Mikey Madison: 5 Things To Know About The New ‘Scream’ Star
Mikey Madison is one of the newcomers to the beloved ‘Scream’ franchise. Get to know more about the talented actress here.
Scream 5, the latest installment in the popular slasher film franchise, has quite the star-studded cast. For starters, you have Scream veterans Courteney Cox, David Arquette, and Neve Campbell back for the fifth movie. Marley Shelton, who first appeared in Scream 4, will return as well. Plus, there’s a talented group of actors who are joining the Scream franchise. Mikey Madison, 22, is among those new faces. She’ll be playing Amber Freeman in the film, which arrives in theaters on January 14.
Unfamiliar with Mikey Madison? Don’t worry, HollywoodLife has got you covered with five key facts to know about Mikey, before she makes her big Scream debut.
1. Mikey was a competitive horseback rider.
Mikey was involved in a much different career before acting. While growing up in Los Angeles, Mikey was pursuing competitive horseback riding. But once she turned 15, that changed. “All of a sudden, I became really interested in this,” she told Vulture in April 2019 when asked about her origins in acting. “I’m not really sure what sparked that in my head, but it did. My dad’s a big film buff, so I think I acquired some of those traits.” Mikey also explained that while no one in her family was involving in acting, she “met the right people along the way and got really lucky.”
2. She has 4 siblings.
Mikey comes from a big family. “I have two older sisters who are in their 30s, a twin brother, and another brother,” she told InStyle in November 2016. “So right now I’m living with two teenage boys at home. Me and my brothers all have different personalities and we definitely clash over living together in a small space,” the actress added. One of Mikey’s sisters is married to a film writer, which, according to Women’s Wear Daily, helped inspire her to pursue acting.
3. She made her acting debut in 2013.
Mikey’s very first acting role was in the 2013 short film Retirement, according to her IMDb page. The California native starred in her first feature film, Liza, Liza, Skies are Grey, in 2015. Her next film roles were 2018’s Monster and Nostalgia. Then, Mikey snagged a role in Quentin Tarantino‘s Once Upon a Time In Hollywood opposite Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Margaret Qualley, Margot Robbie, Timothy Olyphant, Austin Butler, Dakota Fanning, Al Pacino, and more stars. She played Sadie, a follower of the deadly Manson family. Mikey also voiced Candi the Barista in the animated The Addams Family movie. On television, she’s starred in FX’s Better Things (more on that below) and appeared on two episodes of Imposters on Bravo.
4. She stars in ‘Better Things’.
So far, Mikey’s most notable acting role has been Max Fox in Better Things. She’s been among the show’s main cast since it premiered in 2016. Her character, Max, is the volatile and angry daughter of Pamela Adlon‘s Sam Fox. Better Things also stars Hannah Alligood, Olivia Edward, and Celia Imrie. The fifth and final season premieres on February 28.
Mikey talked about her love for playing Max on Better Things in her InStyle interview. “I definitely gravitate toward characters that have a lot of integrity and it’s so important to be to be working on shows that tell great stories,” she explained. “I think you have to be a little in love with the character you’re playing because that way you can’t judge the decisions they make that you have to play out on screen, and that’s certainly the case with Max.”
5. Mikey is a new addition to the ‘Scream’ franchise.
Mikey is making a very exciting debut in the Scream franchise. In an interview with The Movie Times, she said she loves horror films and that she “was a big fan” of the first Scream movie. “One of the pitches that the directors talked to me about is that they were trying to make it feel like the original. I just loved talking to them. I had good chemistry with them right away. I was attracted to it right from the beginning.”
Joining Mikey for Scream 5 is fellow newcomers Melissa Barrera, Mason Gooding, Jenna Ortega, Jack Quaid, and Dylan Minnette. Fans will have to watch the film to see if Mikey’s Amber and the other new characters in Scream 5 survive the terrifying Ghostface masked killer.