When Mikey Madison Cried & Struggled To Prepare For Anora, “It Just Seemed Impossible To Me. . .”

Mikey Madison’s journey to her Oscar-winning performance in Anora is a testament to her dedication and resilience. Anora, a Story about a Brooklyn stripper involved in an intense romance with Ivan, the son of a Russian oligarch.

This film demanded not only emotional depth but also the actors’ learning new skills. Madison immersed herself in the role by learning Russian and mastering pole dancing, both of which were integral to authentically depicting her character’s experiences. Learning Russian was a formidable challenge for Madison.

During an interview with Teen Vogue, Madison described the process as initially feeling “impossible,” highlighting the complexity of the language and the pressure to deliver a convincing performance. When asked about the script used to develop her character, Madison shared how she crafted highly realistic portrayals of Ani and the complexity of learning Russian.

“I think Ani is someone who’s so different from me, and so I was aware of that at the beginning and how much research I would need to do in preparation just to understand things about her life that are really foreign to me,” she said. “Obviously the accent work and learning as much Russian as I could, research within the sex work community. And then also just the emotional work I needed to do and backstory about my character of understanding very clearly who she is, what her life is like, what her morals are. So I think I just built those things clearly in my head over time to where finally I was on set, and I felt like the pieces were able to come together in a more clear way.”

Further, when the interviewer asked how she managed a film that was half in English and half in Russian, Madison said: “I’ve never attempted to speak another language before, so it was a lot of work. But also because I didn’t just want to try to memorize the Russian lines and just repeat them. I wanted to, as much as possible, understand exactly what I was saying and what the other character in the scene was saying too, so that it was clear to me. So I knew that it would be a big undertaking.”

“I remember after my first Russian session, it was like two hours long or something, I cried because I thought, I’m never going to be able to accomplish this,” she continued. “It just seemed impossible to me, but I’m also a very stubborn person. So I was like, now I’m going to dedicate myself even more to figuring this out and portraying it in an accurate way. So I would try to fall asleep listening to 12 hours of Russian speaking on YouTube. And yeah, Duolingo obviously, which is still bothering me! I still get notifications from Duolingo, like do you still want to learn Russian? I’m like, no, leave me alone!”

Despite these hurdles, Madison committed herself to rigid study, working closely with language coaches and practicing actively to perfect her accent and fluency. This dedication ensured that her portrayal resonated with authenticity, allowing audiences to fully engage with Ani’s story. Her efforts did not go unseen. Her portrayal won her an Oscar for Best Actress, making her one of the youngest actresses in the category’s history.

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