Mikey Madisonhas been the talk of the town since her latest filmAnoradebuted at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2024, where it won the coveted Palme d’Or. She plays the title role in Sean Baker’s film, and her performance has been met with rave reviews from critics. Naturally, there’s a lot of Oscar talk around Madison, who completely disappears into the role of a Brooklyn sex worker who gets swept off her feet by Ivan, the hard-partying son of a Russian oligarch (Mark Eydelshteyn).
The young actress first garnered critical acclaim when she appeared as Susan “Sadie” Atkins, a Manson Family member and one of Sharon Tate’s killers, inQuentin Tarantino’sOnce Upon a Time… in Hollywood. In an interview with Jimmy Kimmel (via Bleeding Cool), Madison shared her experience auditioning for the film, revealing that she went completely over the top and gave it her all:
“[Tarantino is] my absolute hero. He’s one of the reasons I wanted to be an actress. I got this audition, I think I was like 19 years old, and I was like, this is my one opportunity to meet Quentin Tarantino, so I’m just gonna go all out. I did a lot of research into the Manson Family, and I found out that they would take a lot of acid trips together, so I painted this painting like my character was on this wild acid trip, and I wrote a very dramatic poem to Charles Manson on the back.
I cut off a piece of my hair and sowed it, and I very dramatically performed it to Quentin, and I guess he liked it. That’s how I knew that I got the role because I walked into the chemistry read, and it was hanging in his office.”
‘Scream’ Convinced Sean Baker That Mikey Madison Was Perfect For ‘Anora’
Fans of Madison’s work will no doubt point to her performance inScream(2022) as another high point in her career. As Amber Freeman, who (SPOILER) turns out to beone of the killers, Madison showed she could maneuver between an innocent victim and a deranged murderer effortlessly. The reveal that Amber is a Ghostface is one of the franchise’s best, and that’s by and large due to Madison’s acting in the shocking scene.
Anora Review: Mikey Madison Is Exhilarating in Sean Baker’s Screwball Comedy [Fantastic Fest]
Sean Baker’s latest is a thrilling throwback to classic moviemaking with a star-making turn from Mikey Madison as a sex worker who marries up.
One person who immediately saw Madison’s talent upon seeingScreamwas Sean Baker, thewriter and director ofAnora, who, like many, first took notice of Madison after seeingOnce Upon a Time… in Hollywood.Anorais in theaters now, and available to pre-order digitally on Amazon and Apple, with Baker revealing toVariety:
“I was in the theater next to my wife and producer [Samantha Quan], and I turned to her and I said, ‘We’re calling Mikey’s reps the minute we leave the theater… I just saw in those two roles that she could give me everything I needed for [‘Anora’].”
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
