Just like how Barbie learned to be human in Barbie, Margot Robbie had to figure out how to play the doll in a real and personal way. While she wears big wigs and iconic costumes at the beginning of the film that is considered one of the best of 2023, by the end, she’s dressing like a human and acting like one too. It turns out, for the actress and producer, playing this transformation, especially compared to her past roles, made her feel “exposed.”
While Margot Robbie was facing many hurdles as the star and producer of the film, figuring out how to play Barbie came as an unexpected challenge. She opened up to THR about why she felt “exposed” playing the titular doll, saying:
If I’m being honest, I felt quite exposed in playing this character in a way I definitely wasn’t expecting. In the past I’ve really hid behind my characters, they’re big, crazy characters and I’m in makeup and costumes and I do an accent. There’s none of me in that. By the end of Barbie, after she’s gone on this journey — and my wigs are getting smaller, the clothes are less structured — you feel like you’re just watching me which is the opposite of what my instincts tell me what to do.
For context, Barbie has over 30 outfit changes. She starts in big, bright and colorful ensembles that resemble the iconic doll. By the end of the film, she can be seen rocking a simple yellow dress or a casual blazer with jeans and some pink Birkenstocks. The evolution of her style speaks to her journey to become human, and for Robbie, she couldn’t completely transform to play her — as she has for many other roles — she had to be vulnerable and personal. That was the challenge.
That makes sense too. Margot Robbie has made a name for herself by playing big and boisterous characters who are nothing like her. For example, Robbie’s best movies see her playing Harley Quinn in various DC projects, the loud and rambunctious actress Nellie and Damien Chazelle’s Babylon, and Tonya Harding in I, Tonya. All these characters are wildly different from the actress personally, and as she said, it’s easier for her to play the opposite, rather than portraying someone who is similar to her.
In the past, Robbie has spoken about how her “usual tools didn’t apply” to playing Barbie. She’s an actress who relies on animal work to find a creature that has the essence of her character to transform into them, and she quickly realized that “pretending to be a flamingo” wasn’t working for Barbie. However, she said that when Greta Gerwig sent her an episode of This American Life, she was able to click into her character.
Even though playing Barbie was challenging for Robbie, all the hard work really paid off. The entire cast of Barbie has been praised for their work, and it’s looking like the actress behind the titular character could end up with an Oscar nomination for her work.
My favorite movie of 2023 was Barbie, and part of the reason why was Robbie’s vulnerable and moving performance as the lead character. While she felt “exposed” playing her, the actress’s emotional work makes her character the grounded heart of the film, and one of the big reasons why it works so well.
To see the brilliant performance Margot Robbie gives as the beloved Matell doll, you can stream the critically acclaimed Barbie with a Max subscription.