Suicide Squad and Wolf of Wall Street star Margot Robbie has undergone an Oscar-worthy transformation for her next role, judging by a photo that surfaced yesterday (August 21).
It was taken on the set of Mary Queen of Scots, a new movie about the legendary Scottish queen that started filming last week, and also stars Saoirse Ronan and David Tennant.
Margot plays Elizabeth I of England, who’s been portrayed in the past by Cate Blanchett, Dame Judi Dench, and, perhaps most memorably of all, Miranda Richardson in historical sitcom Blackadder.
When we first heard Margot would be portraying Elizabeth I, we must admit we couldn’t quite imagine it. Margot is utterly gorgeous, for one thing. And Elizabeth — well, let’s just say her looks weren’t uppermost in the list of reasons she’s considered one of England’s greatest monarchs.
So how would that possibly work? Well, here’s Margot, complete with fiery red hair and pockmarked skin to emulate the scarring Elizabeth suffered as a result of smallpox:
First Look: New photo of Margot Robbie as Queen Elizabeth I in #MaryQueenofScots https://t.co/G64PR5om2z pic.twitter.com/ZbBNvCd6EC
— Yahoo Movies (@YahooMovies) August 21, 2017
If that weren’t bad enough, she also appears to be wearing a prosthetic nose:
¡¿Es ella?! El radical cambio físico de Margot Robbie que ha impactado en las redes https://t.co/K8k9icOeNy pic.twitter.com/9cFWqfyQeP
— Todo Cine (@laSexta3) August 22, 2017
Margot is just the latest actor to undergo an astonishing physical transformation for a role. Remember Charlize Theron playing Aileen Wuornos in Monster? Christian Bale losing 60 pounds for his lead role in The Machinist? Or Ewan McGregor looking like a totally different person in Fargo?
And this isn’t the first time we’ve had to blink and refocus when we’ve seen Ms. Robbie in a new role. She’s mixed it up for every film she’s been in recently, from her peroxide pigtails as Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad, to her chunkier frame in I, Tonya Harding, and her demure flapper ‘do in Goodbye Christopher Robin.
As for whether her performance in Mary Queen of Scots is worthy of a statuette, we’ll have to wait and see — but the hair and make-up team certainly deserve an Oscar.
Do you think Margot will make a good Queen Elizabeth?