Critics label Margot Robbie’s portrayal as ‘the stodgiest Queen Elizabeth ever filmed’

“Wildly miscast” and “too beautiful for the role” — critics have quickly dethroned Margot Robbie’s portrayal of Queen Elizabeth I in her latest big budget film.

“Wildly miscast” and “too beautiful for the role” — critics have quickly dethroned Margot Robbie’s portrayal of Queen Elizabeth I in Mary, Queen of Scots.

As the Aussie actor walked the red carpet at the London premiere of the big budget film yesterday, film buffs had already failed to crown her dramatic performance of the 16th century character as one of her best.

Major news outlets including The New York Post gave the film, which features Saoirse Ronan as Mary Stuart, just one and a half stars, labelling the Aussie actor’ portrayal “the stodgiest Elizabeth ever filmed”.

Margot Robbie at the world premiere of Mary Queen of Scots in London on Tuesday. Picture: Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images

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“Wildly miscast, she turns the accomplished queen into a vain old crone,” wrote the Post’s film critic.

“She constantly whines about how beautiful and young Mary is, and is traumatised by her own smallpox scars.”

The critic further labelled the film “taxing” and “a royal chore”.

Others suggested Robbie, whose international fame skyrocketed after her racy turn as Leonardo DiCaprio’s younger wife in The Wolf of Wall Street, is almost too beautiful for the role.

The Aussie was initially worried to take on the role. Picture: Parisa Tag/Focus Features via AP

It took nearly four hours every day to transform her into Queen Elizabeth I. Picture: Liam Daniel/Focus Features via AP

“You have to ask how wise it was to cast someone as gorgeous as Robbie to play a character who is miserably jealous of someone else’s beauty,” the BBC’s critic wrote, giving the film two stars.

“Even when Elizabeth has the pox, and Robbie has Rice Krispies stuck all over the face, she is still, unmistakably, a movie star.”

Review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes gave the film an average rating of 6.6 from 80 independent reviewers, while Metacritic gave the film a score of 64.

Robbie herself said she was “terrified” to take on the historic character.

Others suggested that Robbie was “too beautiful” to play the role of Queen Elizabeth.

“I’m not going to lie, I was terrified, and I initially passed on the role,” she told Entertainment Weekly.

It took nearly four hours every day to transform her into Queen Elizabeth I, including the placement of a red wig, prosthetics and white face paint.

“I could barely move my face because there was so much prosthetics. It’s glued-down plastic on your face,“ she added to Harper’s Bazaar.

“The clothes were very restrictive, as they were at the time. It helped — I felt claustrophobic, I felt trapped.”

She added the experience shooting the movie made her feel “lonely”. “It was very alienating. And I felt very lonely.”