Mikey Madison has revealed how her tendency to overthink and criticize herself has kept her Oscar win from going to her head. The actress, who won the Academy Award for Best Actress for Anora in 2025, is now stepping into a very different role in Aaron Sorkin’s The Social Reckoning. Her latest comments offer a glimpse of how she is navigating the leap from rising star to one of Hollywood’s most closely watched talents.

Madison’s journey from supporting roles to an Oscar-winning lead has brought a significant change in professional opportunities, but she insists that success has not fundamentally changed who she is. And as she takes on more challenging projects, her self-critical streak remains part of the picture.

Speaking to PEOPLE magazine for its latest issue, the 27-year-old acknowledged how much her life has changed since the film’s success, while explaining that her sense of self remains largely intact. 

“I feel like so much has changed, but at the same time, I still feel exactly like I always have in a lot of ways. I’m too much of an overthinker and too self-critical to ever get a big head,” she said.

She also said that Anora has helped her pursue interesting characters and collaborate with filmmakers she has long admired, naming Cate Blanchett and Meryl Streep among her dream costars.

Mikey Madison has spent years building a screen presence through sharply contrasting roles. PEOPLE magazine’s latest issue looks beyond Madison’s Oscar-winning performance to examine how she is handling the attention that followed. 

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That grounded outlook comes as Madison moves into a project that trades the volatile emotional terrain of Anora for a real-world story about technology, power, and accountability.

Mikey Madison’s Oscar night came with an unexpected twist that made the evening even more surreal for her family. Speaking about the 2025 Academy Awards to USA Today, the actress revealed that her brother, Miles Madison, had dreamed about an unusual moment the night before the ceremony. 

"He had a dream the night before – it was almost like a premonition of sorts – we were listening to music and then we were dancing in the audience," she says. 

"It was so strange because then there was a commercial break, and they put music on, and Colman Domingo was getting everyone out of their seats and dancing. He was like, 'This is just like the dream I had!'", she shares. 

The memory also puts her latest comments about overthinking into perspective. Even after winning the Academy Award for Anora, Madison appears more inclined to reflect on the surreal details of her journey than to treat the accolade as a reason to become complacent. As she moves into new projects, that self-awareness remains part of how she approaches her changing career.

While Madison remains self-critical despite her Oscar success, her evolving choice of roles shows an actress eager to keep challenging herself. 

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What do you think of her journey from Anora to The Social Reckoning? Share your thoughts in the comments.