Pamela Anderson and Mikey Madison Get Honest About Intimacy Coordinators, Working Prep and Why Pam ‘Isn’t Ashamed of the Choices I’ve Made’

On December 19, 2024By Littum

Mikey Madison, who got his start on the FX series “Better Things,” is among the discoveries of Oscar season with Sean Baker’s “Anora.” As the title character – a Russian-American stripper in Brooklyn who allows herself to fall for a client – she is alternately callous and sentimental. Who better to pair her with than a star who worked similar magic this year? In Gia Coppola’s “The Last Showgirl,” Pamela Anderson plays a Vegas performer who, like Anora, dreams of human connection. Anderson, like Madison, began her career on television with “Baywatch.” In recent years, with the release of a memoir and a documentary about her life, Anderson has enjoyed a renaissance, and Madison, who showed up with a notebook full of questions, was understandably honored.

MIKEY MADISON: How are you feeling right now? I felt a little nervous when they called “action”.

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PAMELA ANDERSON: Me too – how do you start a conversation about all this? You must be excited about your movie doing so well.

MADISON: My entire career as an actor has dreamed of being where I am right now. Some of it doesn’t feel right at times.

ANDERSON: When did you start playing?

MADISON: I started acting when I was about 15. “Better Things” ran for five seasons over seven years. That was my introduction to everything – I really knew nothing about acting. During those seven years I was able to dip my feet in the water.

ANDERSON: Sometimes you don’t really know when to start the process. I’ve always been very curious about the craft of acting, but I didn’t have to use myself when I was running around in a bathing suit on “Baywatch.” I was curious about it—I wanted to sit on the floor at Samuel French and read plays by Tennessee Williams and Eugene O’Neill. I didn’t know how to get from there to there, but I just had this dream. I always kept it a secret that I could be more than I did.

Gia could see the hunger in me as a woman who wanted to express herself; I give her a lot of credit for having that vision. I always tell her, “You saved my life.” Because I would have hated to never get my chance to do something that was meaningful to me. I see that in you too. You worked with Quentin Tarantino, one of my favorite filmmakers, and also Sean Baker. Did you see the script for “Anora”? Did you audition?

MADISON: Sean had seen a horror movie that I made – “Scream.” He went on opening weekend. He already thought of the plot of “Anora” and he cast me in it straight from the film. It was the easiest casting process I’ve ever been through. I’ve never had to turn down an audition for anything before. I had gotten into this pocket of playing very antagonistic characters; I really wanted to play a leading role and I am grateful that Sean gave me that opportunity.

When did you first read your script?

ANDERSON: I was in my garden at home on Vancouver Island making pickles.

MADISON: Pickles?

ANDERSON: Really! Pickles. Pickles and jam – I just love my garden. I’m obsessed.

MADISON: Do you grow your own cucumbers?

ANDERSON: I grow my own cucumbers. I went home to remember who I was. That’s when I started taking off the makeup and getting my hands dirty. I didn’t really have representation at the time, but Gia tried to find me through an old agent and he passed on the film. Gia didn’t take no for an answer; she found my son Brandon and Brandon brought me the script and I read it in my little vegetable garden. I knew the whole movie as a play before I came to Las Vegas.

How was the process for you?

MADISON: It was a character that felt so far away from home in every way. It was very scary at first; how do i feel about her I was like, I should just start small. I did quite a bit of pole training. I did this stripper bootcamp where I was taught how to lap dance, how to twerk. And I wanted to know everything about her – what cigarettes she smokes, what her school life was like.

ANDERSON: You have to do the work. When I saw “Anora”, I just wanted to grab you from there and hug you. I’ve had friends in that industry too and I could really relate. It was so emotional. Did you have an intimacy coordinator? That’s the big thing these days, right?

MADISON: For our film it was a choice I made; the filmmakers offered me, if I wanted, an intimacy coordinator. Mark Eydelshteyn, who plays Ivan, and I decided it would be best to just keep it small. My character is a sex worker and I had seen Sean’s film and know his dedication to authenticity. I was ready for it. As an actor, I approached it as a job.

I wanted to ask about your preparation for “The Last Showgirl”.

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ANDERSON: I was able to bring a lot of my own personal experience, my long life of dealing with beauty and glamor and aging and reevaluating life choices. I have to bring my whole life into this role.

I believe that the past should not dictate your future. But looking back, I was always creating characters. And I feel like I know I’ve made a few Halloween costumes. But a lot of the things I was going through, I didn’t realize my kids were going through them at the same time. Being a working mom and being in this entertainment world and having your mom be sexualized in some way—I didn’t realize how hard it was. So I’m not ashamed of my life.

I’m not ashamed of the choices I made, although in retrospect I might have done things differently. But you need life experience to know that you would have done it differently.

MADISON: I don’t think there’s anything to be ashamed of. This incredible, amazing life you had made you the person you are and that’s why you were able to give the performance you were able to give.

ANDERSON: I try to tell myself that too. And I now feel like I have the freedom to focus on things instead of worrying about a relationship or my family. My children are adults. I am free. Now I can play again.

MADISON: The life we live makes us better actors.

ANDERSON: I worked with Greg Butler, who was the choreographer when I played Roxie on Broadway. I got to see backstage banter where people are worried about what to make for dinner and then they hear their line and boom, they’re on stage. And there is a whole choreography when it comes to these costumes. They sometimes weigh 50 to 80 pounds. These headpieces – Bob Mackie pieces that hadn’t left the building in 30 years.

MADISON: Is it Bob Mackie designs?

ANDERSON: They are Bob Mackie designs. They have so much history in them. The showgirl is the iconic image of Las Vegas, and I wanted to keep the nostalgic innocence, the happy optimism. And to create chemistry between the young girls, I had dinners at my house. We all made vegetable soup – made all sorts of things because we shot the film in 18 days.

MADISON: You really feel the rich history between you and each of the characters in the film. It’s a testament to all the internal work you’ve done.

ANDERSON: You have to dive in head first. I’m sure you should too. Do you know someone Russian? Harsh language.

MADISON: My grandmother, it was one of the languages she spoke, but it was not passed on to my father. So I started from scratch. I never wanted it to sound perfect. I always wanted there to be some Americanized version of Russian, because I didn’t want her to fit in; she is always on the outside looking in. I would fall asleep listening to 10 hours of Russian speech on YouTube and just cram as much Duolingo as possible.

ANDERSON: I lived in France for a while and I learned a lot of French, but I was always afraid to speak. Even though you learn the language and can understand a conversation, you are still shy to speak it – it really came across.

MADISON: What were the most challenging parts of playing your character?

ANDERSON: I haven’t had much experience in this industry. I mean, I have in my own way, but nothing like this, it was that important to me. I really wanted to pour my heart and soul into it and I wanted to keep my focus for the whole project. I feel like this is only the tip of the iceberg; I’m really excited to do more. I want to make more movies, but I still want to make pickles.

MADISON: Thank God.

ANDERSON: I’ll send you some. Beets, pickles, beans – whatever you want.

Production: Emily Ullrich; Lighting Director: Max Bernetz; Set direction: Gille Mills

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