Margot Robbie is one of the most dedicated actresses today in the sense that she always delivers, even if it means she has to endure pain or injury. Her movie roles usually involve physical activities, and when she starred in 2017’s I, Tonya, she proved that she deserved her Oscar nomination.
Filming for sports drama usually entails rigorous training that comes with a price. Robbie had an injury while ice skating, but she did not let it get in the way of finishing the movie within the deadline.
Margot Robbie Prioritized Filming I, Tonya Despite Serious Neck Injury
The award-winning I, Tonya movie not only propelled Margot Robbie’s career to new heights but also earned her the respect of her colleagues. For someone who grew up skating on hockey skates, the actress had to adjust and learn to figure skate using longer blades. She spent three months training while learning how to mimic Tonya Harding’s style.
Robbie revealed a shocking truth in her interview with the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, stating she suffered from a herniated disc on her neck. It occurs when all or part of a disc is forced through a weakened part of the spine. It causes extreme pain when moving the neck which can also be felt through the shoulder blades and arms.
She would have left the project if she wasn’t one of the producers. Robbie told her team, “We can’t afford that. Just shoot me up with some steroids. Let’s keep going.” She ended up getting MRI scans at the end of each week to check and see if it was still safe to proceed with filming.
It’s insane how she managed to endure all that pain and still perform amazing stunts on the ice rink. The movie was a critical and commercial success, with an impressive 90% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a worldwide gross of $53 million against a budget of $11 million.
It was also the recipient of Best Film Editing at the Academy Awards, along with Robbie’s Best Actress nod and Allison Janney’s Best Supporting Actress win.
Robbie’s performance was lauded by fans and critics, proving her journey creating that movie surpasses even that of Keanu Reeves’ The Matrix. He almost lost the role of Neo because of an injury that he kept hidden.
Keanu Reeves Hid His Neck Injury To Keep His Matrix Role
It’s no secret that Reeves is one of the pillars of Hollywood action films. Because he mostly works with physically demanding roles, he also endured several injuries throughout his illustrious career.
He agreed to do The Matrix even though he was suffering from a neck injury that he got from a previous film production. For years, he’s been fighting the tingles due to a ruptured disc. He never told anyone, even the Wachowski sisters who helmed the movie.
Unlike Robbie, Reeves reasoned that he didn’t want people to know he couldn’t do the project. In the end, he had to train with a neck brace for The Matrix.
I, Tonya and The Matrix are currently available to watch on Netflix.
