Margot Robbie has looked back on one of the most daring choices in her early career: going fully nude in Martin Scorsese film The Wolf of Wall Street.
Speaking on the Talking Pictures podcast with Ben Mankiewicz of Turner Classic Movies, Robbie discussed her portrayal of Naomi Lapaglia, the savvy and seductive wife of Leonardo DiCaprio’s Jordan Belfort.
At just 22, Robbie had a decision to make when it came to one of the film’s eyebrow-raising scenes. When Naomi takes Jordan back to her place, any doubt he has about getting lucky quickly evaporates when she leaves the room and returns in her birthday suit.
Scorsese did offer Robbie an alternative version of the scene if she so desired. “Maybe you can be wearing a robe if you’re not comfortable,” Scorsese had told her. Robbie declined, feeling that a robe at this moment simply wouldn’t align with her character. “That’s not what she would do in that scene,” Robbie explained. “The whole point is that she’s going to come out completely naked — that’s the card she’s playing right now.”
Her dedication to staying true to the character wasn’t limited to the final performance; it began during her audition. Robbie recounted a scene where the script called for her character to kiss DiCaprio’s Jordan, but she decided to take a completely unexpected route.
“I thought, ‘I could kiss Leonardo DiCaprio right now, and that would be awesome,’” she said. “And then I thought, ‘nah,’ and just walloped him in the face.”
The bold move left the room silent for what Robbie said “felt felt like an eternity but was probably three seconds.” Much to her relief, Scorsese and DiCaprio burst into laughter, impressed by her choice.
“They just burst out laughing. Leo and Marty were laughing so hard. They said, ‘That was great,’” Robbie recalled, though she admitted her initial reaction was panic. “You’re going to get arrested. I’m pretty sure that’s assault or battery,” she joked.
Robbie’s all-in approach proved instrumental in helping shape a performance that catapulted the now-three-time Oscar nominee into stardom.
