When Sean Baker‘s Anora premiered at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, it wasn’t just the film’s bold storytelling and sharp humor that wowed audiences; it was also Mikey Madison‘s stunning performance as Anora “Ani” Mikheeva, a stripper from Brooklyn who falls in love with the son of a Russian oligarch. One of the most impressive things about Madison’s performance is how well she can use Russian, which becomes an important part of her character’s identity. But how much of that language skill is real? Is it true that Mikey Madison speaks Russian, or was it just a trick in the movie?
The answer is in the middle. Madison isn’t a native Russian speaker, but she worked hard to learn it for the role, which shows how dedicated she is as an actor. Madison didn’t just want to learn Russian by memorizing lines; she wanted to become Ani and understand her world, her struggles, and her goals.
Mikey Madison Learns Russian for Anora Role
Ani, Madison’s character in Anora, is a Russian-American stripper who lives in Brighton Beach, which is known for having a large Russian-speaking community. One of the main things that makes Vanya—the young oligarch’s son, interested in her is that she speaks Russian very well. It’s also a big part of who she is, connecting her Russian heritage to her American upbringing.
For Madison, this meant diving right into learning a language she had never heard before. She talked about how hard the process was in an interview with Deadline: “I spent hours every day trying to learn as much as I could and understand what I was saying and what the other actors were saying to me.”It took months and months. It was the most important thing at that time that I was doing. I dedicated my life to it.”
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Madison’s method wasn’t just about getting Ani to speak Russian fluently; it was also about getting the subtleties of her bad Russian. Since Ani isn’t a native speaker, she probably didn’t get any formal training in the language even though she grew up in a bilingual home. Madison worked closely with language coaches to make sure that her Russian sounded real, but it still had the hesitations and flaws of someone who isn’t completely fluent in the language.
The Challenges of Learning Russian
People who speak English often say that Russian is one of the hardest languages to learn. It’s hard for even the most determined students to learn because of its complicated grammar, strange alphabet, and unusual pronunciation. Madison had a hard time because she had to learn not only conversational Russian but also the dialect and slang that people in Brighton Beach use.
Madison temporarily moved to Brighton Beach to get into the role. There, she spent time watching the locals and practicing her Russian with people who spoke the language as their first language. To fully understand Ani’s world, she also learned how to pole dance and spent hours in a strip club. She was able to not only speak the language but also understand the culture behind it at this level of immersion.
Madison cared about the role in more ways than one. She did her own stunts, like two intense fight scenes, and worked with a dialect coach to get Ani’s Brooklyn accent just right. As a result, the performance feels real and lived-in, with Madison switching between Russian and English with ease while keeping Ani’s unique voice and personality.
The Role of Language in Anora
Language isn’t just a way to talk to people in Anora; it’s also a sign of identity, power, and belonging. Ani and Vanya are attracted to each other at first because they both speak Russian, but this becomes a problem when his family comes into the picture. Galina, Vanya’s mother, thinks Ani is just a greedy escort, and the fact that Ani isn’t a “true” Russian makes her dislike even stronger.
Madison’s portrayal of Ani’s language problems gives the character more depth and shows how her American and Russian identities are at odds with each other. When Ani greets Vanya’s parents in Russian, it’s a defiant act—a way for her to claim her place in their world even though they don’t want her there. Madison’s delivery in these scenes is both vulnerable and strong, showing how complicated it is for a character who is constantly moving between two cultures.
Does Mikey Madison Still Speak Russian?
It’s clear that Madison wants to learn Russian for Anora, but the question still stands: does she still speak Russian? Madison has been honest in interviews about the fact that her Russian skills were mostly for the part. She says it’s hard to stay fluent when she’s not working on a movie, like a lot of actors who learn a new language for a role.
But Madison’s time with Russian has changed her in a way that won’t go away. In an interview with Vanity Fair, she talked about how learning the language helped her understand Ani better: “It wasn’t just about memorizing words; it was about understanding the culture, history, and feelings behind the language.” That’s what made Ani seem real to me.
A Rising Star
Many people liked Mikey Madison’s performance in Anora, which earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress and cemented her place as one of Hollywood’s most promising young stars. One bold and nuanced thing about her performance is that she can convincingly speak Russian. It shows the humor, heartbreak, and strength of a character who refuses to let her circumstances define her.
For Madison, playing Ani changed her life because it forced her to leave her comfort zone and face the challenges of learning a new language. For someone who isn’t fluent in Russian, the fact that she worked hard at acting and was able to make Ani come to life on screen shows how talented and dedicated she is.
At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter if Mikey Madison can speak Russian or not. It’s important that she made us think she could, and by doing that, she gave us a character that we’ll remember long after the movie is over.
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