Margot Robbie described slapping Leonardo DiCaprio in an audition that supercharged her career
"Wolf of Wall Street"/Paramount
- Margot Robbie described slapping Leonardo DiCaprio in her audition for "The Wolf of Wall Street."
- Robbie said she thought she'd gone too far, and worried someone would call the police.
- She said: "I was thinking, 'I'm going to get arrested, I'm pretty sure that's assault or battery.'"
Margot Robbie said she slapped Leonardo DiCaprio in her audition for "The Wolf of Wall Street," and worried she'd be arrested.
Robbie played Naomi Lapaglia, the fictionalized wife of Jordan Belfort, the financial criminal portrayed by DiCaprio.
But she took a risk in her audition, which left an impression on her costar and director Martin Scorsese, she recalled when appearing on the November 26 episode of the "Talking Pictures" podcast.
She said she was contemplating whether to kiss DiCaprio or slap him — and chose the slap.
She said: "I thought, 'I could kiss Leonardo DiCaprio right now, and that would be awesome. I can't wait to tell all of my friends this.' And then I thought nah. And just walloped him in the face. It was dead silent for what felt like an eternity but was probably three seconds."
"They just burst out laughing. Leo and Marty were laughing so hard. They said, 'That was great," she said.
"I was thinking, 'I'm going to get arrested, I'm pretty sure that's assault or battery. Not only will you never work again, actually you will go to jail for this, you idiot.' And also why did you have to hit him so hard? You should have done it lighter.'"
The actor's move paid off because not only did it win her the role, but it drove her career forward and pushed her into the spotlight.
She later landed roles in other blockbusters like "The Suicide Squad," "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" and "Barbie."
During the podcast, Robbie also touched on her decision to go nude for a scene with DiCaprio, which also got the audience's attention at the time. She said that Scorsese offered to make her more comfortable by having her in a robe instead, but she decided against it.
She said of her character: "That's not what she would do in that scene. The whole point is that she's going to come out completely naked—that's the card she's playing right now."