From Neighbours to Hollywood notability, Margot Robbie has come a long way in her career and has won the hearts of cinema-goers globally.
Arguably, Margot Robbie‘s big break came with The Wolf Of Wall Street in 2013, when she starred alongside Leonardo DiCaprio as Jordan Belfort’s tough-talking wife, Naomi Lapaglia.
You can watch that famous scene that shot her to superstardom in the clip below:
But Margot bagged the role with an unscripted – and violent – audition, impressing both Leo and the Oscar-winning director, Martin Scorsese.
Writing in TIME‘s 100 Most Influential People issue, Scorsese recalled:
She clinched her part in The Wolf of Wall Street during our first meeting – by hauling off and giving Leonardo DiCaprio a thunderclap of a slap on the face.
[It was] an improvisation that stunned us all.
Apparently getting caught up in the heat of her portrayal of the fiery woman from the Bronx, Margot herself was actually worried the pair of Hollywood heavyweights would call the police after her unscripted assault.
Margot told Harper’s Bazaar back in 2015:
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.’
And so I start screaming at him and he’s yelling back at me. And he’s really scary. I can barely keep up…And he ends it saying, ‘You should be happy to have a husband like me. Now get over here and kiss me.’
While most people would crumble at the suggestion, Margot kept her character’s cool – and what happened next landed her the role of a lifetime.
She continued:
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, ‘Fuck you!’ And that’s not in the script at all. The room just went dead silent and I froze.
Apparently Scorsese and DiCaprio burst out laughing after her acting outburst. That’s method-acting for you, darling.
Since Robbie has put her talents to further good use in Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, Suicide Squad, The Big Short and The Legend of Tarzan.
…And it all started with an improvised slap.
A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.