Margot Robbie’s career almost hit a roadblock after her appearance in The Wolf of Wall Street where she played Naomi Lapaglia, a character who used her sexuality to get what she wanted from Jordan Belfort, the Wall Street mogul.

She bared all in several scenes, which gave her a lot of popularity but did not give her career a perfect trajectory.

Producers felt that she was pigeonholed as a “sex symbol” more than a legitimate actor after her nude scenes.

In 2018, Robbie auditioned for the historical drama Mary Queen of Scots opposite Saoirse Ronan where she played Elizabeth I.

However, the film crew was “unable to imagine Robbie as Elizabeth I” thinking she was more of a character actor than the daunting figure that was Elizabeth I.

Mary Queen of Scots director Josie Rourke admitted Robbie was “not her first choice” for the powerful role.

Speaking at the Power of Film symposium, Rourke spoke out about the crew’s reservations and said, “In their heads, she was probably lodged more as a sex symbol figure than she was as Elizabeth I.”

Eventually, Rourke spoke out in defence of Robbie and hired her for the role, and she delivered a stunning performance.

Robbie told Harper’s Bazaar she was looking to play a different kind of woman in her next movie:

“I didn’t want to pick up another script where I was the wife or the girlfriend — just a catalyst for the male story line. It was uninspiring.”

She committed to the role of Elizabeth I and delivered a foreboding performance that no doubt matched her haunting look.

However, she felt “left out” of the cast and crew, saying, “It was very alienating. And I felt very lonely. It was an interesting social experiment.”

Despite almost being cast aside for this serious role because of her previously raunchy scenes, Robbie has defended her portrayal in The Wolf of Wall Street.

She defended the director Martin Scorsese’s decision to have her nude for large portions of the movie, saying, “I think nudity for the sake of nudity is shameful.

If they’ve put it in just so that a girl gets her top off, then that’s disgusting. And you can always tell.

But I also think it’s disgusting when someone would have got naked in real life, in the film they conveniently leave their bra on or hold up the bed sheet.”

Robbie added that Naomi’s nudity and sexuality were her forms of persuasion.

“The whole point of Naomi is that her body is her only form of currency in this world.”

She later told the director that Naomi “had” to be naked during these scenes, not covered up. “She’s laying her cards on the table,” she noted.

Robbie’s memorable performances as Harley Quinn in DC Studios movies, as well as her roles in I, Tonya and Bombshell, have earned her numerous accolades.

However, her performance in The Wolf of Wall Street almost derailed her career.

The movie made her extremely popular, but her career trajectory was at risk because of her nude scenes.

She had to fight for a new look for her film career and audition for the role of Elizabeth I in Mary Queen of Scots.

The crew’s reservations about casting her almost cost her the role.

She has since defended how she was portrayed in The Wolf of Wall Street and argued that Naomi’s nudity and sexuality were necessary to convey the character’s persuasion tactics.