Margot Robbie is an actress who seemingly appeared out of nowhere to conquer Hollywood and take on some of the most iconic characters in cinema. But no one says she didn't have to work for her success.
Preparing to shoot a film can take months of research, training, and study. It takes time for actors to step into their roles, but Robbie admitted during a Hollywood Reporter roundtable that she loves preparing for roles: "I get excited when there's a skill set you get to learn, and we're so lucky and spoiled that they get someone really good to teach you."
And boy, has Robbie got some interesting skills under her belt. Check out some of the surprising things Margot Robbie has tackled in order to prepare for some of her characters.
15 She's Hidden Her Accent
When Margot Robbie was just a fresh-faced starlet from Queensland, Australia, she landed a role in Neighbors, a long-running soap opera. However, Robbie's heavy Queensland accent was apparently an issue for the show.
She says, "I am a Queenslander, and my accent was so Australian that Neighbors hired a dialect coach to make me sound less Australian."
14 She Slapped Leo DiCaprio In The Face
All right, to be fair, she didn't actually HAVE the role of Naomi Lapaglia yet, but if there was any doubt she would get the part, this unplanned event dispelled that notion!
While she was auditioning with DiCaprio, they started ad-libbing and she felt the pressure to do something unforgettable. Then, his character said something that really set her off. "So I walk up really close to his face and then I'm like...Whack! I hit him in the face. And then I scream 'F--k you!'" The rest is history.
13 She's A Skilled Pickpocket
For her 2015 film, Focus, she starred opposite Will Smith and had to learn some interesting tricks for her character. She took some notes from infamous "gentleman thief," Apollo Robbins...and because quite skilled in the art of sleight of hand.
She got good at stealing...maybe a little too good. Robbie remembers the director saying, after a shot, "You were meant to steal the watch!" and she responded "I did!", to which he replied, "Well, we didn't see it happen!"
12 She Created A Fake Twitter Account
If you're a young and right-wing American female on Twitter, Margot Robbie may have secretly followed you! In order to prepare for the role of fictional conservative news enthusiast, Kayla Pospisil, in Bombshell, the star admitted to creating a Twitter account for the sole purpose of researching her role.
She said: "I was struggling to understand that point of view for a while, and Twitter ended up being the most useful tool."
11 She Researched Childhood Trauma
For her role as a subversive femme fatale hellbent on revenge in Terminal, Robbie decided that she should do some research in order to empathize more with her character. "I've done a bit of research into when childhood trauma kind of stunts...someone's development at that age in which it happened."
It seems that Robbie relies heavily on her characters' pasts to help her depict their current states of mind. "Childhood memories always influence the characters I play."
10 She Hid From Her Co-Star
Her role in Mary Queen Of Scots was difficult for Robbie. For one, she thought she wasn't good enough to play the part of Elizabeth I, but she proved her talent in every scene, especially the one where the dueling queens meet each other face to face after so many years of less-than-cordial correspondence.
To make that moment even more dramatic, the two actresses were kept away from each other during the weeks of filming leading up to that moment. That moment was understandably emotional.
9 She Learned How To Go-Go Dance
As Sharon Tate in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, Robbie had to encompass all of the optimism and charm that Tate possessed, without speaking very much since her character barely had any lines.
Instead, she relied on the medium of dance in one particularly memorable scene: The Playboy Mansion Party. Director Quentin Tarantino hired choreographer, actress, and overall "it" girl, Toni Basil, to personally teach Robbie dance moves from the 1960s. But Basil attests that Robbie was a natural. "Margot could freestyle in any situation in any scene. She knew the 60s left and right."
8 She Tackled Ice Skating
To prepare for her role in I, Tonya, Robbie had to undergo some intense ice skating training. She told Chris Pratt, who was filling in for Jimmy Kimmel, that she had to put in 3-4 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 5 months. That is a lot for a non-competitive skater!
Luckily, she had some familiarity with the ice, having dabbled in ice hockey shortly after making her move to North America.
7 She Can Hold Her Breath For A Really Long Time
Suicide Squad required a lot of physicality from Robbie, from the dangerous stunts to one particular scene which required Harley to hold her breath underwater. To prepare, Robbie had to study with a free diver, but now she is proud to say that she can hold her breath for up to 5 mins. "The holding my breath thing, that's like a fun party trick now."
6 She's Learned How To Produce
She's the star of I, Tonya and Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey, but did you know she also produced both of those films? The talented star is showing she has a knack for handling things behind the scenes.
However, she admits that the most challenging aspect of being a producer is waiting for the box office numbers. "At that point you can't do anything anymore...you just hope that people like it."
She also started a production company called Lucky Chap, alongside her husband, Tom Ackerley, Josey McNamara, and Sophia Kerr. The company has produced the films, Terminal and Dreamland, with more on the way!
