It turns out Margot Robbie was a key architect of some of the most talked-about scenes in her debut film, Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf Of Wall Street.
During a recent appearance on the Talking Pictures podcast, the Oscar nominee said she had the idea to strike her future co-star Leonardo DiCaprio while she was auditioning for the 2013 Oscar-nominated film.
According to Margot, she and Leo had started improvising during their audition scene, and she had the idea to end the scene by kissing him.
But instead, she opted for a much more shocking finish.
“In my head, I was like: ‘I could totally kiss Leonardo DiCaprio right now. That would be awesome. I can’t wait to tell all my friends this.’ And then I was like, ‘Nah,’ and just sort of walloped him in the face,” she recalled.
“It was dead silent for what felt like an eternity but was probably three seconds.”
According to the Barbie star, the unexpected move left both her future co-star and the film’s director in stitches.
“They just burst out laughing. Leo and Marty were laughing so hard. They were like, ‘That was great,’” Margot said.
“What’s going through your mind in those three seconds?” podcast host Ben Mankiewicz asked.
“I was like: ‘You’re going to get arrested. I’m pretty sure that is assault, battery. Not only will you never work again, but actually, you will go to jail for this, you idiot,’” Margot responded.
“And also: ‘Why did you have to do it so hard? You could’ve done it lighter.’”
The Australian star also said she was given the option not to perform full frontal nudity in the scene where her character, Naomi Lapaglia, seduces her husband, shady millionaire stockbroker.
Scorsese suggested she could cover up with a robe if she wanted, Margot said, but she declined because she felt it wouldn’t be true to the character.
“[Scorsese] said, ‘Maybe you can be wearing a robe if you’re not comfortable.’ And I was like, ‘That is not what [Naomi] would do in that scene,’” Margot explained.
“She would not put a robe on. The whole point is that she’s going to come out completely naked. That’s the card she’s playing right now.”