The film was also her first as a producer, which paved the way for her to produce and star in Barbie.

Margot Robbie is currently riding high on the success of the film Barbie, which became the most commercially successful film of 2023. Robbie served as both the lead star and the producer of the fantasy comedy. She produced it under her company, LuckyChap Entertainment. The Robbie starrer earned more than $1 billion at the box office.

The actress has been expected to get an Oscar nomination for her performance. Her first Oscar nomination came in the form of the sports black comedy I, Tonya, which explored the infamous case of assault orchestrated by Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding. Robbie mentioned that she did not know it was a real story until she finished reading the script.

Margot Robbie Did Not Know I, Tonya Was Based On A Real Story

Margot Robbie in I, Tonya

Margot Robbie began her production company LuckyChap Entertainment with her husband Tom Ackerly and childhood friends Sophia Kerr and Josie McNamara in 2014. The first feature film produced by the company was the sports black comedy I, Tonya. The film was directed by Craig Gillespie and was written by Steven Rogers.

The film was based on the infamous assault incident reportedly planned by Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding and her ex-husband Jeff Gillooly. The incident occurred in 1994 when Harding’s competitor Nancy Kerrigan was struck in the knee with a telescopic baton while she was competing against Harding in the United States Figure Skating Championships.

Tonya Harding/ Getty Images

The subsequent trial and disciplinary hearing found Jeff Gillooly and his associates guilty and also led to Tonya Harding being banned from any competitions by the USFSA. Margot Robbie mentioned that she did not know that the film was based on a real incident until she finished the script written by Rogers. In an interview with Deadline, she said,

“I realized after the fact when we made I, Tonya, which was that when we were putting the movie out there, everybody we were showing it to had already decided how they felt about Tonya Harding…It was something I hadn’t taken into account as we made it because I didn’t know Tonya Harding when I read that script. The first time I read it, I thought the story was fictional.”

Margot Robbie would go on to get her first Oscar nomination for the role, and the film was also nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.

Margot Robbie Said That I, Tonya Prepared Her For Barbie

Margot Robbie in Barbie

From her first film as a producer and actor in the black comedy I, Tonya, to last year’s insanely successful Barbie, which saw her in the same roles, Margot Robbie has come far. Her career had a breakthrough when she starred in Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street, which turned ten in 2023. Her production house is soon to turn ten in 2024.

Robbie’s stint as a producer began with her company LuckyChap Entertainment with the film I, Tonya. The black comedy film, as mentioned, was based on a real incident about real people, which had drawn international attention and became a pop cultural phenomenon. Though Barbie is far from being real, Robbie likened the experience of I, Tonya to the Greta Gerwig directorial in one particular way. She said,
“One of the main reasons was that the name ‘Barbie’ is just so globally recognizable. It’s like Coca-Cola and McDonald’s…I totally overlooked the element that audiences would have a built-in perspective of our protagonist before they sat down and watched it.”
Margot Robbie mentioned that because of these preconceived notions, the film had to work harder and bring forth a new perspective on the IP. She said,
“That’s a really interesting place to start to share an experience with an audience. People came with a feeling already associated to Tonya, again, good or bad, and the movie then had to take them on a journey to question that feeling. With Barbie, I really felt like we could do something similar but on a much grander scale.”
I, Tonya was categorized as a mockumentary as it included interviews from Harding and Gillooly, showcasing their perspective on the assault incident.