How slapping Leonardo DiCaprio got Margot Robbie a role in ‘Wolf of Wall Street’
The 2013 movie The Wolf of Wall Street was something of a game-changer, becoming the most commercially successful film of Martin Scorsese’s career whilst handing Leonardo DiCaprio his sixth Oscar nomination and introducing Margot Robbie to the wider world of cinema. Indeed, Robbie has come a long way since her debut on the classic soap Neighbours, making her way from the fictional Erinsborough suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, to the heights of the Hollywood hills.
Having already collaborated with the likes of Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Greta Gerwig, James Gunn and Damien Chazelle, Robbie has proven that there are few actors in the industry quite as significant as her right now. Efficiently bridging the gap between mainstream cinema and the independent sphere, Robbie has managed to become a celebrated actor in both areas, receiving critical acclaim for I, Tonya, whilst also becoming a cultural icon for her depiction of the comic-book character Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad.
But, her performance in The Wolf of Wall Street truly seized the industry’s attention, stealing every scene she was in as Naomi Lapaglia, the seductive wife of the protagonist. Described as having “a unique audacity that surprises and challenges and just burns like a brand” by Scorsese, Robbie surprised the cast and crew of the film from the very start of production.
Having to audition for the role in the film, Robbie was nervous and incredibly eager to secure the part, telling Harper’s Bazaar in a 2017 interview, “In my head I was like, ‘You have literally 30 seconds left in this room and if you don’t do something impressive nothing will ever come of it. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance, just take it’”.
Faced with the mighty Oscar-winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio to react to and act with, Robbie knew she had to do something memorable, adding, “And so I start screaming at him and he’s yelling back at me. And he’s really scary. I can barely keep up”. Nearing the end of the audition, DiCaprio says “You should be happy to have a husband like me. Now get over here and kiss me,” as Robbie recalls, and with time running out to impress, Robbie took drastic measures.
Recalling the audition, she explains, “So I walk up really close to his face and then I’m like, ‘Maybe I should kiss him. When else am I ever going to get a chance to kiss Leo DiCaprio, ever? But another part of my brain clicks, and I just go, Whack! I hit him in the face. And then I scream, ‘F*** you!’ And that’s not in the script at all. The room just went dead silent, and I froze”.
Thankfully for Robbie, and indeed audiences across the world, Scorsese and DiCaprio were impressed, and the Australian actor was granted a role in The Wolf of Wall Street, handing cinema a truly great supporting performance in the process.
Fans of Robbie are eagerly awaiting the release of Damien Chazelle’s Babylon in December, where the actor will star beside Brad Pitt and Tobey Maguire, as well as Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie, which will co-star Ryan Gosling.
