"Say no"- When Mikey Madison said these two powerful words that women should learn

Mikey Madison has been in the entertainment industry for over a decade, and made her breakthrough in last year's Anora. While Madison's profession requires her to be highly interactive, she is naturally an introvert.

In an interview with IMDb in October 2024, while discussing how she manages to navigate through the profession as an introvert, Madison also emphasized the need to learn to say no as a woman. She said:

"It's a difficult lesson, like, to learn to say no. I think especially as women, we're kind of taught to be people pleasers. And so—I mean, I don't know. At least that's been my experience. But yeah, no is definitely—it's a powerful phrase and one that women need to utilize."

Madison said that she is navigating through her line of profession as an introvert, job by job. She also said that she has been very lucky to have some very understanding and kind coworkers who do not question her if she goes quiet for some time instead of interacting with them.

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Mikey Madison wants to take her time before doing the next project

Mikey Madison at the 97th Annual Oscars nominees dinner (Image via Getty)

Mikey Madison's film debut was in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which earned her recognition in the industry. Her performance as a s*x worker in Anora and subsequent Oscar win has not only boosted her profile as an actress but also earned her worldwide recognition.

According to an interview with GQ, promoting Anora was emotionally draining for Madison, but it also served as a means to landing more roles. Regarding this, the film's director Sean Baker said:

"She's doing this so she can maintain a very, for lack of a better word, high-brow career. Moving forwards, she's going to be very picky with the films that she chooses. She wants to do quality work. She doesn't want to do the same thing again and again. She doesn't want to play another sex worker right away, or another psychopath. She wants to mix it up."

Madison weighed in on this, saying:

"It's an emotional job, and so for me, I approach it in an emotional way. I'm taking my time, which I'm grateful that I have the luxury of being able to do right now."

Madison refused to openly speak about any future projects, but she expressed her excitement for the roles she will be taking up.

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Mikey Madison did extensive research for her role in Anora

Anora follows the story of a s*x worker with the same name who marries the son of a Russian oligarch, Ivan 'Vanya' Zakharov, on a whim. Unfortunately, her Cinderella-like story comes to a screeching halt when Ivan's family demands that the couple get a divorce.

Reflecting on how she prepared for her role in the aforementioned interview with GQ, Mikey Madison said:

"It was important to me to try to research as much as possible. I wanted to try to understand that community in a really specific way, so that I could portray Ani’s life as realistically as possible. I didn't want it to be sensationalized or dramatized in a negative way. I just wanted it to be what it was."

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Anora is available to stream on Hulu.