NewsBite

Robbie to come home for AACTA Awards

She may have missed out on her Oscars best actress flowers, but Australian superstar Margot Robbie will be honoured in her hometown at next month’s AACTA Awards.

Margot Robbie to return to Queensland for AACTA award

She may have missed out on her Oscars best actress flowers, but Australian superstar Margot Robbie will be honoured in her hometown at next month’s Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Awards.

The 33-year-old actor will be bestowed with this year’s prestigious Trailblazer Award, a recognition previously received by industry figures such as Chris Hemsworth, Rose Byrne, and Isla Fisher. This accolade is reserved for Australian screen artists “whose body of work has served as an inspiration to others.”

Margot Robbie in Barbie. Picture: Warner Bros.
Margot Robbie in Barbie. Picture: Warner Bros.

You’d be hard pressed to think of an Australian screen star more deserving of Robbie, who last year produced and starred in the biggest — and most talked about — box office success, Barbie, which grossed over $1.4 billion worldwide.

For the first time, the AACTA Awards, scheduled for February 10, will be hosted on the Gold Coast, with a ceremony presented by the Foxtel Group and hosted by comedian Rebel Wilson.

Australian comedian Rebel Wilson will host the 2024 AACTA Awards on the Gold Coast. Picture: Tolga Akmen/AFP
Australian comedian Rebel Wilson will host the 2024 AACTA Awards on the Gold Coast. Picture: Tolga Akmen/AFP

“I am truly honoured to accept the AACTA Trailblazer Award, especially in my hometown on the Gold Coast. Australia has always been my grounding force, and to receive this recognition here is incredibly special,” Robbie said in a statement.

 “I believe in the power of storytelling and the impact it can have on shaping culture and inspiring others. This award is a testament to the incredible talent and dedication of everyone involved in the film community, and I am thrilled to be a part of it.”

In the decade since Robbie burst onto the international scene as the no-nonsense blonde bombshell Naomi Lapaglia in Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street, she has kept audiences enraptured, seeking out emotionally complex, daring roles.

She has earned nominations for two acting Oscars — for I, Tonya and Bombshell — five BAFTA Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. In 2017, Time recognised her as one of the 100 most influential people in the world, and Forbes included her among the world’s highest-paid actors in 2019.

Margot Robbie as Tonya Harding in I, Tonya. Picture: Roadshow Films.
Margot Robbie as Tonya Harding in I, Tonya. Picture: Roadshow Films.

In addition to her on-screen work, in 2014, Robbie and her then-roommates, and future husband Tom Ackerley, founded LuckyChap Entertainment, a production company that champions female stories and storytellers.

Margot Robbie and Tom Ackerley attend the 29th Annual Critics Choice Awards. Picture: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Critics Choice Association
Margot Robbie and Tom Ackerley attend the 29th Annual Critics Choice Awards. Picture: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Critics Choice Association

LuckyChap had its first release with 2017’s I, Tonya, which earned three Oscar nominations and a win for Robbie’s co-star Allison Janney.

It has gone on to release two films by British director Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman — which brought in five more Oscar nominations and a screenwriting win for Fennell — and Saltburn, one of last year’s most dissected films, which brought Brisbane boy Jacob Elordi his first BAFTA nomination for best supporting actor.

Jacob Elordi as Felix Catton in Saltburn. Picture: MGM and Amazon Studios
Jacob Elordi as Felix Catton in Saltburn. Picture: MGM and Amazon Studios

The 2024 AACTA Nominees

Best Film

Of an Age

Shayda

Sweet As

Talk to Me

The New Boy

The Royal Hotel

Best Direction

Goran Stolevski (Of an Age)

Noora Niasari (Shayda)

Jub Clerc (Sweet As)

Danny and Michael Philippou (Talk to Me)

Warwick Thornton (The New Boy)

Kitty Green (The Royal Hotel)

Best Indie Film

A Savage Christmas

Limbo

Monolith

Streets of Colour

The Rooster

The Survival of Kindness

Best Film nominee Of An Age. Picture: Ben King
Best Film nominee Of An Age. Picture: Ben King

Best Lead Actress

Zar Amir Ebrahimi (Shayda)

Shantae Barnes-Cowan (Sweet As)

Cate Blanchett (The New Boy)

Julia Garner (The Royal Hotel)

Sarah Snook (Run Rabbit Run)

Sophie Wilde (Talk to Me)

Best Lead Actor

Elias Anton (Of an Age)

Simon Baker (Limbo)

Thom Green (Of an Age)

Phoenix Raei (The Rooster)

Aswan Reid (The New Boy)

Osamah Sami (Shayda)

Best Supporting Actress

Alex Jensen (Talk to Me)

Deborah Mailman (The New Boy)

Tasma Walton (Sweet As)

Mia Wasikowska (Blueback)

Ursula Yovich (The Royal Hotel)

Selina Zahednia (Shayda)

Best Supporting Actor

Mojean Aria (Shayda)

Eric Bana (Blueback)

Wayne Blair (The New Boy)

Rob Collins (Limbo)

Zoe Terakes (Talk to Me)

Hugo Weaving (The Rooster)

Best Comedy Series nominee Colin From Account. Picture: Binge
Best Comedy Series nominee Colin From Account. Picture: Binge

Best Screenplay

Of an Age

Shayda

Talk to Me

The New Boy

The Royal Hotel

Best Drama Series

Bay of Fires (ABC)

Black Snow (Stan)

Bump (Stan)

Erotic Stories (SBS)

Love Me (Binge)

The Newsreader (ABC)

Best Narrative Comedy Series

Colin from Accounts (Binge, Foxtel)

Deadloch (Amazon Prime Video)

Fisk (ABC)

Gold Diggers (ABC)

Upright (Foxtel)

Utopia (ABC)

Best Miniseries

Bad Behaviour (Stan)

In Our Blood (ABC)

Safe Home (SBS)

The Clearing (Disney+)

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart (Amazon Prime Video)

While the Men Are Away (SBS)

Best Lead Actor in a Drama

Tim Draxl (In Our Blood)

Travis Fimmel (Black Snow)

Joel Lago (Erotic Stories)

Sam Reid (The Newsreader)

Richard Roxburgh (Bali 2002)

Hugo Weaving (Love Me)

Best Lead Actress in a Drama

Kate Box (Erotic Stories)

Aisha Dee (Safe Home)

Bojana Novakovic (Love Me)

Teresa Palmer (The Clearing)

Anna Torv (The Newsreader)

Sigourney Weaver (The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart)

Best Acting in a Comedy

Celeste Barber (Wellmania)

Kate Box (Deadloch)

Patrick Brammall (Colin from Accounts)

Harriet Dyer (Colin from Accounts)

Kitty Flanagan (Fisk)

Nina Oyama (Deadloch)

Helen Thomson (Colin from Accounts)

Julia Zemiro (Fisk)

Best Entertainment Program

Dancing with the Stars (Seven Network)

Eurovision Song Contest 2023 – Grand Final (SBS)

Lego Masters: Grand Masters (Nine Network)

Mastermind (SBS)

The 1% Club (Seven Network)

The Amazing Race Australia: Celebrity Edition (Network Ten)

Best Comedy Entertainment Program

Hard Quiz (ABC)

RocKwiz (Foxtel)

Taskmaster Australia (Network Ten)

Thank God You’re Here (Network Ten)

The Cheap Seats (Network Ten)

The Weekly with Charlie Pickering (ABC)

Best Children’s Program

Barrumbi Kids (NITV, SBS)

Beep and Mort (ABC)

Bluey (ABC)

Crazy Fun Park (ABC)

The PM’s Daughter (ABC)

Turn Up the Volume (ABC)

Geordie Gray
Geordie GrayEntertainment reporter

Geordie Gray is an entertainment reporter based in Sydney. She writes about film, television, music and pop culture. Previously, she was News Editor at The Brag Media and wrote features for Rolling Stone. She did not go to university.

Add your comment to this story

To join the conversation, please Don't have an account? Register

Join the conversation, you are commenting as Logout

Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/robbie-to-come-home-for-aacta-awards/news-story/10bffac3a4a6f410606891aa939fd8cc