The new Julia Roberts? Meet Mikey Madison – the breakout Anora star and Bafta Rising Star nominee
Share:
It was Mikey Madison’s scream that landed her the lead role in Anora - but it was the 25-year-old wholeheartedly embracing her role as Ani that stole the public’s attention and has earned her a Bafta nomination. Madison’s popularity has been reaching new heights, and she has now been revealed as yet another nominee - this time for The British Academy’s 2025 Rising Star award for up-and-coming onscreen talent. It is the only honour among the Bafta film awards to be voted on by the public.
![[Mikey Madison]](https://static.standard.co.uk/2024/10/30/15/19/Mikey-Madison-nph7p8pu.jpeg?quality=75&auto=webp&width=960)
This follows the Anora breakout star receiving a nomination for Best Actress in a musical or comedy film at the Golden Globes. However, she missed out, with the award going to Demi Moore for her role in The Substance. Anora is Sean Baker’s latest film and Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or winner earlier this year, and the director has been quick to offer up nothing short of a glowing review of the young actress’ work.
In 2022, the filmmaker, whose work includes The Florida Project and Tangerine, took his seat in the cinema for a screening of Scream, the reboot of Wes Craven’s cult classic slasher film series, starring Jenna Ortega, Jack Quaid and Madison. “Seeing [Mikey] playing different roles, her ability to change her emotions on a dime, her sense of humour, her ability to make brave choices and her amazing scream,” he recalls, “it was at that point that we reached out to her.”.
The Los Angeles-born actress does her fair share of screaming in Anora, too. Billed as a fairy tale rom-com, Madison plays the title character, a sex worker who marries a wealthy young Russian. But when his parents get wind of the marriage, they send their goons to annul it, prompting a cat-and-mouse chase that is hilarious, heart-wrenching and entirely deserving of that Palme d’Or.
