The success of ‘Barbie’ has elevated Margot Robbie to another level in Hollywood both as an actress and a producer. As much as the actress is being appreciated for her performance, Robbie has come forward with a revelation that proves she is also as human as everyone else.
The actress and producer achieved a significant recognition with her role as the lead in director Greta Gerwig’s ‘Barbie’ alongside Ryan Gosling. But like her character in the movie, Margot Robbie also had intense moments of self-doubt when she questioned whether or not she would be able to do justice to her role.
“Oh My God, I Dunno How To Do This”: Margot Robbie Recalls Her Pre-Production Crisis
In a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, Margot Robbie opened up about battling imposter syndrome before taking on the iconic role. Recalling a moment of sheer panic right before filming of the movie started, Robbie said she got pre-movie jitters with writer-director Greta Gerwig.
“I went to Greta’s house and had that crisis. I’d spent years trying to get this movie going. And suddenly we’re going to shoot the thing,” 33-year-old Robbie said. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, I dunno how to do this.’ It happens before every single movie I’ve ever done,” she added.
“A few weeks out, I have this meltdown where I’m like, ‘What am I doing? I don’t know how to act. Everyone’s going to suddenly realize that I can’t do any of this, and it’s going to be terrible.’ And then it is just sheer panic,” she explained.
“My panic was palpable and debilitating,” she said while talking about the uncertainty she had about the extensive research she had conducted for the character. “I don’t know how to apply any of this research I’ve done, and I’ve done all the things, and I still don’t know who she is,” Robbie said.
Robbie compared the challenge of enacting Barbie to trying to pick up a grape with a fork when there’s nothing to hold onto. “There’s nothing here to hold onto because she doesn’t have childhood trauma and she doesn’t have all these things that I normally latch onto and then build off. She doesn’t have any of it, and I couldn’t get her.”
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‘Barbie’ Director Greta Gerwig Helped Margot Robbie Navigate Through The Crisis
Fortunately, Robbie had Gerwig to help her. The director played a crucial role in helping Robbie navigate through this crisis. She said Gerwig “helped me through that and pointed me in all the right directions, and we talked through it“.
Gerwig also opened up as she recalled the visit by Robbie before production began. “I have a distinct memory of Margot coming over to my house before we started shooting and having a bit of an actor crisis: ‘How am I doing this?’ It’s the actor equivalent of facing a blank page,” Gerwig told the LA Times.
Robbie has opened up about her imposter syndrome previously as well. During an interview with Vogue, the ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ star said, “After 10 years of going to red carpet events, and for sure for the first couple years, I had major imposter syndrome, where every time I’d go, I was like, ‘I can’t believe they’ve let me in. Someone’s gonna notice that I don’t belong here, and they’re gonna kick me outta Hollywood.'”
“[But] you go to these [industry events] and you’re saying hi to everyone, and you realize like, ‘Oh wow. I don’t have that imposter syndrome anymore. I’m really in this industry,’” she said.
Robbie has played some memorable roles in films like ‘I’, ‘Tonya’, ‘Suicide Squad’ and ‘Bombshell’ among others. Her latest blockbuster release ‘Barbie’ earned eight total Oscar nominations, including for Best Picture.
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