Margot Robbie reveals how animals help get her into character for movies

The Oscar-nominated Australian actress has lifted the lid on the unusual way she gets into character for her blockbuster movies – and it’s certainly different.

Margot Robbie has revealed the ‘wild’ way she gets into character for her acting roles.

The Australian actress revealed on The Kelly Clarkson Show that she often uses members of the animal kingdom as inspiration for the roles she takes.

“It’s a thing. I didn’t go to drama school, so I don’t know if this is something that everyone does in drama school,” the 32-year-old star told host Kelly Clarkson. “It’s something I actually started doing when I was on I, Tonya. So that was the first time.”

While preparing to play disgraced figure skater Tonya Harding, Robbie revealed that she turned to a pit bull for help, New York Post reports.

“I was a pit bull because they’re very misunderstood,” she said.

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Margot dropped by The Kelly Clarkson Show where she revealed her unusual acting method.

“With her ice skates on, I wanted to be heavy on the feet … I wanted the character to feel like the world was bearing down on her all the time,” continued Robbie, who won a Critics Choice Award for best actress in a comedy movie for the role. “But then, on the ice, she’s a mustang, like a wild horse when she’s ice skating. So she’s two animals, really.”

Robbie’s animal instincts helped in her latest flick, Babylon, in which her character – who she said was influenced by an octopus and a honey badger – faces off against a rattlesnake.

“The snake fight scene? That’s all honey badger,” Robbie stated. “There are actual videos of honey badgers fighting snakes. There’s videos of honey badgers, which aren’t huge animals, fighting lions. And they have really thick skin. [My character Nellie] fights anything and anyone at the drop of a hat.”

Margot Robbie said she was influenced by a honey badger in Babylon. Picture: Paramount

While she channelled a pit bull in I, Tonya.

Despite the quirky approach, Robbie told Clarkson it helps her stay grounded in the role.

“It’s helpful because you do all this research, and you read all these books and watch all these films, and get all the facts about the real-life people at this time,” she said.

“Sometimes your head gets so clouded with statistics and facts and the history. But if you just revert back to the animal, then you can just be really, really instinctual.”

Her method is clearly working for her – Margot Robbie has been nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance in Babylon. Picture: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

La La Land director Damien Chazelle returns with Babylon, which hits theatres in Australia on January 19, starring Robbie, Brad Pitt, Diego Calva, Jean Smart, Tobey Maguire and Olivia Wilde.

Meanwhile, Robbie’s highly anticipated turn as Barbie in Greta Gerwig’s upcoming satire premieres in July.

This story originally appeared on New York Post and was reproduced with permission