So has he seen this movie?

He hasn't seen it yet.

He's, he's going to, and he's excited to.

But, um, yeah, no, some- sometimes it's intense, but, like, we'll be watching a movie where there's, like, an actual therapist or psychologist, and oftentimes, like, he finds what happens in movies to be quite unethical.

He's like, "A real psychologist with a license would never do this.

A real therapist would never give this kind of advice," or ...

Um, so it's interesting to hear that, hear that perspective.

Mm-hmm.

She's gonna get sued into small pieces.

We have 102 hours to get everything.

[camera clicking] Evidence of drug cartels, and a study that hasn't been made public on Instagram and teen mental health.

I play a character, Frances Haugen.

She is a mid-level engineer at Facebook, and that's how we meet her.

Um, and, uh, she starts to see things that are happening at Facebook that she, uh, doesn't believe in, and so she, she tries to make a change.

You can't use my name, and this is all off the record.

When did that promise start to change, do you think?

Mikey, what's your take? Why don't you have social media?

I feel like I was kind of, like, the last part of my generation that majoritively grew up without social media, or at least grew up without social media being, like, what it is now.

I can't imagine what it might have been like for me to be, like, 13 and have all of that in the palm of my hand like it is today, but it's just a personal choice that, that I've made and, and have, um, followed through with.

[laughs]

Um, yeah, of course.

Like, any time I'm about to, like, jump into a character during preparation or, like, right when I'm about to leave, I definitely have, like, a bit of a panic, but I think that that just means that I care.

[laughs] How hard is it to get powerful people to change something they're doing?

What was it like for you to finally meet her and what did she feel about your portrayal of her in the film?

Yeah, you're right.

It was incredibly brave of her.

She's, yeah, she's such an amazing woman.

And I was really honored that I, in some way, was helping to tell her story.

I think everyone was really starstruck when they saw her.

And we had been communicating a little bit like through email and we lived really far away from each other, but we finally got to meet a few days ago and it was like, Wow, it's not often that you meet like a real life hero like that.

Like even in the movie, I'm thinking, how do you memorize all of that? So did you need to alter your process at all as an actor in order to learn just the sheer volume of words? Because watching it, I was thinking, how did she do that?

How do you see her and what was key for you to understanding her as an actor?

Well, thank you so much.

I fell in love with the character of Frances, and she was someone who I felt like emotionally held a lot of restraint.

There was so much going on on the inside, but I think that she's very nuanced in the way that she expresses those things.

And so for me, I think I have a...

I've played a lot of characters that are quite wild and bombastic and emotional.

And so this was something that felt really different.

Is there something about, is it a protest for you or is it just something you do for your mental health?

Did you meet her before you started shooting, after? What was your decision-making process on that?

Yeah, so, um, we didn't speak before, uh, when I was preparing for the role, but, um, when I wrapped I, I reached out to her.

Uh, Aaron really wanted me to try and build a character purely from his screenplay, and, um, I wanted to meet her so badly, but I was worried maybe if I did it might alter my perception of the character I had been building, so I, I held off.

But she's really an incredible woman.

Yes.

And so I think, um, there's so much preparation you can do as an actress before, but once you step on set and you're in this courtroom with, you know, 100 extras behind you, you really feel the weight of what you're doing.

And delivering that particular speech, I, I certainly felt it.

Mm.

And, um, was very specific and I kind of recognized that, like, the first day Um, and I think I had a bit of an idea of it just from the script and, and the tone of that and, uh, how specific it was.

But, but yeah, then working with Aaron and, and talking to him, and, like, the feedback that he was giving me, I was like, "Oh, okay."

What do you think, Mikey?

I mean, I didn't have social media like that when I was 16, and I'm grateful that I didn't because I think it's, uh, I think it would've felt so completely overwhelming, and especially at the scale it is now.

Like, I don't know.

To, to be under 16, like, that's, it's such a transformative period in your life, and you're so sensitive and, like, raw and, and susceptible to the world.

And so, um, I don't know.

Is there-

I don't, I don't think so.

I, h- it hasn't even fully sunk in to me yet.

I don't think that it actually did happen, so.

Did it sort of teach you anything about perhaps what we should be teaching people or kids especially?

I mean, I think that there's a lot that can be taken away from the film, and I think that this is a movie that, uh, will create a lot of conversation.

What was it about her story? What was it about the script where when you read it, you're like, you know what? I need to play her.

I mean, Aaron Sorkin, he is such an incredible, singular screenwriter, and so when he hands you a script, it's pretty irresistible.

But yeah, no, the character of Frances that he wrote, she just has this really beautiful moral compass that I was really drawn to, and it also seemed like a very different character than I had played before.

There was a lot of emotional restraint involved in this character, and I had never done something like that before.

You can't bring the donkeys, but you can bring the chihuahuas.

Right, I'll bring them.

What are their names again? The two that I travel with, one is named Peaches, who you'll love, and then one is Birdie.

She'll be, like, tucked under my arm, and she will try to bite you.

Why his co-stars say they've never met the real Jeremy.

I hope maybe sometime in the future.

[laughs]

Anora's Mikey Madison is his engineer turned whistleblower.

I am here to help Facebook, not hurt it.

I haven't had social media, I think, for, I mean, the entirety of my adulthood.

It's just what I know and what feels right for me personally.

How did that shift work for you?

Yeah, a completely different experience.

Like, just different planets of creativity, which was really interesting to me.

I can't say I've ever had an experience like the one working with Aaron.

Like, it was very refined, specific, like you mentioned, like the commas and periods, and, like, that is very much a very intentional part of the dialogue and the rhythm that he likes to utilize in his work.

You know, like, with Sean, he was like, y- y- you know, it was a scrappy experience.

Like, sometimes there would be scenes that were on the page, and then a lot of times we're like, "Okay, now I'm, go over here.

Are you in touch with everyone from that show or the people who you worked with?

What did he say to you that brought you back?

I mean, hearing you sort of describe what Annie goes through, it makes me emotional because it's so...

I just still feel for her so much, and I love her as a character.

And, yeah, I...

I mean, I think I just, I was so stuck in the character's mindset.

And she's a very, she's very tough.

You know, she puts on this, she's scrappy, but she puts on this sort of protective, tough, tough layer over everything.

And when and why did he send it?