Margot Robbie Refused to Lose Weight for Her Role in ‘The Legend of Tarzan’

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Margot Robbie needs more praises sung. The Harley Quinn star hasn’t sacrificed a bite or sip of booze to fit into a ridiculous Hollywood stereotype. While she has partaken in some serious workout regimens to gain muscle tone, she’s not going to starve herself. And when The Legend of Tarzan producers asked her to lose some weight for her character Jane, she outright refused.

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Margot Robbie Told Producers That Jane Wouldn’t Be Thin, So She Shouldn’t Be Either

CANNES, FRANCE – MAY 22: Margot Robbie attends the photocall for “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood” during the 72nd annual Cannes Film Festival on May 22, 2019 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Stephane Cardinale – Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)

“It’s the 19th century (in the film) — if she’s got a bit of weight on her, it’s probably a good thing,” Robbie explained to Australia’s TV Week. “I’m not going to look thin just for the sake of it.”

Mic drop. However, Margot Robbie further admitted that she had other pressing reasons for not going on a diet.

“It was my first time living in London properly and I wanted to try every pub,” she said. Robbie admitted she would leave the film shoot at the end of a day, laughing “like a naughty schoolgirl,” and find a new bar. She’s apparently a big fan of booze.

One of her favorite watering holes happens to be a nightclub called Infernos, known for its somewhat debaucherous atmosphere and sticky carpets. Speaking with UK’s Sunday Times (per the Evening Standard), Robbie assured that she fit right in.

“Everyone is wasted and so sweaty,” she said. “Everyone looks a mess. By the time I make it to Infernos, I look so revolting that nobody’s going to look twice.”

While Margot Robbie Was Drinking and Eating Her Heart Out, Her Tarzan Co-Star Was Starving

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA – FEBRUARY 02: Margot Robbie attends the photo call for Columbia Pictures’ ‘Peter Rabbit’ at The London Hotel on February 2, 2018 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)

While Margot Robbie was out having the time of her life — in the name of an authentic Jane, as far as producers knew — her costar was having a completely different experience. Alexander Skarsgård needed to portray a realistic Tarzan, which meant he couldn’t just tell producers to go f*ck themselves.

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Skarsgård said he spent months of training before shooting commenced. He’d eat small portions of protein-rich food every few hours and withheld from carbs. He followed the diet as meticulously as he did his acting method, which included altering his entire way of walking.

“The key for me was I didn’t want to look like a broiler,” Skarsgård said. “I didn’t want to look like someone from Venice Beach, that sort of Golds Gym look.”

“I remember the day that he was allowed an apple, and he kissed the apple,” Margot Robbie told EW. “It hit me how deprived you are if you’re that excited to see a piece of fruit.” Robbie added that Skarsgård would ask her to detail everything she ate over the weekend when they reconvened for work.

“The diet – horrible!” Skarsgård told Us Weekly (via the Toronto Sun). “I’ve got to give credit to Guy, our chef. He had his hands tied — like, no sugar, no dairy. It was very strict.”

When The Legend of Tarzan filming wrapped, Skarsgård drove straight to his father’s house in London and recuperated with a 4-day food binge.

“I spent four days just in bed, being fed by Dad,” he told EW. “He cooked these pastas with rich sauces and bone marrow and fried mozzarella and tons of beer and wine. It was the most incredible weekend of my life.”

Robbie Has Admitted to Being Self-Conscious, But Not Enough to Make Herself Miserable

BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 10: Margot Robbie attends the 80th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton on January 10, 2023 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/FilmMagic)

Hilariously, this may be one of the rare cases of hearing about male and female beauty standards, and power balance, being turned around. It all made for an impressive film, though. Tarzan truly looked like he’d been raised in the jungle and Jane held a realistic air of an early 19th century lady.

Margot Robbie has spoken out about being “self-conscious” in certain revealing costumes, but it’s never pushed her to starve herself. Speaking with The New York Times, she said she wasn’t a fan of being hosed down right after lunch while filming Suicide Squad. Nor did she enjoy her teeny tiny hot pants.

“As Margot, no, I don’t like wearing that,” she said. “I’m eating burgers at lunchtime, and then you go do a scene where you’re hosed down and soaking wet in a white T-shirt, it’s so clingy and you’re self-conscious about it.”

But the Australian actress also knows how powerful the narratives we feed ourselves are. And she remembers to think positively whenever she starts to doubt her own self-image.

“You need to act like you think you’re really gorgeous and you need to be completely convinced with that, because everyone else will believe it, too.”

Read More: Margot Robbie Reveals How Pubic Hair and Real Breasts Are Filmed During Sex Scenes

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