‘Babylon’ Actor Margot Robbie Explained What Makes Her ‘Too Terrified to Take on’ in a Role
Actor Margot Robbie went big in her performance in Babylon. However, she was never known to be a movie star to hold herself back in her larger-than-life characters, ranging from Harley Quinn in Birds of Prey to Tonya in I, Tonya. Robbie revealed in an interview exactly what makes her “too terrified” to fully embrace any of her roles and how she copes with that.
‘Babylon’ actor Margot Robbie went all out to play Nellie LaRoy
Damien Chazelle returns behind the camera for the first time since his smash hit La La Land. Babylon follows several perspectives taking place during 1920s Hollywood, all of which are about to discover the impacts of the invention of sound in cinema. Among them is a well-established silent movie star named Jack Conrad (Brad Pitt), who is trying to make sense of progress.
However, others are simply trying to break onto the scene. Babylon finds aspiring actor Nellie LaRoy (Robbie) and an up-and-coming assistant named Manny Torres (Diego Calva) trying to ascend into the entertainment business. They’re entering this industry during a time of prominent change, potentially resulting in their self-destruction.
Margot Robbie needed to go ‘all out’ on ‘Babylon’ to calm her fears
Cinemark interviewed Babylon stars, including Robbie, about their experience working on the 3-hour-long epic. The film certainly requires a lot from its actors, as they engage in Hollywood parties full of debauchery. Robbie had to infuse an abundance of physicality in her role through dance sequences and moments where the character is nearing a breakdown. However, that allowed the actor to thrive in the part, which is what she referred to as her favorite part of the role.
“Yes, that definitely was,” Robbie said. “I love to go big. I love to go all out. Actually, when it’s something that I’m scared to do, if I don’t go all out with it, I find it too terrifying to take on. So, there were a lot of scenes where I was like, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to do this.’ Having ‘Nellie energy’ kind of was the reason I could do it.”
She earned awards season attention
Robbie first earned attention at the Academy Awards for her performance in 2017’s I, Tonya. However, she lost to Frances McDormand’s performance in Three Billboard Outside Ebbing, Missouri. She would earn another nomination for playing Kayla Pospisil in 2019’s Bombshell, but she lost to Laura Dern in Marriage Story.
Robbie is once again entering the awards season conversation thanks to her performance as Nellie in Babylon. She has scooped up nominations from the Critics Choice Awards, Golden Globes, and Satellite Awards thus far. Only time will tell if she’ll be able to earn her third Oscar nomination.
She’ll be up against some stiff competition with TÁR‘s Cate Blanchett, Everything Everywhere All at Once‘s Michelle Yeoh, and Till‘s Danielle Deadwyler acting as a few of this season’s frontrunners. Only time will tell if she’ll be able to stand out from the pack in a crowded category.
