With her honey-hued mane of hair, subtle tan, and pearly white teeth, it'll come as no surprise when we say that Oscar-nominated actress Margot Robbie is officially our #GirlCrush icon du jour.
However, for her upcoming role as Queen Elizabeth I in Mary Queen of Scots, we're surprised to hear the 28-year-old couldn't get enough of playing 'ugly'.
In a new interview with Harper's Bazaar, the actress explains how refreshing it was to transform herself into the infamous queen.
After three and a half hours in the hair and make-up chair each day, the actress claims she was instantly treated differently by her colleagues on set when she stepped out in her costume.
'I'd say, "Hey, how's your weekend?" But they wouldn't even get close to me,' she says. 'It was very alienating. And I felt very lonely. It was an interesting social experiment.'
Opening up about the transformation process, she explains: 'They'd start with a head wrap, gelling and pinning my hair down.'
'Then we'd do a bald cap,' she ads.
Robbie's face was also covered in prosthetic scarring as a result of her character having suffered smallpox as a young royal.
Speaking of the prosthetics, she says: 'Surprisingly, the quick part was the white makeup and the heavily drawn-on blush, eyebrows, lips.'
Opening up about how it felt to challenge social norms when it comes to beauty, the actress explains that in attempting to physically embody the queen, she was able to dive deeper into her character's psyche.
'Normally there's someone who steps in and says, "No, keep all the girls looking pretty!" But Josie Rourke, the director, was keen to explore how Queen Elizabeth's looks affected her relationships,' she adds. 'Everyone had the guts to do it.'
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Robbie's co-star, Saoirse Ronan, who plays Queen Mary in the film, admits to being in awe of the Australian star's dedication to the role.
'Margot is a very, very good actor who takes her work incredibly seriously,' comments Ronan. 'I don't think looks even factor into it. Even when she has a glamorous role, she's got this brilliant, strong presence, and part of that is because she's a very sincere and authentic person. She's very open.'
Discussing her production company, LuckyChap Entertainment (which she launched in 2014 with husband Tom Ackerley and two friends) to champion female talent and scripts, she explains: 'When I was trying to make my name as an actress, creative roles for women were limited,' explains Robbie.
'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.'
'When we set out to create our company, it was sort of a new idea, but then in response to the #MeToo conversation it was all that anyone was talking about. People were like, "Why don't we make movies for women?"' She says. 'Uh, what a revelation, right?'
Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
