Margot Robbie Says She's A John Cena Fan & REVEALS How She Can Cry On Command!

Margot Robbie is an actress known for her roles in movies like The Wolf of Wall Street, Suicide Squad, I Tonya, Bombshell and Once Upon A Time in Hollywood. Her new movie Babylon (@babylonmovie) comes out on December 23, 2022. Chris Van Vliet sits down with her and Diego Calva to talk about working with director Damien Chazelle on this film, the moment that made them want to become actors, the idea that performances live on forever, how Margot Robbie is able to cry on command and more!

For more information about Chris Van Vliet and INSIGHT go to: https://podcast.chrisvanvliet.com

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Last time we spoke I found out that you are a WWE fan. Is John Cena still your favorite?

Margot: “He is [still my favorite]. He is so with the hype, he is the best. I love him, I really love him, even though you can’t see him.”

How do I get involved in a party like this?

Margot: “Well stick in town kid, this is Hollywood. No I mean, just come to a Damien Chazelle set. Being at that party like you see it on screen, that was how it felt.”

It was The Roaring 20’s then. It's the 20’s now, doesn’t feel as roaring as perhaps.

Margot: “No, not quite the same.”

I love this idea that in the movie people do not last forever, but once you are on film, the performance does. That's a pretty magical thing.

Margot: “I love that line. Jean Smart has this beautiful scene at the end with Brad [Pitt] and they talk about exactly that. She says you’ll die and stuff, but you’ll dine with ghosts and angels forever, because you are captured on cellular. That line always made me cry, it’s so beautiful.”

Do you know what the moment was for you Diego that you wanted to become an actor?

Diego Calva: “That I wanted to become an actor? Honestly I was doing boom operation and an actor didn’t show up. The director asked me if I could do this small role, and I felt like ok, this could be fun. I just kept doing it and doing it and now I am sitting here with Margot Robbie.”

Margot Robbie: “That’s so nice. Very art imitating life.”

I’ve been lucky enough to be on a few movie sets. What is it that is so magical about a movie set?

Margot: “I don’t know. Maybe it is the fact that we are adults and we are playing make believe on such a huge scale, and it feels like we have hacked the system.”

Diego: “Yeah, like freedom. You can breathe freedom. Anything can happen there.”

I love the scene where your character is crying on command repeatedly. How are you doing this?

Margot: “Just that I can cry on command, pretty much.”

What do you think of?

Margot: “I just think of something sad. Damien [Chazelle] asked me that too. [I think of] Family dying and stuff like that, it works. Also, if I have to do a lot of crying, I try to not sleep a lot in the days leading up to it. The more tired I am, the easier it is to cry. You know when you are really tired and you are on the brink of tears if you are really tired? So yeah, I just try to get 2 to 3 hours sleep in the days leading up to it, then I can do it. Give it a try! I also worked on a soap for 3 years, so I practised the crying thing.”

What is something that you think you will take with you from Damien that you will bring to every other set you work on?

Margot: “Oh God, so many things, you go first.”

Diego: “The concentration. He is just the hardest worker on set sometimes, he puts you on the next level. He found things on me that I didn’t know that I had. Just that hard working situation, that is something I will try to keep with me.”

Margot: “Yeah that and that relentless pursuit of perfection. It doesn’t have to have to be perfection in the sense that it’s perfect, but it has to be better than you ever imagined. If it’s not that, you haven’t got the take. I hate it when you have to move on because of time constraints, but not on a Damien Chazelle set. You will go again and again and again until you have gotten it better and more exciting. You never know when it’s going to be his version of perfection, but you give it your all until you got it.”