Margot Robbie Once Revealed How an Eating Competition Made Her Famous: ‘Don’t Tell That Story’

Margot Robbie has had quite the career. She has made a name for herself by starring in a variety of films. In Suicide Squad, she portrayed the ruthless Harley Quinn. Meanwhile, in Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood, she gave her rendition of the late Sharon Tate. Her acting in both I, Tonya and Bombshell even earned her Oscar nominations. But how did Robbie become such a success in the entertainment industry? The actor has joked that she owes her mainstream success to an eating competition.

Margot Robbie needed American representation after her stint on ‘Neighbours’

Prior to making it big in Hollywood, Robbie starred in the popular Australian soap opera, Neighbours. However, she needed to secure representation in the U.S. so that she could audition for the big projects in Hollywood. Fortunately, for Robbie, her Australian agent was able to get her a meeting with a great management company, Management 360. However, while on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the actor revealed that she almost blew the meeting by talking about an eating competition that she’d one.

The actor’s Australian agent tried to prevent her from talking about her eating competition

Hoping to prove to the potential manager that she was a competitor, Robbie launched into a story about how she’d won a spaghetti bolognese eating competition. As soon as the actor-producer began the story, she recalled her Australian agent having an adverse reaction. “My Australian agent just kind of froze and was like, ‘Don’t tell that story.’,” Robbie remembered. But the warning wouldn’t stop the actor from sharing her truth.

While filming Neighbours, Robbie got into an argument with one of her friends and co-stars. Describing him as “a Fijian dude” who “ate a lot”, the pair argued about who could eat more. Eventually, they decided to settle the score with a spaghetti bolognese eating competition. Whoever could eat the most pasta within the hour would be declared the winner. “It was probably the most physically and mentally difficult thing I’ve ever done in my life,” Robbie declared.

Robbie believes that her spaghetti bolognese story helped her land her American manager

But Robbie’s dedication paid off. After the hour had passed, she’d eaten just under four pounds of pasta. “I won the pride of like all the crew, and it was a momentous moment,” Robbie declared about the eating competition. “It was beautiful.” Of course, the beautiful moment didn’t last forever. Not too long after, Robbie was projectile vomiting pasta. However, in the end, it was all worth it, especially since the story landed her an American agent.

“So I was saying this to my American match,” Robbie began. “[I] just spewed up four pounds of spaghetti bolognese. Yeah, like projectile. Like, have you ever seen that movie where she is possessed? It was like that.’ And then he signed me, and here we are.”

Robbie became famous after being cast in ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ which her American manager helped her book

Robbie’s story about the eating competition may have been unorthodox, but it certainly helped her stand out. She booked The Wolf of Wall Street not too long after securing American reps. The role helped her become a household name in The U.S., and she’s been booked and busy ever since. Of course, her previous acting credits and talents may have gotten her signed as well. But the spaghetti story certainly showed the actor’s commitment.