Margot Robbie is indeed one of the leading actors of the generation. She has a history of pulling off roles that have left fans in awe of her performance. The Wolf of the Wall Street star’s versatility and acting acumen have seen the whole industry fall in love with not just her, but with the characters she has portrayed as well. One of the most notable roles being that of Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad.
Margot Robbie’s great responsibility
Playing everyone’s favorite badass anti-hero was no easy task. When Margot Robbie bagged the role of Quinn, she had no idea how popular the character was among the DC Comic book fanatics. Expectations had gone a notch up even before filming had begun.
In an interview with The Washington Post at the time the movie was released, the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood star would go on to give the masses a little insight into the preparations she had to undertake in order to do justice to the role.
How Margot Robbie slipped into Harley Quinn’s shoes
Mission ‘Harley Quinn’ kicked off with a dip into online forums. The objective? To ascertain what got fans so hooked on a character who dressed up as a female jest, and to tailor her portrayal of Quinn to meet those expectations.
The next phase involved going through innumerable copies of DC Comics. She had the task of reading stacks of comic books, a task she reluctantly accomplished. No wonder Margot Robbie looked every bit like what a live-action Harley Quinn could possibly look like.
There was one catch though. Robbie couldn’t relate to one aspect of Harley Quinn’s character – dating Joker.
Margot Robbie empathized with Harley Quinn
Margot Robbie told The Washington Post,
“I just didn’t understand how she could be such a badass and then fall to pieces over some guy. I found that really frustrating. Fans seem to really love that about her, that she has this complete devotion to a guy that treats her badly.”
It was only after following her acting coach’s advice to read a play called Fool for Love (and learning about co-dependence) that she began to empathize with the character. She said,
“Once I could view it in those terms, it suddenly made sense, and I suddenly had so much empathy for Harley and after that it was all very straightforward. It was fun after all that.”
Despite her initial doubts, Robbie would forge an immaculate chemistry with Jared Leto’s infamous Joker, leaving a mark on the viewers in the limited time they had together.
Source: The Washington Post
