How Mikey Madison Brought Anora To Life | PLUS Forces of Fashion Is Here!

0:28Getting the girls trip out of the group chat just feels right. dancer from Brooklyn who seems to get her fairy tale life when she marries the son of a Russian oligarch. But things don't go quite as planned. And I'm excited because this was the talk of Ken. And now we had Mikey Madison, who plays Annie or Anora in the film on the podcast. She sort of became like the fashion darling of Ken. She was in Chanel. She was blowing up the Quasette and all of her cute little ensembles. So we were very excited to have her on the pod. I cannot wait to see this film. I mean, everyone's been raving about it, including my colleague Radhika Seth, who is Vogue's film and culture editor, and she actually got to interview Mikey.

1:10They met at Mikey's hotel and had a great conversation about the film, and it made me so excited to watch it. I know, me too. And before we hear the interview, Choma, it is a big week over here. I don't know about you. I feel your pain from afar because I know Forces of Fashion is a huge deal. Everyone descends on one world trade and it's amazing. And we have another 10 days to stress about it. It's at Central St. Martins for us. But I'm sure that the office feels quite electric right now. Electric is one word. I just went out to get my coffee and they're like stapling boxwoods against to make a step and repeat.

1:52I was like, will I get my sandwich? What's going to happen at lunchtime? Yeah, I have to say on Sunday evening, I like to sort of go through my calendar for the week and sort of map out like what the bedtime situation is going to be, what time I'm leaving in the morning, et cetera. And I was like, this week is horrific. Oh, gosh. Anyway, we are recording this on Tuesday because tomorrow is our forces of fashion extravaganza. It's actually a fantastic lineup of panelists and activities this year. Anna is interviewing Victoria Beckham. Nicki Minaj is going to be here. Simon Port-Jacquemus, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Raul Lopez, and Honey Dijon.

2:38It's a really fun roster of talent. Tonight, big Victoria's Secret fashion show is back. Yeah, what do we think it's going to be? Well, apparently Vanessa Freeman's writing a piece about how fashion forgets too easily because we were all condemning Victoria's Secret a few years ago. And now it's like, oh, we're back. But they do have an exciting lineup. Cher is performing. Lisa from Blackpink. Tyla. There's some very exciting surprise model cameos in the show. When we're recording, this is under NDA. But when this is released, you'll all have seen that Kate Moss and Lila Moss are walking in the show together.

3:22Big moment. Very exciting mother-daughter duo. And British Vogue's beloved Carrie McDermott is actually here in the flesh to report on this. So I'm very excited about that. Tomorrow night is the CFDA Vogue Fashion Fund Awards Dinner. And that is when will be announced the winner of the 10 finalists. There's 10 amazing designers up for the award this year. The winner gets$300 ,000 plus mentorship. Obviously, I don't have to explain this to Choma because she was a longtime judge. We are recording this on a Tuesday afternoon. The winner is being announced tomorrow night. You get a sneak peek, a reveal of the winner since this will be out when we announce.

4:08But you better have to cross your heart and hope to die that you will not reveal this. I'm crossing fingers and toes and I will not reveal anything. OK. So the winner is L 'Enchanteur, which is the jewelry line of Dynasty and Sol Ogun. I've heard about them. They're identical twins. They have an amazing following and they make jewelry that really feels like one of a kind and very special. So this is super exciting. Yeah, I'm very excited about this. Beyonce has worn them, Erykah Badu. And it's exciting. I always love knowing who wins the fashion fund because I do think that it becomes this wonderful platform for designers.

4:48Past recent winners included Christopher John Rogers, Telfar Clemens, Aurora James, Willie Chavaria. It's unusual for an accessories brand to win. It's true. It's very, very exciting. The judging process gets very heated. Everybody has opinions, but they all have to come together to make this decision. So this is a big endorsement for them. And I think their brand has been one that's been around for a while, and they've really made a name for themselves. So it's really great to see them getting the recognition. So Erica texted me. Actually, Erica texted me. Erica Badu. Yeah, with some exciting news a few weeks ago, and I've had to keep it under my hat.

5:29I'm glad that it has now been announced that she is receiving the Icon Award at the CFDAs, which is so exciting. What do we think she's going to wear? Maybe she'll wear L 'Enchanteur. I should ask her. Yeah. But, you know, she's very much a mood person. She'll probably just pick something off the floor the day of the awards. She's not going to plan too much. What else? Oh, so there's the Armani showing in New York for the first time ever this week. Oh, my God. It's just one thing after another this week. The Armani Show, which is black tie at the Armory with a party after the show. It's a whole rigmarole.

6:06The show is planned around. It's about the inauguration of Armani's new building on Madison, which has residences, an Armani restaurant and the boutique. And actually, in anticipation of the show, we had a new episode featuring Nicole Phelps talking to Jim Moore, GQ's creative director at large, about the legacy of Armani. And that just came out on Tuesday. So check that out. The London Film Festival continues in London. So Angelina Jolie's new film this weekend. Ooh, the Maria Callas. That's exciting. Yeah, she's going to be present and giving, I think, a Q &A with the directors. Obviously, Radhika Seth, our colleague, has been very busy.

6:47And a friend of mine is producing a film called Bird that everyone's talking about, too, that Barry Keoghan is in. So I'm excited to see that. Okay. So now I can tell you why I was so keen on seeing the movie Blitz. It's because the star of the movie, Saoirse Ronan, is our November cover. Oh, my God. She has been killing it with her press tour. She just switched stylists. I know. She's now working with Danielle Goldberg, who we love. Danielle does Ayo Adabiri and Greta Lee. She has been on the podcast. Everyone listen up. and I think I just love what Sorsha has been wearing. Same. Like the, was it the Hodakova dress that was like an inverted barber jacket with like the collar as a halter?

7:36Oh, so good. Yeah, I went to see the Hodakova collection up close in Paris and they do really interesting pieces. So I think it is so cool that she chose to wear that brand because I don't think most people have heard of the name. So it was very, I'm very excited for her new fashion era. I think she's always shy in talking about fashion and you'll learn that from the interview. And we were very lucky to have Rennie Edo-Lodge interview her and their conversation is very cool because I think they both see fashion from a more of a cultural standpoint. So it's very interesting. The conversation was very cool.

8:07Yeah. I am sort of obsessed with Shorsha because I love her husband, Jack Loden, who plays River on Slow Horses. Swoon. Right. Swoon couple. We love to see it. No, I'm so excited. It's her first British Vogue cover, so it felt very exciting. And we have Jack Davidson, who's a really talented photographer, shoot the cover, and Nell Kalonji, who's a friend of mine, style it. So it's a really great creative team. And we were in this dilapidated mansion on the bank of the River Thames. And it was just a magical day. And I can't wait for you all to see the pictures because they're great. I'm excited.

8:49Yeah, last week honestly was a big, big news week for Vogue.com. We had – and actually both covers were some of the highest performing of the year. Billie Eilish on Tuesday, men announcements on Wednesday, and then the vice president on Friday morning. And that was a real race to the finish to get that in. Obviously, she's dealing with a lot campaigning and as the vice president. So it was really sort of sneaking in time to photograph her and do the interview. But I think that Nathan did such a great job sort of painting this quite personal portrait of her and this extremely intense period of her life.

9:30Annie Leibovitz shot it. She went to the vice president's residence, had some hiccups when the vice president had to sort of be jumping out to go to different situation room meetings, but then finally captured her on the campaign trail. And it was great to see those sort of action shots, as it were.

9:55The run through will be back after this break.

10:11Right now, in movies, in the opera, even in pop music, divinely inspired women are everywhere. This week on Critics at Large, we make our case. Saints are having a moment. Look, I can spout off any number of cliches, but they're all true. The world is moving faster and faster. Materialism is now reaching every single corner of the globe. It's very hard to say no and to say stop and to say I will do without. And I think that explains some of the modern cultural appeal. I'm Vincent Cunningham. Join me and my co-hosts on Critics at Large from The New Yorker. Find us every Thursday, wherever you get your podcasts.

11:00And we're back. So, Anora is a film by Sean Baker, who's best known for the films The Florida Project and Tangerine, both of which I really loved. It follows Anora, who is a sex worker, exotic dancer, played by Mikey Madison. I know Mikey really leans into this role. And I loved learning about all the ways she prepared to become the character. She told Rad that she even, she learned Russian. She read memoirs by other dancers. She took dance lessons. And Anora has won the Pandora Cannes this year. So basically, I mean, that makes Mikey one of the frontrunners for Best Actress in this award season.

11:43So we'll just also have to see how her fashion game goes. You know, I just thought this was such an insightful interview. I thought it gave you a real sense of how this film was made. And I can't wait for you to hear it and then go see it. so here's Mikey and Radhika

12:01Mikey it's just so so lovely to meet you and I loved Anora so much I actually very luckily got to see it at Cannes it was like amazing to be there for that moment and I think I read that Sean saw you in Scream and then like called your agent was like I need to work with her so tell me that story, please. Yeah, sure. Sean saw me in Scream opening weekend and reached out like a day after, said he wanted to pitch me a movie. And he did. We met for coffee. He told me sort of a loose idea for what the story and character might be. And I immediately said yes. That part of it was very simple in a way and sort of easy and organic and then came all of the preparation that I had to do and so it was about a year from meeting him for the first time till we were on set filming.

12:56And he like wrote it especially for you so what was that like for you to experience because that's insane. Yeah 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 already really loved. I think a part of me definitely had some imposter syndrome going on in terms of that, but I tried to put that aside and just focus on the character and throw all of my energy into cultivating an interesting person, hopefully. Yeah, Annie is just such a fascinating character, but what was the thing that kind of most appealed to you about her or what was the thing you wanted to explore the most?

13:36Well, she's someone that felt very different from who I am, very, very far away from me. But I was interested and really admired her fighting spirit. And I also really liked her hopefulness that kind of went hand in hand with that. She's very scrappy. She's very much a fighter. And she fights very dirty physically and verbally as well. She's someone she doesn't think before she speaks. She just, like, says it. And she believes everything she says with like every fiber of her being. And so it was interesting playing a character like that because I feel like energy-wise we're so, so contrasting.

14:17I think I was reading that you guys made like a Pinterest board of inspiration for the film. And could I ask you what was on it? Like what were the things that you kind of referenced? Well, I love making mood boards. I do for a lot of characters that I've played. And for Annie, I made one sort of like energy-wise, like stills from different films or actresses that I like. And then I made one for clothing, hair and makeup. And so there were lots of like long acrylic nails, pleasers, certain outfits, hairstyles, lashes, things like that. And could you tell me a few of the films and actors that you remember putting on the board?

15:02Yeah, sure. Well, Sean sent me some film references before we filmed. And I think one of them was Female Prisoner, which is a Japanese film from the 70s, I believe. And then another one was Lulu. He sent me some Desperdu films and some like 70s Italian sexploitation films as well. So he's very inspired by Italian film. During the time that he was writing the script, we were constantly talking and collaborating with each other. During that time, I was able to read memoirs written by sex workers. I watched documentaries. I devoured YouTube videos, like a night in my life as a dancer, things like that.

15:49I learned Russian, which wasn't something that I had any prior knowledge of. I worked on a specific dialect for the accent. So I wanted it to be very specific to Brighton Beach and Brooklyn. And then obviously there's like so much physicality to the character that I had to cultivate before filming, like the dancing, which was a really important part of it. I worked with an amazing coach based in Los Angeles, Kennedy Schneider, who taught me everything really and I had no dance experience like absolutely zero like I was embarrassed at certain times like there was a moment where I remember we'd been doing like a month of dance training like pull tricks and she like turned on the music and she's like okay so it's time to talk about twerking and I was like oh no I was so scared I was like this is not going to be something I'm good at like nothing's gonna move I'm too embarrassed even to attempt this and she was like I don't know.

16:53It's going to be great. And so we started slowly with that. But, like, twerking is such an important part of playing a dancer. And so I wanted to try to master a couple twerks. And so I think I did. But I think I was naive going into how difficult it would be. But I'm also very stubborn. So I was able to get it done. Speaking of that stubbornness, I feel like you already kind of said that Annie is someone who can play dirty. But I think I read that you did your own stunts for the film. And was that your first time doing that? Yeah, I mean, I've done stunt work before on some previous films. But this is my first time doing absolutely everything myself.

17:36No body double, no stunt double. And it was important to me for this film and this character. I wanted you to be able to see my face. You know, I wanted to experience everything. I mean, maybe it's selfish that I wanted to do that. But I think because I had immersed so many other parts of myself, like my entire life into creating this character, like I was giving everything to it. I was like, I might as well do the stunts too, you know, if I can. Was there anything that didn't quite go to plan? Like, I think I read that you kind of left some of them with bruises and it was quite brutal, I think.

18:12Oh, yeah. I mean, I don't think, I mean, Sean and I, after we filmed the first take, we kind of looked at each other. I don't think either of us expected for it to be that brutal. To actually jump in and film it was scary. Not like I actually thought I was going to get hurt, but scary just in the sense of like what we were doing to throw yourself into a situation like that. I was literally covered in bruises. It's so crazy. Well, I bruised easily. You did? Yeah, I mean, we would take like an hour in the morning to like literally paint my legs so that you couldn't see the bruises anymore. And your screams are amazing as well and very impressive.

18:53And I wondered if you had to do like multiple takes for them. Yeah, I mean, I was screaming for a lot of takes. The weirdest thing about that, it's like everyone on set was like kind of distraught. Like it's a pretty intense scene. And then I find out that Mark, who plays Yvonne, was sleeping upstairs the entire time taking a nap. Oh, my God, no. Yeah. And you mentioned Mark, and he is so great in the film. But I'd love to hear if you had any more, like, fun stories of working with him, and how did you guys kind of bond while working together? Yeah, he's such a funny person, like, really hilarious person.

19:33We had time to get to know each other a little bit before filming, And his English wasn't as evolved as it is now. But I remember one of the first things he said to me is he was describing what it was like to look out a window and look out onto New York City. And he was like, I had the world at the tip of my nipple. And I was like, sorry, what are you saying? What? He was like, the world was at the tip of my nipple. And I was like, what are you trying to say? He was trying to say that, like, the world was in, like, his fingertips. Like, he has the whole world, like, in the palm of his hand or something.

20:13But, like, I think that just, like, fully encompassed, like, him as a person and also what he brought to the character. He just made me laugh and brought so much amazing energy to that character and to those scenes. and also sort of injected his character with a lot of like earnest naivete in the beginning, which was really disarming for me as an actor. And I think also for Annie as a character. The great thing about your performance is so much there, but also like how you've balanced the kind of comedy and the tragedy. And I feel like that's kind of the beauty of Anora as a film. And is that a fine line to walk?

20:53Is that difficult in a performance to kind of weave those things in it throughout? I spent a lot of time thinking about this character and asking myself lots of questions about her, like hundreds of questions, like who she is, what her ideals are, her morals. I wanted to just know her like the back of my hand and not leave any question unanswered about who she is. But I was also, as we were filming, obviously still open to learning new things about her. But I think because I did all of that internal work, she's very layered and complex, at least to me. No, she definitely is. Thank you. And so to me, I think I just approached every scene, like having done all of that work already.

21:40And so it was kind of intuitive. Like she's a very, very sensitive person, but she's constantly covering it, you know, with some kind of pain or anger. but you know nobody is just angry you know or sassy like there's something underneath that always you know and so it was important for me to always be conscious of that and and aware that that was that's what she was going through the film had such a fairy tale story in itself i think in like going to can and then it wins the palm door like that must have been such an incredible moment for both you and Sean. How did that feel? Yeah, I think it was like quite surreal.

22:22But I, it had been my dream to go to that festival since I became an actor. And so to have a, I mean, this is the first time I'd ever been to a film festival was Cannes. And to be in the main competition already was like a dream come true of mine. I mean, I remember Sean calling me and telling me that we were in the main competition. And I was like, I mean, I could have cried. It was so exciting for me. I'd love to touch a bit on your red carpet looks. It was amazing to see you in that Chanel, like two-piece. Can, how do you approach red carpet dressing? Do you have a stylist? Yeah, I do. I started working with the stylist, Jamie Mizrahi, who I really like and I think really understands my sense of style, which I think has evolved quite a bit over the past really two years maybe yeah in what way I think I was finding myself like getting into a pocket of like just only dressing like very comfortably um so like jeans and like a t-shirt or like a cashmere sweater and maybe some like cowboy boots that's like the only thing that I wanted to wear and so it kind of felt a little unnatural to like put a gown on I was like I really know what I like and what I don't like.

23:39And so it's nice because I feel now I have a much better sense of that. And to like be guided a little bit is nice. Are you excited to dress for award season and going forward? Yeah. I mean, I've always loved fashion and clothing. And I think that when I was younger, I was like, I was so experimental with clothing. Oh yeah. I mean, like there was a period just a couple years ago I was super into like Victorian dresses and I would mix them with like combat boots and it was sort of this like grunge look that I had with a very delicate dress and there was a period when I was probably like 18 or 19 I was really into like 70s Gunny Sacks dresses so I've always loved vintage yeah and so I have like a crazy collection of like very interesting clothing that I don't quite feel comfortable wearing now but I like cannot give up.

24:35No you can't. Do you know what I mean? Yeah. And I have this closet full of these like crazy vintage clothes and I'm like I need more closet space but I can't ever get rid of these dresses. I'm excited about like experimenting more because you don't often get to wear like a dresses like that in everyday life. I don't really get to go to parties where you get to sort of indulge in like the glamour of all of that. So it's really fun. And there's so much creativity and artistry that I admire in terms of clothing and like couture. It's a fun part of this. Yeah. I'm excited to see you do more of that going forward.

25:15Hi, I'm Rebecca Ford, senior awards correspondent at Vanity Fair and co-host of Little Gold Men. Oscar season is upon us. Little Gold Men takes you behind the scenes of the race for the biggest prize in Hollywood. There's a hundred wrestlers in the room, but only one can be Oscar nominated. Whether you're a movie lover or an industry buff, Little Gold Men from Vanity Fair has everything you need to know about this year's Oscar race. Follow and listen to Little Gold Men wherever you get your podcasts.

25:50I was reading a bit about your kind of family background, and I think it's super interesting that you're, I think both your parents are psychologists. Oh, yes. Yes. And no one in your family comes from an acting background. Is that right? Yeah. How did you kind of learn that you wanted to be an actor? I was competitive horseback riding. So I'd been doing that. Amazing. Yeah. My entire life. and had sort of started to become interested in film and I'd always liked movies, but something intrigued me about the idea of acting and what that might feel like or look like. And so I honestly don't, there's not a specific moment where I'm like, I want to be an actor that I remember, I think just gradually over time, something manifested itself in me where I was, that's something that I wanted to do.

26:42And I think maybe it's, I was interested or intrigued by like the intimacy and the connection that comes with being an actor. To me, it seemed like it was something very like brave and deep and emotional. And I don't know if that's something that I was feeling as a horseback rider. I love that. And I know that you loved films, as you say. And I think Sean Baker's like described you as a cinephile. And, you know, what were some of your favorite films growing up? I thought that I was a cinephile and then I met Sean. And I was like, I know absolutely nothing about anything because he is, yeah, I mean, Sean's definitely opened up my eyes to a whole other world of film and I think has really broadened the horizons for me in that way.

27:29The films I liked growing up, I loved like John Hughes, like Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles. I loved Stand By Me. That was a film that was, like, very impactful to me. I think I saw it, I was maybe 14, and I think the characters are 13 in that film or 12. And so I was close in age to them, and it's such, like, a moving, deep film. And I really felt that, like, it impacted me. And then, I mean, Pretty in Pink, I loved Molly Ringwald. And when I saw that film, it made such an impression on me. I was like, maybe I want to be a clothing designer. And so I had my mom sign me up for sewing classes.

28:14Oh, my gosh. And I was like, okay, no, not quite right. And then I realized I actually just want to be an actress. You've played a wide range of roles, but I know that you've played a lot of, like, should we say, quote, unquote, villains? Is there a specific reason you feel like you're drawn to roles like that or were you drawn to Anora specifically because it's different from that? You know, Anora was a character that, I mean, at least when I finally was able to read the script, which was like months after I accepted the role, was someone who felt so different from anything I've ever done before.