"Margot Robbie"

What It Covers

Margot Robbie discusses her journey from Australian soap opera Neighbours to Hollywood stardom, including her breakthrough audition for The Wolf of Wall Street where she improvised slapping Leonardo DiCaprio. She details producing Barbie through her company LuckyChap, navigating studio politics without script approval, and her latest collaboration with Emerald Fennell on Wuthering Heights.

Key Questions Answered

• •Breaking into Hollywood without resources: Robbie moved to Los Angeles at age 20 with no car rental access (under 21), no Uber availability, and relied on Australian actor networks for housing and transportation. She rented vehicles from unlicensed operators, including one who forbade opening the trunk, demonstrating the resourcefulness required when entering the industry without established connections or financial safety nets.
• •Audition improvisation as differentiation strategy: During her Wolf of Wall Street audition, Robbie pivoted from scripted material when Leonardo DiCaprio began improvising, which she had never encountered after three years on Neighbours where actors performed 60 pages daily word-perfect. She improvised profanity-filled dialogue and slapped DiCaprio instead of kissing him, receiving the role immediately in the room from Scorsese, proving adaptability trumps preparation.
• •Production company leverage through trust-building: LuckyChap secured Barbie rights by convincing Mattel and Warner Brothers to greenlight the project with treatment-only approval, no script oversight, and allowing Greta Gerwig complete creative freedom during COVID without traditional development checkpoints. This required positioning themselves as brand protectors while promising culturally relevant commentary, demonstrating how producer credibility enables creative autonomy.
• •Soap opera training as professional foundation: Three years on Neighbours required performing 60 pages daily on multicamera setups with no improvisation, creating word-perfect discipline. Robbie observed cast members maintaining 20-30 year careers or successfully transitioning to American markets (Kylie Minogue, Chris Hemsworth from Home and Away), validating soap work as legitimate career launching rather than stepping stone, particularly for international actors building technical skills.
• •Chemistry assessment through work methodology alignment: Robbie identified Jacob Elordi as ideal for Wuthering Heights because both actors approach roles with extensive preparation, on-set notebooks, and serious work ethic rather than relying solely on read-throughs or chemistry tests. Shared geographic background (both Queenslanders) and similar professional standards created natural rapport, suggesting casting should evaluate work processes alongside traditional chemistry reads.
• •Preserving creative secrecy for audience impact: Quentin Tarantino maintained Once Upon a Time in Hollywood's ending secrecy by limiting script access to essential personnel only, with Robbie refusing to reveal the twist even to her mother and husband. This discipline enabled the Cannes premiere to land without spoilers despite months between festival and wide release, demonstrating coordinated silence across cast and crew maximizes narrative impact.