How Mikey Madison Built a 'Dancer's Body' for 'Anora'
Actress Mikey Madison is on total fire. The film Anora, in which Madison stars as the main character, Ani, was the big winner at this year's Oscars. By "big," we mean five awards. Madison took home the Oscar for Best Actress In A Leading Role; she was up against amazing talent, including Demi Moore's performance in The Substance. In Anora, Madison channels a sex worker from Brooklyn who becomes romantically entangled with a Russian man from a wealthy family. The 25-year-old actress had to do extensive training to prepare for the role, including learning how to pole dance and perform her own stunts. Here's exactly how Mikey Madison built a "dancer's body" for Anora.
She Learned How to Pole Dance
Madison's character in Anora is a stripper. The actress had to learn how to pole dance for the role—she even purchased her own pole.
Madison talked about learning how to pole dance on The Graham Norton Show. "The first time I went to a club, I was watching these women move, and I was like, 'Oh my gosh, it's so effortless, I can do that … I can go upside down on a pole.'" Madison says. "And then I tried a class and it was the most difficult thing I've ever had to do."
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She Learned Quickly That Pole Dancing Is Hard Work
The actress made sure to completely dedicate herself to the art of pole dancing for Anora with her own pole that she had her father install in her home. What motivated her? Madison told Graham Norton, "I wanted [Ani] to be a very impressive dancer. I am not sexy like that, so I needed to practice. So I bought a pole online."
In an Access Hollywood interview, the actress shared, "One of the things I never would have expected [to prepare for the role is the amount of conditioning] … you have to build a lot of upper-body strength, you develop muscles in places that you didn't have before. But it's mostly how much it hurts; it really burns your skin at first."
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She Built a "Dancer's Body"
Madison admitted to Allure that she's "not a dancer," but got on track and built a dancer's body for the part.
In an interview with the magazine, Madison explained, "I think the dance training took five or six months. I am not a dancer, not even a little bit. It was definitely the most physical training I've ever done, but all of that training gave me a dancer's body."
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She Does Her Own Stunts
No stranger to performing her own stunts, Madison (aka, Ani) gets into physical altercations in Anora.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Madison broke down that iconic fight scene. "I think that physicality is so important for a character. Each character has their own specific way that they walk and fight. It's something that I always have in the back of my head, and that is really important to me. So I think Ani is very scrappy and willing to just jump into the middle of a fight to get what she needs. But also, as an actor, I really loved that I was able to do all of my own stunts and not have a double. I think it's important to see my face and for me as an actor to actually go through those motions so that I know what it feels like. It's fun! I got a little bruised, but it was very exciting," she said.
Anora is currently in theaters.
