Ever since she landed her breakthrough role in Martin Scorsese's 2013 The Wolf of Wall Street, Margot Robbie has taken Hollywood by storm. Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2017, and by 2019, she was ranked among the world's highest-paid actresses.
While Margot's acting talent has earned her two Academy Award nominations and five BAFTA Award noms, her mother may actually be to thank for helping her land two of her latest and most significant roles. She signed Margot up to take trapeze lessons as a child, and the acrobatic skills she acquired at a young age were instrumental in helping Margot become the DC Extended Universe's Harley Quinn and the star of Warner Bros' upcoming biopic Queen of the Air.
Margot Earned A Trapeze Certificate Long Before She Started Acting
When Margot was growing up in Australia, her mother encouraged her to find a hobby and eventually sent her off to circus school. She received a "trapeze certificate" when she was eight, but her love for acrobatics was quickly replaced with a passion for acting.
Well over a decade went by and Margot didn't give trapeze a thought, but she told Vogue that she started having a recurring dream "in which she was flying through the air, high above the net under the big top."
"I couldn't stop thinking about that stupid dream," she said. "I feel like I missed my calling."
The dream inspired her to re-enroll in trapeze classes, and one of her instructors admits that "she's disgustingly good at it." She demonstrated her skill during her June 2016 Vogue cover interview, and threw "one trick after another," including the set split, the set straddle, and the penny roll, "with what looks like little effort."
Trapeze Helped Margot Become Harley Quinn
Despite mixed reactions towards Suicide Squad and Birds of Prey's poor box office showing, fans have rallied behind Margot Robbie's portrayal of Harley Quinn. She's become a favorite addition to the DC Extended Universe, and Margot's trapeze skills played a significant role in helping her bring the gymnastics-loving Harley to life.
Viewers immediately embraced Margot's take on the classic Batman antihero when she was first seen performing trapeze tricks while locked away in her Arkham Asylum cell in Suicide Squad. According to director David Ayer, Margot's special skill helped catch his eye while casting for the film, and he loved that she was able to pull these tricks off on set without assistance from a stunt performer.
"She has ridiculous depth, and she’s never been coddled, so she’s very physically courageous. The things she was doing herself as far as stunts, you wouldn’t believe," Ayer told Vogue. "There’s only a handful of actors who do that sort of work themselves.”
She's Set To Portray International Circus Hall Of Fame Performer Lillian Leitzel
Margot's trapeze background undoubtedly played a big role in helping her land the lead role in Warner Bros.' upcoming adaptation of Dean N. Jensen's 2013 nonfiction book Queen of the Air.
She will star in the biopic as tragic circus star Lillian Leitzel, an acrobatic sensation in the 1920s and the first inductee into the International Circus Hall of Fame. Leitzel was famed for her signature move, the one-arm plange, which required the 4ft 9in performer to spin over 100 times and dislocate her shoulder on every turn.
Queen of the Air will follow Leitzel's volatile love affair with fellow acrobat Alfredo Codona, before Leitzel's tragic death during a live performance in 1931 when her rigging snapped.