An episode with ...
Margot Robbie tells Michele Manelis about favourite toys and what it’s like being one
What childhood characters fuelled your imagination when growing up?
Funnily enough, and I am not just saying this, but I had Winnie the Pooh and Tigger stuffed toys. My mum used to do their voices at bedtime.
What’s the biggest misconception about you?
That I spend all my time sitting on a yacht or at a fancy party. I wish it were true. It’s the funniest thing because making films is the least glamorous thing ever. For the most part, you are sitting at a car park and you only have Port-a-loos. There’s really nothing glamorous.
It seems like your rise to the A-list came pretty struggle-free?
It’s been 10 years now since I started working full-time as an actor. I got my first role in Neighbours when I was 17 and I am 27 now. So it has very much been putting one foot in front of the other and just keep moving forward.
Did you have many odd jobs?
I had a million odd jobs. I’ve done every kind of job possible. I got my first part-time job when I was 10 and I worked in a surf store for two years, I worked at Subway, I cleaned houses, I babysat, I worked at a pharmacy, I did part-time stuff in an office, I worked behind a bar, did a bit of waitressing. I also worked in the kitchens, washing dishes. I also worked at a grocery store as a check-out chick for a while.
You played Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad, and of course now you’re immortalised as a doll. What’s that like? Yeah, that was quite a mindboggling thing when they said they were making a Harley Quinn action figure. That was really bizarre and I don’t really know what it’s like because I have yet to walk into someone’s house and see one there. I think that would freak me out. It’s cool and it’s a great honour and the best thing about Harley is that I think she does access that younger audience. It’s cool to think that there is a female character who young kids can like because I feel like most of the time it’s the guy characters that kids remember and who are made into dolls. We had Barbie but no action figures, so it’s kind of cool to bridge that gap.
What’s your all-time-favourite toy? Embarrassingly enough, I do have an answer to that. My bunny, which was given to me when I was born, and I still sleep with now. Bunny Hunny is the name. She is 27, like me, and has come with me everywhere. I still sleep with Bunny, which my husband thinks is superweird.
Now that you’re married, how has life changed?
Marriage is great, not much has changed. When Tom and I met, we were best friends and we were room-mates. Now we are married and are best friends and room-mates so it’s kind of the same.
What do you like to splurge on?
I’m pretty frugal. I actually don’t spend much money at all. I didn’t really grow up spending a lot of money and it makes me really anxious, the idea of it. It seems crazy to spend a huge amount of money on something you don’t necessarily need. But at Christmas time I love going all out and buying like a gazillion presents.
How much is nature a part of your life and what is your favourite room in your home?
Well, I just got a new home in LA, so I am still trying to figure it out. I spend very little time there because I have been working nonstop. Growing up, I lived on a property that had two cows and I chopped firewood after school and it was very much an outdoorsy lifestyle. Although LA looks very different to Australia, the idea of being outside and among nature is quite nostalgic for me because I have lived in cities since I left.