In the lead-up to Anora's sweep of wins at the 2025 Oscars, there was a lot of talk about Mike Madison's performance as the stripper Ani. Specifically, there's been discourse about the nudity in the film. Now, the Oscar winner is opening up about it and why she felt comfortable being naked while filming.
While talking with Vanity Fair, the 2025 Best Actress winner shared how she felt about doing those revealing and nude scenes for the Sean Baker film. She relayed that she felt just fine on set, largely due to the group of women who worked alongside her in the strip club. Along with it, the Scream alum noted that it was easier being that bare because she wasn’t the only one that didn’t have clothing on. She shared:
I’m not the only one who is naked. I’d look to my right and my left, and other women are topless, and we’re all giving each other looks. I was so comfortable. I could have walked around set naked—and I am not like that in my real life.
The movie (which is now available to stream with a Hulu subscription) doesn’t shy away from those scenes; in fact, it’s how the film opens. So, you might think that regardless of whether the actress was a breakout star (like Mikey Madison) or a Hollywood vet, it’d be a lot to take on. However, with the actress continually praising the sex worker community, the integral time she spent in strip clubs and the comfortable on-set dynamics, no fears seem to be left for her.
It’s great to hear that the star of Anora felt so okay with all of the naked or stripped-down scenes. Her comments and this film also add another important layer to the discourse surrounding nudity in film.
While Hollywood's history with nudity in adult media has been a storied one, there are more films and shows expanding the discourse. One of the most recent ripples of this conversation came from White Lotus’ Jason Isaacs clarifying his nude comments about Madison and The Substance’s Margaret Qualley after his brief nude scene in Season 3 of the HBO hit.
When thinking about Anora and Mikey Madison’s nude scenes, it’s great to know she was comfortable. The set seemed like it was handled with care and compassion, and along with it was a cast of female performers that looked out for one another.
Now, following her Oscar win and all the discourse surrounding Anora, Mikey Madison is already back to work. She'll be hosting Saturday Night Live this weekend, and you can see her do that on NBC or with a Peacock subscription. In the meantime, if you'd like to see her highly talked-about performance in Anora, you can stream it on Hulu.
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