Mikey Madison says The Social Reckoning felt “scary” after her Oscar win. The question was not about the pressure of following Anora with another awards-season contender, but about stepping into a role that demanded a very different kind of performance. Playing real-life Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen meant trading some of her previous characters’ outward intensity for restraint, precision and an unusually cerebral transformation.

The interesting part is that Madison did not need to manufacture that sense of unease. The material itself gave her plenty to wrestle with.

Mikey Madison explained that she was surprised when she first read Aaron Sorkin’s script because Frances Haugen was unlike the characters she had previously played. In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, she described the experience of taking on the role as part of her larger desire to keep stretching herself as an actor. 

““I’ve really been stretching myself as an artist, and every role that I’m taking is something that’s kind of scary to me…If I have this feeling of, ‘Oh, how am I going to be able to pull this off?’ I think that’s something good,” Madison told PEOPLE.

That challenge became especially important because The Social Reckoning is built around a real person whose actions had consequences far beyond Hollywood storytelling. Haugen, a former Facebook employee, became a whistleblower in 2021 after providing internal company documents that helped expose concerns about the platform’s approach to engagement, misinformation and user safety.

Speaking to PEOPLE, Madison revealed that she viewed the character as an opportunity to explore a more restrained and emotionally controlled performance.

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While she is treating unease as an art form in one area, Madison has other qualms she does not necessarily see as a good sign. 

In an exclusive interview with E! News at The Social Reckoning’s New York premiere on Oct. 4, Madison said staying off social media was “a personal choice” she made a long time ago and explained that she had “never really been on social media.”  That artistic challenge intersects with Mikey Madison’s own relationship with the world depicted in the movie. 

 She also praised Haugen as an “incredible woman,” saying she did not know whether she had ever been as strong or brave as Haugen, but regarded those qualities as something to strive toward.

Madison connected that admiration to a broader ambition of leaving something meaningful behind. She said she sees Haugen as someone who has been trying to make the world a better place, adding that she hopes to do the same one day. With The Social Reckoning arriving in theaters on Oct. 9, that idea gives Madison’s first post-Anora performance an interesting throughline.

For an actress coming off an Oscar win, that is arguably a more interesting next move than simply chasing another obvious showcase. Madison appears more interested in the artistic tightrope than in playing it safe, and The Social Reckoning gives her a particularly timely one to walk.

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What do you think of Mikey Madison’s approach to the role? Share your thoughts in the comments.