James Gunn names the best actor he’s ever worked with
James Gunn has become a household name in the superhero movie world. After beginning his career as a screenwriter on Tromeo and Juliet in 1997, Gunn moved into the world of fantastic heroes in 2010 with Super. Subsequently, he directed Guardians of the Galaxy and The Suicide Squad, establishing his presence in Hollywood.
Naturally, given that Gunn is part of the biggest movement in modern film right now (albeit a rather laborious and tired one), he has worked with some of the biggest names in the game. He reserved his highest praise for one actor in particular, though, an exceptional talent from The Suicide Squad.
Discussing the brilliance of Margot Robbie, Gunn said: “She’s probably my favourite actor I’ve ever worked with. I think there are a couple of people in her league: Glenn Close and Chukwudi Iwuji, who I just worked with on the Peacemaker show. But what’s so great about Margot is that she’s just so good on so many different fronts. She’s a fantastic actor, she’s a fantastic comedian, and she’s a fantastic athlete.”
Robbie played Harley Quinn in The Suicide Squad, the 2021 standalone sequel to 2016’s Suicide Squad. The film tells of a group of sentenced convicts who form a new superhero task force in exchange for more lenient sentences. Together, they travel to South America to remove any traces of a giant alien before the Corto Maltese government gets their hands on it.
Gunn continued to give high praise to Robbie in particular. He said: “Being able to create Harley with all of those different qualities makes it very easy for me. But there were adjustments, too. This movie is different. It really is more of a naturalistic acting style than what she’s done as Harley in the past.”
He added: “There were some adjustments to be made to her performance and to the character. It wasn’t like she came in 100 per cent ready to go, but it was a balance between what I was doing and what she was doing. So, I just love working with her. She’s a great person, who doesn’t have an ego, and this movie was full of those.”
However, Robbie was not the only The Suicide Squad star to whom Gunn paid his respects. He concluded: “John Cena is exactly the same way. They’re both these incredibly famous people, who just don’t have a chip on their shoulder, and that’s actually really rare.”
