Margot Robbie Recalls Slapping Leonardo DiCaprio During ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ Audition: “I Thought I’d Go to Jail”
Margot Robbie has opened up about a memorable moment from her Wolf of Wall Street audition that nearly landed her in jail. The actress, known for her roles in Barbie and I, Tonya, shared on the Talking Pictures podcast that during her audition for the iconic film, she made a bold and unexpected decision to slap Leonardo DiCaprio instead of following the script, which called for a kiss.
Robbie was reading a scene where her character throws water in DiCaprio’s face, but during the audition, she and DiCaprio began improvising. When they returned to the script, the last line was “come over here and kiss me.” However, Robbie, instead of kissing DiCaprio, slapped him across the face, an action that she feared might lead to legal consequences.
“I thought, ‘I could totally kiss Leonardo DiCaprio right now. That would be awesome. I can’t wait to tell all my friends this,’” Robbie recalled. “And then I was like, ‘nah. I just walloped him in the face.’”
Robbie said the room fell silent, and she was sure she had crossed a line. “I thought, ‘you’re going to get arrested. I’m pretty sure that this is assault, battery. Not only will you never work again, but actually you will go to jail for this,’” she joked. But much to her relief, both DiCaprio and director Martin Scorsese burst into laughter, with Scorsese exclaiming, “That was great!”
That spontaneous moment marked a turning point in Robbie’s career. Not only did she land the role of DiCaprio’s wife in The Wolf of Wall Street, but the film became a massive success upon its release in 2013, earning five Oscar nominations.
Looking back, Robbie is glad her impromptu slap didn’t land her behind bars. Instead, it catapulted her into stardom, eventually leading to a thriving career in Hollywood with multiple Oscar nominations, including for I, Tonya, and Bombshell.