The scene Margot Robbie regrets filming
At this point, it’s undeniable that Margot Robbie is one of the most beloved, well respected and highly coveted female actors of the 21st century. Her standout portrayal of the DC anti-hero Harley Quinn saw Robbie take a supporting role in two Warner Bros films and the lead in Birds of Prey – a testament to her interpretation of the comic book character. Beyond the superhero fare, her talents have been sought after by some of the industry’s biggest names, with directors such as Quentin Tarantino, Damien Chazelle and Greta Gerwig on her CV.
In recognition of her talents, Robbie has consistently been part of the awards season discourse, finally securing a ‘Best Actress’ Oscar nomination for her sensational performance in the 2017 Tonya Harding biopic I, Tonya, as well as a ‘Best Supporting Actress’ Oscar nomination for her role in the 2019 fact-based drama Bombshell, playing a character allegedly sexually harassed by Fox News chairman and CEO Roger Ailes.
And then, of course, she’s both produced and starred in Barbie, the new film based on the Mattel doll, which has caused an unprecedented shockwave through film circles and popular culture alike, setting the internet on fire with memes and inspiring a good-natured competition with Christopher Nolan’s latest film, Oppenheimer. However, a decade ago, Robbie was still an emerging talent. And whilst her collaboration with Martin Scorsese on The Wolf of Wall Street helped put Robbie on the map, there’s one scene that she’s made clear she would rather not revisit.
Rife with sex, drugs and money, one moment in the bombastic semi-fictional biography saw Robbie grappling with all three. As Naomi, the fictional second wife of real-life millionaire stockbroker Jordan Belfort, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, she found herself shooting several explicit scenes, including one where the couple make love, under the influence of copious amounts of cocaine, on a bed of banknotes.
Naturally, counterfeit cash was used during filming – but this unexpected substitute for real money left Robbie with a rather unusual lesson to share. During a 2017 interview with The Daily Beast, Robbie recalled the incident, “I got a million paper cuts on my back from all that money! It’s not as glamorous as it sounds.”
Robbie discovered that the texture of movie money is substantially different from genuine currency, a difference that resulted in some shocking observations from the film crew. “Maybe real money is a bit softer, but the fake money is like paper, and when I got up off the bed, I turned around to get my robe, and everyone gasped,” Robbie recounted. “I said, ‘What is it?’ And they said, ‘You look like you’ve been whipped a million times. Your back is covered in a thousand red scratches.'”
While the opportunity to work with Scorsese was undoubtedly a career highlight and presumably something Robbie would jump at again, it’s hard to reconcile the anecdote with a vaguely gratuitous scene in a film that sits fairly low down on the director’s oeuvre. Robbie also clarified that it’s an experience she wouldn’t recommend: “If anyone is ever planning on having sex on top of a pile of cash: don’t.”
