Margot Robbie reveals that she almost quit acting after The Wolf of Wall Street. Robbie is currently generating huge buzz again with her role in Damien Chazelle’s upcoming old Hollywood epic Babylon. And next year, the star will make a splash of a different kind by bringing to life the titular doll in Greta Gerwig’s highly-anticipated Barbie movie.
But Robbie’s current massive success as a movie star and producer would possibly never have happened without her breakout role as Naomi in Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed 2013 film The Wolf of Wall Street. Interestingly however, Robbie says that Scorsese’s film pairing her with Leonardo DiCaprio was almost the end of her career instead of the beginning. Speaking to Vanity Fair, the Babylon star revealed the anxiety she experienced after Wolf of Wall Street made her an overnight sensation, saying the “awful” things that happened almost prompted her to give up acting. Check out Robbie’s remarks in the space below:
“Something was happening in those early stages and it was all pretty awful, and I remember saying to my mom, ‘I don’t think I want to do this.’ And she just looked at me, completely straight-faced, and was like, ‘Darling, I think it’s too late not to.’ That’s when I realized the only way was forward.”
How Margot Robbie's Career Evolved After Wolf of Wall Street
Robbie certainly made a strong impression in The Wolf of Wall Street, but in truth her role as DiCaprio’s feisty trophy wife was fairly thankless. It didn’t take long though for Robbie to land some more interesting roles, including a slot opposite Will Smith in the heist film Focus. The actor did of course go on to do the expected lead actress appearances in big-budget movies, starring as Jane in 2016’s The Legend Of Tarzan for instance, but also found time for smaller movies like the post-apocalyptic drama Z for Zachariah as well as a memorable cameo in The Big Short.
But the big game-changer for Robbie obviously came in 2016, when she stepped up to the plate as the bat-wielding villain Harley Quinn in 2016’s Suicide Squad. With a confidently entertaining performance in a big franchise movie like that under her belt, the star then made her talent-stretching Oscar play in 2017’s I, Tonya, landing a Best Actress nomination for her deglamorized portrayal of Tonya Harding. Perhaps more importantly from a long-term point-of-view, Robbie also served as a producer on I, Tonya, taking an active role in shepherding the film.
Becoming the producer of one’s own films is obviously the big move for any star, and taking on that responsibility has in Robbie’s case allowed her to roll the dice in smaller movies like 2018’s Terminal and 2019’s Dreamland, as well as being able to guide a bigger film like 2020’s Harley Quinn-led Birds of Prey. But Robbie has also mixed in awards plays like Bombshell, which nabbed her a second Oscar nomination, while flexing her star power with roles in auteur movies like Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and David O. Russell’s Amsterdam. Overall, Robbie’s career management since The Wolf of Wall Street has been very shrewd, allowing her to grow as an actor while gaining more power in a behind-the-scenes capacity.
Source: Vanity Fair
