Actors find their inspiration in a variety of places. Jared Leto became famous for how he tries to get into the image, even when the camera is not working. Some, like Christian Bale, are known for physically transforming themselves to be in the right mood. Margot Robbie may have a slightly different tactic, as she equates the characters to animals and uses them to inspire her characters.
Speaking on the Kelly Clarkson show, the Babylon star spoke about her process. The actress has a movement coach who works with her, and after her Oscar-nominated role in the film “I, Tonya”. She explained how her performance as Toni Harding was inspired by two animals, one off the ice and the other on it. Robbie said…
I didn’t go to drama school, so I don’t know if everyone does that at drama school. But this is what I discovered later, this is what I really started doing when I was on “I, Tonya”. So, this was the first time… I was a pit bull. With her skates, I wanted her feet to be heavy. I wanted the heroine to feel that the world is pressing on her all the time. But on the ice she is a mustang, a wild horse.
Of course, people are often compared to animals, whether in the way they move or in the way their attitude manifests itself. And since so much acting portrays a character without words, it’s not surprising to hear that an actor uses a coach to help with the character’s movements, just like they might use a coach to learn a dialect or wrestle with choreography.
And we have to say that, as far as I know, Tonya, it really worked. The actress fell so in love with Tonya Harding in the image of a pit bull that Robbie hit her colleague on the head with his fist.
Of course, if you’re going to ask Margot Robbie about which animals inspired her characters, you should ask about her current character, Nellie LaRoy in Damian Chazelle’s Babylon. She also appears to be two animals at the same time. Robbie continues…
She’s an octopus and a honey badger.
While I’m not sure anyone would have said while watching Babylon that Margot Robbie reminded them of an octopus, now that she’s said it, it really fits. And, of course, there’s at least one scene in Babylon where Robbie’s character gets pretty ferocious and pretty much assumes the viciousness of a honey badger. As the actress explained…
They’re crazy! The snake fight scene, it’s all honey badger. There is a video where honeyeaters fight with snakes. There are videos of honeyeaters that are not huge animals fighting lions. And they have really thick skin, and they’re crazy. She has very thick skin, and she fights with anything and anyone.
I want to go back and see all the roles of Margot Robbie and see what animals she could have been inspired by. Now you can see her playing octopus and honey badger in Babylon. I wonder what kind of animal Barbie is?
