Thanks to her role in Barbie, Margot Robbie has become the highest-paid actress in Hollywood! Over the years leading to this movie, this actress has portrayed many iconic characters such as Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad and Birds of Prey, Tonya Harding in I, Tonya, Queen Elizabeth I in Mary Queen of Scots, Sharon Tate in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and most recently, everyone’s favorite doll, Barbie!
However, Margot Robbie’s career wouldn’t be what it is today if it weren’t for her breakout role in the 2013 black comedy The Wolf of Wall Street, co-starring Leonardo DiCaprio. In order to get this role, she had to get creative. That included slapping DiCaprio during her audition. Luckily, her violent audition tactics worked and she went on to star in many movies that have made over $100 million at the box office!
Before Her Big Break, Margot Robbie Appeared In A Popular Australian Series Alongside Liam Hemsworth
Being born in Dalby, Queensland, Margot Robbie got her first acting opportunities in several Australian films and TV series. She starred in low-budget independent movies such as the thrillers Vigilante and I.C.U. Later on, she made her television debut in a 2008 guest role in the drama series City Homicide. She also has a two-episode appearance in the children’s TV series The Elephant Princess, co-starring none other than Liam Hemsworth!
Robbie and Hemsworth reunited a couple of years later on the popular Australian soap opera Neighbours. “One day, I got put through by accident to the casting director for Neighbours, and she said, ‘I'm in town working on something,’” Margot revealed in an episode of The Graham Norton Show. The casting director then asked how old she was and when the actress told her she was seventeen, the casting director responded, "We're looking for exactly that, come in and audition."
In 2008, Robbie was cast as Donna Freedman in Neighbours, a role that was initially meant to be a guest character but was promoted to a series regular until she left the show in 2011. Liam Hemsworth, for his part, played Josh Taylor in the show from 2007 to 2008. But they’re not the only Australian stars go got their big break in this popular soap opera. Chris Hemsworth, Kylie Minogue, and Russell Crowe all appeared in Neighbours at some point!
Margot Robbie's Wolf Of Wall Street Audition Was Unforgettable
After leaving Neighbours, Margot Robbie moved to America to try to break into Hollywood. In 2011, she landed a starring role in the short-lived series Pan Am. Two years later, she got her long-awaited big break in Martin Scorsese's biographical black comedy The Wolf of Wall Street, where she played Naomi Lapaglia, the wife of protagonist Jordan Belfort (portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio).
Believe it or not, Margot landed her role in The Wolf of Wall Street because of her improvisation skills. "She clinched her part in The Wolf of Wall Street during our first meeting," Scorsese revealed in Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People Issue, "by hauling off and giving Leonardo DiCaprio a thunderclap of a slap on the face. [It was] an improvisation that stunned us all." After the initial shock, DiCaprio asked the actress to re-do the scene and slap him again.
In an interview for Harper’s Bazaar, Margot revealed how she came up with the idea to slap DiCaprio right on the spot. "In my head I was like, 'You have literally 30 seconds left in this room and if you don't do something impressive nothing will ever come of it. It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance, just take it.' And so I start screaming at him and he's yelling back at me. And he's really scary. I can barely keep up,” the actress admitted.
"And he ends it saying, 'You should be happy to have a husband like me. Now get over here and kiss me.' So I walk up really close to his face and then I'm like, 'Maybe I should kiss him. When else am I ever going to get a chance to kiss Leo DiCaprio, ever?',” the Birds of Prey actress further revealed. "But another part of my brain clicks and I just go, Whack! I hit him in the face. And then I scream, 'F*** you!' And that's not in the script at all. The room just went dead silent and I froze." Ultimately, Margot’s decision paid off. Her improvisation skills highly surprised Scorcece and she got the role!
Margot Robbie Temporarily Blinded Leonardo DiCaprio While Filming This Scene in The Wolf of Wall Street
Working with Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street was a dream come true for Margot Robbie. But her role in this movie made her do some not-very-nice things to the actor. In addition to slapping him during her audition, Margot once temporarily blinded DiCaprio on set while filming a scene in which Margot’s character had to throw a glass of water at her co-star’s face.
After doing too many takes of this particular scene, DiCaprio asked for a break because he couldn’t see anything.
“Somehow [the water] got up inside his eyelids and I was temporarily blinding him,” Robbie told LRM Online. “He didn’t tell me until like the fourth take. Every time he would be doing [hands hit the table] this, and I was like God, he’s a good actor. And then by the 4th time he says you need to like throw it at my chin or something. I was like what’s wrong? He’s like, ‘I cannot see anything!’”
Ultimately, the managed to get a good take of the scene, but Margot felt really bad about the whole thing.
