Margot Robbie Reveals the Film That Changed How She Sees Herself as an Actor

Margot Robbie has played many famous roles, but one movie helped her see herself in a completely new way as an actor.

After finding major success as Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad in 2016, Robbie became a global star. She returned to the role in Birds of Prey and later in The Suicide Squad.

While those films made her a household name, Robbie has said it was a very different project that truly changed how she viewed her talent.

That shift came with I, Tonya, the 2017 biopic directed by Craig Gillespie. In the film, Robbie played controversial figure skater Tonya Harding. The movie was a hit, earning $53 million worldwide on a budget of $11 million. Critics praised the film, and Robbie received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.

Speaking to Refinery29, Robbie explained how intense the preparation was for the role. She said ice skating did not come easily at first and required months of hard work.

“I did like four or five months of training, five days a week, four hours a day. It was a lot,” she said. “I was face-planting until I could really wrap my head around the topic.” She added that over time, things began to click. “I quickly discovered that it was a brutal sport and incredibly difficult. I trained for ages, and after a while, I started making progress, and after a while, it became really fun. I really love it.”

Robbie also spoke about why she connected so strongly to Harding. In an interview with Deadline, she said the character felt familiar in an emotional way. “With Tonya, I focused on the fact she was an athlete and the ultimate underdog,” she said. “I found that very easy to get behind.” She compared Harding’s story to the kind of rise-and-fall tales she enjoys watching on screen. “There’s something there that you can really get behind.”

Her deep focus on Harding’s life and struggles helped her bring a more human side to someone who had long been judged harshly by the public. Robbie later said she understood the character in ways she didn’t expect.

That experience had a lasting effect. While speaking at a BAFTAs event in 2022, Robbie shared that watching herself in I, Tonya was the moment she realized she was truly good at her job. She said the role gave her confidence she had never felt before. After that, she felt brave enough to contact filmmakers she admired. That confidence led her to reach out to Quentin Tarantino, which later resulted in her casting as Sharon Tate in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

I, Tonya follows Harding’s rise in figure skating and the events surrounding the 1994 attack on her rival Nancy Kerrigan. The film uses interviews and dark humor to tell the story and breaks the fourth wall throughout. Robbie also served as a producer on the project. The cast included Sebastian Stan, Allison Janney, and several other well-known actors. Janney won multiple awards for her role, including an Oscar, while the film received praise across major award shows.

Today, I, Tonya is seen as a key moment in Robbie’s career. It not only earned her critical respect but also helped her believe in her own abilities as an actor.

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