Margot Robbie had quite a few TV credits to her name when she moved to America to further her acting career. However, the actor seemed hellbent on making a name for herself as a film actor. Fortunately, for the Aussie, she managed to turn heads with her very first American film, The Wolf of Wall Street. In 2013, Vanity Fair named Robbie one of their breakthrough actors of the year for her performance in the Martin Scorsese film. The film’s popularity also made the star a household name. However, Robbie wasn’t really expecting the film to change her life. In fact, she assumed nobody would notice her.
Margot Robbie was determined to join ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ cast
It’s no secret that Robbie fought for her chance to play Naomi Lapaglia. In her audition, she famously slapped Leonardo DiCaprio hoping to stand out from her competition. Naturally, she was over the moon when she booked the role, but Robbie wasn’t expecting the film to make her famous. In fact, she thought that people wouldn’t be paying attention to her.
The actor thought nobody would noticw her as Naomi Lapaglia
“It was my first film in America,” Robbie recalled about filming The Wolf of Wall Street while speaking with BAFTA. “Honestly, I know this sounds silly now, knowing how big the movie became, [but], at the time, I thought, ‘No one’s gonna notice me in this film. It kind of doesn’t matter what I do in this film because everyone’s gonna be focused on Leo and everything, and I’ll just kind of slip under the radar.’”
It’s fair to say that Robbie didn’t slip under the radar. Starring in The Wolf of Wall Street absolutely helped her to make a name for herself in The States. And even though she thought nobody would pay her any attention, she meticulously prepared for her role. The actor did everything from vocal work to movement work to help her embody Naomi. However, she soon learned that Scorsese was far less interested in how she prepared and more enraptured with what she brought to her performance.
Robbie got candid about working with director Martin Scorsese
“The first day on set, I remember being like, ‘Okay, so I think my intention for the scene…’ because I’m a meticulous note-taker and preparer,” Robbie shared about working with Scorcese. “And he kind of gave me a look kind of like, ‘Why are you telling me this? That’s, that’s your job, I hired you.’ He didn’t say any of that, that’s the feeling I got.”
While Robbie got the impression that Scorcese didn’t want to hear much about her preparation process, she also was encouraged to be very bold in her performance. According to the actor, the shoot was akin to a “free-for-all.” She recalls Scorcese rewarding actors who made wild choices. Perhaps that can account for some of the actor’s more brash scenes in the film. In fact, some of her most memorable scenes from The Wolf of Wall Street were dreamt up just hours before she shot them. Clearly, Robbie was determined to make an impression with her role in the film, even if she assumed nobody would pay her any mind.
