Margot Robbie channeled an octopus and honey badger for ‘Babylon,’ in which she plays a human person

We’re officially into November, which means that Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie’s latest venture — Babylon — is closer than ever. Set in the 1920s, right before the era known as the Golden Age of Hollywood, Babylon is a period comedy-drama written and directed by Damien Chazelle, starring an ensemble cast comprising Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Diego Calva, Jovan Adepo, Li Jun Li, and Jean Smart. Still a month away from its December release, Babylon has been given an official trailer, but the synopsis (courtesy of The Independent) has yet to be expanded beyond a rather basic, vague outline: “During Hollywood’s transition from silent films to sound films, the story follows Mexican-American immigrant Manny Torres as he pursues a career within the industry, starting as a film assistant.”

Margot Robbie, the sensational Australian actress behind Suicide Squad‘s Harley Quinn, joined the cast as Nellie LaRoy opposite Brad Pitt’s Jack Conrad. From what we can assume from Paramount Pictures’ official trailer, Robbie’s character is an extravagant, unruly and passionate addict looking to make her mark on Hollywood. There aren’t too many available details regarding Robbie’s character biography, but it isn’t difficult to see that the performance would have taken a toll on her.

In fact, as The Playlist phrases it, Robbie’s role was “animalistic.” When speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Robbie shared some insight into her performance, especially how gruelling and demanding it was.

“To help get to that ‘fully animalistic’ place, Robbie actually did look at animals as inspiration. For her role in ‘Babylon,’ she looked at an octopus and a honey badger. Robbie said the octopus helped her be ‘both fluid and transformative,’ while the honey badger allowed her character to be ‘ready for a fight—constantly. They’re just so thick-skinned.

I’ve never worked that hard in my life,’ she added about her role in the film. ‘[I was] shattered by the end of that job.’”

Director Damien Chazelle, who is well-known for La La Land, joined forces with Spider-Man himself, Tobey Maguire, who is co-producing with Olivia Hamilton, Marc Platt, and Matthew Plouffe. See Margot Robbie in action when Babylon hits US theaters on December 23, 2022.