Margot Robbie takes on a leading role in David O Russell’s star-studded period mystery Amsterdam – and it sounds like she went through a rather intense preparation period for the role.
Robbie plays Valerie Voze, a World War One nurse turned eccentric artist, and as part of the process she enjoyed trying her hand at some zany artwork of her own. Not only that – some of the art she made during lockdown even ended up making it into the finished film.
“Fortunately, I had a long time to prep Valerie – longer than I’ve ever had to prep a character,” she explained to RadioTimes.com and other media at a virtual press conference ahead of the film’s release.
“Not only because David was so collaborative that he wanted to speak about Valerie and this film in general years before we made it, but then also, we shut down because of COVID. So I really had a long time to prep Valerie, maybe a little too long, to be honest!
“I started making a lot of art,” she continued. “Valerie kind of art, at home in lockdown. And it was getting very bizarre – she’s kooky and artistic and nuts.
“And I think at one point, my husband walked in, and I was like, I had bits of metal and fake blood. And I had my Super 8 out and I had a mask on, I had all this crazy stuff, like X-rays and he was like, ‘I think you’re taking this character too far. You need to calm down!’”
Robbie added that she “fell in love” with the character, especially the manner in which she “just marches to the beat of her own drum”.
‘The friendship pact that she made with Harold (John David Washington) and Burt (Christian Bale), I mean, it’s everything to her,” she explained. “And David and I spoke a lot – I have a very close trio, similar to this. So I think you do end up infusing parts of yourself in there. And I think that comes across in a very authentic way on the camera.”
She was then asked if any of her artwork was used for the film, to which she responded: “Some of the Super 8 that I shot during lockdown, actually!”
Amsterdam is showing in UK cinemas from Friday 7th October 2022. Visit our Film hub for more news, interviews and features, or find something to watch with our TV Guide.
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