Margot Robbie knew she d be a star. Five years ago the then 18 year old Australian soap actress told the student magazine S Press I ve got big big dreams for the future. I want to go to L.A. and be a massive actor over there.
Now the blond Aussie stunner is heating up cinemas across the country as Naomi Lapaglia the promiscuous no nonsense wife of shady stockbroker Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) in Martin Scorsese s bacchanal of sex drugs and machismo The Wolf of Wall Street. Sporting a wild updo convincing Long Island accent and attitude to spare Naomi s like the sister from another mister of Jennifer Lawrence s housewife scorned Roslyn in American Hustle. Whether she s tempting Jordan with her legs spread open in their baby s nursery or throwing a glass of water in his face and screaming at the top of her lungs she commands the screen.
The fun outspoken Robbie spoke to The Daily Beast about her breakthrough performance why the film s criticism is off base her humble beginnings at making sandwiches at Subway and more.
How were you cast in the role of Naomi Lapaglia There are rumors you beat out some heavy competition in Jessica Biel and Kristen Stewart.
I truly don t know to this day. I m still completely confused but extraordinarily grateful that I did. I did a self tape in L.A. that got sent to Ellen Lewis casting director that got sent to Marty and then he asked to see me in a room so I could do an in person audition with him and Leo and then they brought me back a week later and gave me the role in the room.
What scene did you do in the audition with Scorsese and DiCaprio
Some of the hardest scenes in the film. It was the throwing water fight scene the What s wrong Daddy scene in the nursery and a lot of it got cut out in the film. It was a lot more confronting and awkward to do in an audition let me tell you. And I also did the first date scene.
So did you actually pull a Basic Instinct in the movie and it got cut out
No I was wearing flesh colored underwear but there was a shot with a body double that was very much Basic Instinct probably ten times worse than Basic Instinct much to my relief.
What did you do when you learned you got the role I would ve partied my ass off.
I wish I could say that I went out and partied but I had to fly somewhere the next morning at like 5 a.m. but I partied after that don t worry. I had celebratory drinks. But I was staying at my ex boyfriend s house in Bed Stuy and someone ended up getting shot on the street so there was police everywhere. It really wasn t a celebratory night at all.
Margot Robbie and Leonardo DiCaprio in a scene from The Wolf of Wall Street. (Mary Cybulski/Paramount Pictures)Did he become your ex boyfriend as soon as you got the role Sorry Off to work with Marty and Leo
Laughs No he was my ex before that.
My sister s your age 23 and she was obsessed with Titanic. Were you like every other young girl crushing on Leo back then
I was absolutely obsessed with Titanic but not the movie the actual boat. I d draw diagrams of it and everything and theorized that if it was built a different way it wouldn t have sunk. But seeing the movie really traumatized me. It was the first sad movie I saw when I was 8 years old and it upset me so much I could never watch it again until two years ago. But amongst my friends everyone loves that movie. It s a common quote among my friends and I that whenever it s cold we go to each other It s so cold Jack I had to stop myself from saying it because I d be on the set of Wolf of Wall Street shivering and I was tempted to go It s so cold Jack but Leo is there sitting right next to me.
Your character goes through a lot during the course of the film. What was the craziest scene for you to shoot
Every single scene was absolutely insane. Definitely the Qualuude scene. I remember sitting there going I will never ever film a scene like this again. I m sitting there eight months pregnant and Leo and Jonah are crawling around trying to strangle each other and I had to try not to laugh because they looked so ridiculous.
It s funny because the first sex scene between your character and Leo s we think it s going to be like the 4th of July and then it s just Womp. Is it supposed to symbolize how this master of the universe isn t as big of a big shot as he thinks he is
Or he s just that attracted to The Duchess that he can t last more than 11 seconds. Let s go with that theory. Laughs
Also having sex on a pile of money is usually just a joke that people say about douchebags but you don t usually get to actually see two people having sex on top of a pile of money like you do in the film.
I got a million paper cuts on my back from all that money It s not as glamorous as it sounds. If anyone is ever planning on having sex on top of a pile of cash don t. Or maybe real money is a bit softer but the fake money is like paper and when I got up off the bed I turned around to get my robe and everyone gasped. I said What is it And they said You look like you ve been whipped a million times. Your back is covered in a thousand red scratches.
One of the most terrifying scenes in the movie is the one where your character gets punched in the stomach by Leo s. It s the moment where the audience realizes this guy s become a monster.
In that moment in the book he kicks her down the stairs which happened in real life. When I saw Jordan at the after party following the premiere I asked him how good the scene looked because in the cinema the whole audience gasped. And he said I know Even I couldn t watch that. I was like Oh god I can t believe he just did that. And I said What are you talking about Jordan You kicked her down the stairs in real life
The film has attracted a bit of controversy over its overall message with some critics claiming it glamorizes the excesses of these finance scumbags.
Honestly I don t think it was intended to really be a moral tale of what to do and what not to do. I think everyone knows what s right and wrong and it doesn t really stay with an audience if you do that obvious choice of You do the wrong thing you go to jail for 20 years. It s more powerful if you do an accurate portrayal of the events and we portrayed in the film exactly what was written. For the first two hours of the movie the partying and the money looks awesome but for the last hour of the movie I don t think you think it s worth it in the end. I don t think most people walk out of that movie and go Yeah I think it s worth it to lose your family and all your money to have a few crazy years of coke filled partying. I personally don t think there s any glory in doing drugs and sleeping with hookers and losing your family so what the film does is give an uncensored raw version of true events. And no one is left unscathed. It exploits everyone.
As far as your journey from Australia to Hollywood goes did you have any odd jobs prior to becoming an actress
Oh I ve worked everywhere. I worked in a warehouse packing surf supplies a restaurant washing dishes in retail and I was a sandwich artist at Subway.
Do you have a favorite Subway sandwich
It used to be Chicken Teriyaki and then I moved to the Meatball and now it s the BLT. I can t go there now though because when I watch someone else make my sub they just don t put as much care as I would so I want to jump over the counter and tell them You re ruining it You re not spreading it out nicely and everything
And your first big gig stateside was as a stewardess in the short lived TV series Pan Am. Was it a big blow when that got cancelled
It didn t really hit me like a ton of bricks because we had a pretty clear indication that it wasn t going to go ahead for Season 2 and if it had I wouldn t have been able to do About Time or The Wolf of Wall Street so it worked out really well for me.
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