Mikey Madison, also known as, the villain next door, got a big break with the 2019 blockbuster Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. While she had already caught some attention for her role as a moody teen in the comedy series Better Things, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was her first major role in a big-budget movie alongside A-listers like Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie, which also landed her a part in 2022’s Scream. But Madison, beyond her talent, went the extra mile to catch the legendary director Quentin Tarantino’s eye.

Madison recently opened up about her audition story and the sweet handmade gift she brought to the audition for Tarantino.

Mikey Madison sat down for an interview with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. During the conversation, Madison shared that she painted a piece of art for Quentin Tarantino, which she brought to her auditions for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. She created an "acid trippy painting" and even added a poem to go with it. “I was 19 and ballsy,” Madison said, adding that if she were 12, she might have just made him “an apron in a sewing class.”

When Horowitz asked where the painting is now, Madison hoped Tarantino had kept it. But her gift to him was not just a tactic to land the role- she has always been a huge fan of the filmmaker, and it was genuine. Tarantino also made the right call, since Madison’s character managed to shine even while sharing the screen with the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt. But there was another incredible actress who kind of flew under the radar in the 2019 movie.

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Sydney Sweeney had a small role in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and the actress once shared how she prepared for her part.

Sydney Sweeney is definitely a household name now. And it was not until her rise to stardom with projects like Euphoria and Anyone But You that fans realized they had actually seen her before in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. During a 2019 interview with Vogue, the actress shared, "When I first walked on, I felt like I was truly there". To really dive into her character, Snake, she did not leave any stones unturned. 

Sweeney pulled up every interview and article about the Manson girl and created a whole book out of it. The book was written from Snake’s perspective, documenting her experience in that wild social environment. While Sydney Sweeney did not have a ton of screen time in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, the movie definitely helped launch Mikey Madison into stardom.

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What do you think about Mikey Madison's audition story for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood? Let us know in the comments below!