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Margot Robbie’s meteoric rise to stardom can be traced back to her iconic role as Naomi Lapaglia in Martin Scorsese‘s The Wolf of Wall Street, which debuted in 2013. But it wasn’t just Scorsese’s directorial vision or Leonardo DiCaprio‘s Oscar-nominated performance that made the film unforgettable. Robbie’s fearless portrayal saw the budding starlet risk it all for a scene—you know the one—that fans still talk about ten years on. As it turns out, though, it wasn’t the director’s choice to have Robbie in her birthday suit, but the actress herself.
Appearing on the Talking Pictures podcast with Ben Mankiewicz, Robbie recalled working on her breakout role, revealing that Scorsese, ever the collaborative gentleman, offered her a way to avoid going full-frontal during a scene with DiCaprio.
“He said, ‘Maybe you can be wearing a robe if you’re not comfortable,’” Robbie explained. “But that’s not what she would do in that scene.” Naomi’s unapologetic confidence demanded a bolder choice, which Robbie embraced.
“The whole point is that she’s going to come out completely naked,” she asserted. “That’s the card she’s playing right now.”
The actor, then just in her early 20s and at the dawn of a major career, was already proving her mettle in a room filled with Hollywood titans.
Robbie famously slapped DiCaprio in the face during a moment of improvisation.
“I thought, ‘I could kiss Leonardo DiCaprio right now…’ And then I thought, ‘Nah’. And just walloped him in the face,” she recounted. The risk, which she laughed about instantly picturing jail time for, paid off and elicited roaring laughter from both Scorsese and DiCaprio.
From Australia’s Neighbours to the blockbuster Barbie, Robbie, who recently added ‘boy mum’ to her repertoire, has become one of Hollywood’s most sought-after women—both as an actress and producer.
