A talent that conquers Hollywood.
There’s a contagious energy in her that makes her resemble a magical creature, a pixie or a fairy; but, for the film industry, Margot Robbie is an in the flesh Barbie with an incredible talent. And today she’s one of the most sought-after actresses in Hollywood.
In her first important job – it was the Australian soap opera Neighbours – Margot (born 1990) was supposed to be just a background actress… but she completely bewitched the people in charge of the show so much that they hired her for three years. Then came The Wolf of Wall Street, the role that made her famous. Do you know how she got the part? She got it because she had the nerve to slap Leonardo DiCaprio during the audition! She already had a fair amount of talent, but with this courageous gesture she left Martin Scorsese speechless, and he immediately chose her. But it didn’t end there: she had a dream, that of working with Quentin Tarantino, so she wrote him a letter in which she told her desire to work with him, and she found herself on the set of Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood.
These anecdotes are enough to give an idea of the tenacity of this splendid Australian, capable of interpreting any role (she was nominated twice for an Oscar as best actress for Tonya in 2018 and for Bombshell in 2020), Margot is an erupting volcano and you never know what to expect from her.
Is there a role among those you have played that is particularly similar to you?
“Yes! Nellie LaRoy from Babylon is probably the character most similar to me. A Hollywood outsider, volcanic, wild, bold and endowed with indomitable energy. She got her first role thanks to an out-of-the-line performance and a bit of luck, and thus paved her way to stardom… exactly what happened to me”.
Are you referring to The Wolf of Wall Street?
“Yes! That role gave me notoriety”.
What do you like about success?
“I love having the chance to work with the best directors and learn from them. Fame also allows me to choose the roles that fascinates me the most. In short, I have more freedom of action”.
How do you prepare for a role, do you follow a method?
“Yes. In general, I try to immediately understand what kind of childhood my character had, because in this way I can justify everything he/she does afterwards. Digging into emotions is very interesting, it’s an introspective work. I do like this: I build in my mind the whole life of the person I have to interpret. I imagine his/her childhood, adolescence, first loves, first disappointments, as if I knew his/her whole life, even that part not shown in the movie. In the end I realize that in all my roles there’s a bit of me. To prepare the physical aspect, however, I just have to put my body to work”.
Speaking of physical appearance, how do you keep fit?
“First of all I try to eat well. I choose healthy foods that give me energy, such as fruit, vegetables and cereals. I try not to go astray but, when I have a craving for a pizza, I gave it to myself without regret!”.
Physical activity?
“When I prepare for a role, I often undergo very intense training. To prepare for the roles of Tonya and Harley Queen, for example, I trained my legs and arms a lot by spending 4 hours in the gym every day. I did cardio, boxing, weight lifting. It takes perseverance, of course, but in the end you are rewarded with the result”.
Are you the kind of actress who takes her characters home or, once off set, do you go back to being just Margot?
“Off the set I’m just Margot. Luckily, I can completely separate myself from my characters. And that’s a good thing, otherwise I think I’d go crazy! I’ve played a lot of lovable screwballs, and whatever I was asked to do I did with total freedom, because they did those stuffs, not me!”
I am the Genie of the Lamp, what do you want?
“Let’s see… I’d like to test myself in a different role… I’d like to go behind the camera, directing is a dream I’ve had for several years. So here’s my wish: to become a director”.
