "Better Things". But director Sean Baker hadn't seen the series and chose the actress for the role of Ani after seeing her in the films "Once upon a time in Hollywood" and "Scream".
I was at the cinema and saw "Scream" and knew immediately: we want her. So, I turned to my wife and producer Samantha Quan and said: "We'll call her agent directly after the movie". And that's what we did, says Sean Baker.
"Anora" will have its Swedish premiere on December 6.
25 years old, grew up in Los Angeles.
Made her first films as a teenager and got the role as Max Fox in the TV series "Better Things" in 2016. She played Sadie in Charles Manson's murder gang in "Once upon a time in Hollywood" and also had a role in the new version of "Scream", 2022. This year, she has been seen in the miniseries "Lady in the Lake" on Apple TV+.
