Hilary Bronwyn Gayle SMPSP
“What—like it’s hard?”
Ok, that wasn’t Margot Robbie‘s dialogue in Bombshell, but the star still drew inspiration from one of the most beloved female figures in film for her latest role. As anyone who’s been to the movies by now knows, the Oscar nominee is currently co-starring with Charlize Theron and Nicole Kidman in the drama centered on the sexual harassment allegations made against Roger Ailes at Fox News in 2016.
While Theron and Kidman embody Megyn Kellyand Gretchen Carlson on the silver screen, Robbie plays the fictional Kayla Pospisil, a young and enthusiastic Fox News staffer whose story was partly inspired by real-life accounts.
Before bringing Pospisil to life, Robbie has said she created a fake Twitter account, which she used to quietly observe vocal millennial Republican women. “I didn’t understand her to begin with,” Robbie told Variety of her character. “But my process is to do a ton of research, consider every single option, know every single situation, scenario, thought and motivation inside and out, so I can step onto set and then let it all go.”
Variety reported the committed actress also watched footage of former Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris, worked on speaking with a Floridian twist and, to top things off, channeled another famous character who is “incredibly smart” but “underestimated because of their looks.”
“Every day, I’d do the monologue from Legally Blonde,” she told Variety, referencing Reese Witherspoon‘s beloved Elle Woods.
Now, that’s rehearsing we’re always happy to do.
Bombshell is in theaters now.