10 Reasons You Should Put Margot Robbie on Your Watch List
Perhaps you know Australian actress Margot Robbie best as DC supervillain-turned-heroine Harley Quinn from Suicide Squad. And just this week (November 29) she confirmed she will return as Harley next year, though the project itself has yet to be revealed.
But it seems like she's everywhere right now. You can also look for her in theaters next week (December 8) in the title role of the dark bio-comedy, I, Tonya, which tells the story of what went down with Tonya Harding and fellow professional figure skater Nancy Kerrigan back in 1994.
She's not just a spectacular actress, but a fascinating person as well.
Why do we say that? So many reasons, but here are 10 of the best:
1. She doesn't hold back
Robbie and Suicide Squad co-star Will Smith sat across from each other on a BBC Radio show to take part in a game called "Playground Insults." Not only does Robbie hold her own with the heavy hitter actor firing off lines like, "You're so old I had to Google The Fresh Prince of Bel Air," she totally out plays him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKC7vOhr2vM
2. She cannot tell a lie
Sure, she can throw an insult, but she is a self-confessed "terrible liar," which is definitely a good thing. In the below clip with chat show host Jimmy Fallon, Robbie plays a game called "Box of Lies." She's asked to describe an object, unseen to Fallon, and he has to decide if she's telling the truth or not. She pulls out a "saucy" plastic lobster and, while her description goes a little overboard, she never gives up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrNk6lHyDbk
3. She doesn't take herself too seriously
In this spoof video that pokes fun at the type of overblown self-pampering we've come to associate with Hollywood stars, Robbie walks us through her daily beauty rituals. Like placing chilled spoons dipped in lapsang souchong on her eyes in the morning to cut down on puffiness. And how does she achieve that glorious glowing skin? "I always use a small batch, placenta-infused facial toner," she says. But of course.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWc8V-iKJ7s
4. She's helpful
In this cute video, Robbie goes out of her way to help translate native Aussie slang, using each word in a sentence to illustrate its meaning. And, funnily enough, some of the words are new to her, like "doovalacky." "I've never used the word 'doovalacky' in my life and I have no idea what it means," she confesses. In case you're curious, here's Urban Dictionary's definintion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNZIJmEZ91g
5. She has a secret talent
Did you know Robbie is an amateur tattoo artist? You do now! She even gave herself and Suicide Squad co-star Cara Delevingne toe tattoos when on-set. And, it didn't stop there. When she swung by The Graham Norton Show, a GSN staffer volunteered himself to get a tattoo, on-air, and he was over the moon excited about it. The best moment is when she exclaims, "I like doing it. I really do. I'm not particularly good, but I like doing it. " So comforting!
[bbca_video_embed media_id="1058172483749" video_id="3i5tfMDlmL7H"]
6. She's not afraid to speak her mind
When Robbie sat down to read the script for I, Tonya, she presided the story was was fiction. She told W magazine, "I thought the writer was so quirky and crazy to come up with this stuff." When realizing Harding did in fact play a role in trying to take down Kerrigan, her friend and competitor, the actress was surprised but also empathized with the tragic figure. She agrees that the story is muddled, and some things still don't add up. But, she has a unique perspective, which may help with understanding Harding's mind-set, with Robbie saying, "The more I became Tonya, the more I saw things from her point of view. I’m on her side 100 percent. I don’t think she did anything but be different from what the world wanted. There are cool misfits, and then there is Tonya. She didn’t fit in. And I love that.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIavD0OT-oU
7. She has a thick skin
Robbie was interviewed by Vanity Fair in 2016 but found the resulting article a little "odd." For one, the writer described her as being "tall but only with the help of certain shoes. She can be sexy and composed even while naked but only in character.” Hmm. The VF writer also referred to her fellow Australians as “throwback people” who “live and die with the plot turns of soap operas." She talked about her reaction to the story when appearing on Australian news show The Project, saying, "When I read it, I was like, ‘Yeah, the tone of this is really weird – like, I don’t really know what he’s trying to get at or play at’.” But she took the whole thing in stride, describing here how she reads "far more offensive, far more sexist... things on a daily basis."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GYCckYh5G8
8. She gives good interview.
Though the chat above veers into serious territory, most interviews with the starlet are fun and light. Like the time Robbie was over at The Tonight Show promoting Suicide Squad. Before her interview even kicked off, Fallon announced that uber successful and beloved band Metallica would also be appearing on the show, prompting Robbie to throw her hands up in the air, and exclaim, "That's mind-blowing. Metallica!" The actress was beside herself, reminiscing about her teenage heavy metal fandom, dying her hair black and cutting her tresses with a razor blade.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKbixz4a3xI
9. She goes head to head with the Joker.
You think Tonya Harding had a mean streak? Harley Quinn is all villain, with any latent nice streak buried deep down. Which of course makes her the perfect partner for the Joker. These two coupling-up makes sense, because he's the one that made her who she is, by kicking her into a vat of acid. If you want more of Harley, the below clip includes some stellar Harley/Joker moments that didn't make it into Suicide Squad. A lot of people think Harley follows the Joker's lead, but even when she was still her unaltered self, Dr. Harleen Quinzel, she pointed a gun at an unarmed man, shooting to kill. Maybe the crazy was already in her, waiting to come out...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70HfPC97tlo
10. She believes in the unbelievable.
Robbie's a good sport. She appeared on illusionist David Blaine's "Beyond Magic," going into the situation open-minded. Blaine says to her, "You're thinking of something I could never know, even if I researched you?" She nods her head agreeing, simply saying, "Yep, yep." Oooh, we're already intrigued. What could it be? Blaine asks her to look up the "thing" on her phone and then to think of one word in the article itself. She follows his directions, and as he describes what he's picturing, Robbie is astounded. He then writes a word on her friend's hand. And when she sees the word, Robbie announces, "It's not only weird, but embarrassing as well!" But he's not quite done, and is in fact still building up to the big reveal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QdhptKBRU0
We feel like we know Robbie a lot better now — what about you?