Margot Robbie is perhaps the most popular actress in the world right now, after helping to spark the great Barbenheimer fever before the releases of Barbie and Oppenheimer. At one point, her popularity was so big that, in an interview with Deadline, Robbie even worried people would be getting “sick” of her on their cinema screens. Despite her illustrious career, however, there have been moments that Margot Robbie did not enjoy as much as others. In an interview with the Washington Post, Margot Robbie sat down and discussed her “least favorite” moment in acting. She claimed that one stunt in particular was “the most unpleasant” thing she’d ever done.
Margot Robbie Did a Stunt In ‘Suicide Squad’ That Was Truly Nauseating
According to Margot Robbie, this “unpleasant” scene came in 2016’s Suicide Squad where her character, Harley Quinn, dived into an acid tub in order to prove her love for the Joker (Jared Leto). At first, the Joker seems to be glad that Harley Quinn sinks in, seemingly drowning in the acid. However, after a few seconds, the Joker dives in after Harley to rescue her, bringing her to the surface in his arms, with Quinn’s skin melting off to expose white skin. Robbie described how the “gluggy paint” used in the scene went everywhere, presumably to have the effect that Quinn’s skin was mixing or dissolving into the acid. Her eyes, ears, mouth, and nose were fully clogged. Whenever she tried to open her eyes, the paint would “glaze over” her eyes, causing her to only see white. It speaks to how truly uncomfortable this experience must have been considering Robbie had previously acknowledged, in an interview with Porter, how embarrassing it was for her to film the full-frontal scene in Wolf of Wall Street.
Sadly, Margot Robbie’s Pain Was Not Worth It In ‘Suicide Squad’
Perhaps, the worst part about the scene in question is how there was so much promise for so little pay off. Harley jumping into the acid should be such a formative moment for the character in her descent into an abusive relationship with the Joker. The moment when Joker dives in feels like another vague element in their relationship. We never see either of them commit to loving each other or navigating the tumultuous nature of their abusive relationship, which is at the core of their twisted dynamic. In the same interview with The Washington Post, Margot pointed out how the “co-dependence” and toxic nature of the relationship is what made the character of Harley Quinn make sense to her after she originally “didn’t understand” the relationship between Harley and the Joker, finding it “frustrating.” Not only is it a vague step in their relationship, but the silence before the Joker jumps in after Harley gives the character something of a hero moment which he does not deserve. It also denied Margot Robbie the impactful character moment she deserved after all her effort.
It is a shame that Margot Robbie had to go through a pretty uncomfortable stunt all for a movie that would later be panned, and cause further chaos in the DCEU. However, despite this awful moment, Robbie’s portrayal was still praised, especially in the later Birds of Prey and James Gunn‘s The Suicide Squad. The character is now something Robbie can look back on and be proud of how she greatly assisted in bringing this character into the forefront of D.C. adaptations. Quinn would even get her own animated show, Harley Quinn, with Kaley Cuoco voicing the titular character. Margot Robbie also noted in an interview with Variety that she “always wanted Harley to be a character that would get passed on to other actresses”, and with Lady Gaga the latest actress to step into the role for Joker: Folie à Deux, it seems she has accomplished that goal.
Suicide Squad is currently available to stream on Max in the U.S.
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