‘Anora’s’ Mikey Madison Asked Dad to Install Stripper Pole

Talk about a supportive dad! Academy Awards nominee Mikey Madison shared in a recent interview with The View (via the Decider) how she asked her dad to install a stripper pole in her house to prepare for her role in Anora. The 25-year-old actress shared, “My dad is like my personal handyman. When something breaks or I need him to help with something, I will call him. I was on location filming at the time, and I ordered a pole because I realized how difficult dancing [was]. It’s really hard.” 

She added, “So, I ordered one and I asked my dad, I was like, ‘If you could pick it up and install it in my house.’ My dad is so supportive. He would want me to do anything that would make me happy. So, he honestly didn’t really question it.” 

The stripper pole Dad installed (no questions asked!) paid off, as Mikey Madison recently won the BAFTA for Best Actress. She’s also nominated for an Academy Award against Demi Moore, Fernanda Torres, Cynthia Erivo and Karla Sofía Gascón. 

Anora follows Anora “Ani” Mikheeva, a young sex worker from Brooklyn who meets and marries Vanya Zakharov (played by Mark Eydelshteyn), the son of a Russian oligarch. Their whirlwind romance was met with numerous challenges especially when Vanya’s family in Russia found out about the marriage. 

In the same interview, Madison shared how surprised she was that director Sean Baker wanted to work with her. She said, “I think I had to kind of get over a lot of my imposter syndrome to get to a place where I was like, ‘Oh, someone wants to collaborate with me on this?’ Especially an auteur like Sean who has made so many incredible films that I love.” 

She also shared how she wanted to a good job in portraying Ani and represent the sex workers community. “I wanted to do the best possible job I could do and also for the sake of the character. She’s a sex worker, too, and so I really wanted to try and represent that community as best as I possibly can.” 

Aside from Mikey Madison being nominated for Best Actress (her first Oscar nomination), the film is also nominated in several other categories. Yura Borisov, who plays Igor, a Russian henchman, is also nominated for Best Supporting Actor. Borisov has been acting since 2011 but gained international recognition for his role in this film. 

Sean Baker is also nominated for Best Director. He already won Outstanding Director – Feature Film at the Directors Guild of America Awards. The movie was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay and Best Film Editing.  

The 97th Academy Awards will take place on March 2, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre, Hollywood, Los Angeles. It will be broadcast live by ABC and available for streaming on Hulu.