SUICIDE SQUAD Star Margot Robbie Talks Harley Quinn, Comics, Joker and More

As we inch closer to the release of Suicide Squad, more and more details are being revealed. In an interview with Collider, actress Margot Robbie talked at length about her character Harley Quinn. We learn how she trained for the role, her research, and more details on her relationship with The Joker. It’s all down below!

Robbie talks about how challenging it is to take on a character as popular as Harley Quinn, saying it’s… “very daunting, for sure. Fortunately, everything kinda moved at such a quick pace and I was working on some other projects at the time, that I didn’t have as much time to think about it. Which I think was definitely a blessing in disguise. And since then, we’ve kind of been straight-training and stuff, and it all just moved kind of quickly that we got here before we realized it. Definitely I’ve had a lot of moments of panic, where I’m like ‘Oh God, they’re gonna hate it.’ And there’s just so many people to please, and you can’t ever really make everyone happy. So, do as much research as possible. Put as much of myself into the role as possible. As long as I do my absolute best and prepare as much as I physically can, hopefully, hopefully people are happy.“

Harley Quinn was created by Bruce Timm and Paul Dini for the 1990’s cartoon Batman: The Animated Series, and while she’s very young by comics standards, Harley still has a long history with tons of backstory. Robbie tackled the material head on, saying, “I got the role right before Christmas, so my Christmas list consisted of Harley Quinn comics, Suicide Squad comics, any comics that, like, incorporate Harley Quinn. So yeah, I have a massive stack.“

Robbie trained for six months for the role. Her training included gymnastics, dance and, of course, guns. “…ironically enough, it’s the more simple things that prove to be the most difficult. Like I can technically learn…you know, I started doing gymnastics, I started doing gun training and this and that. I can understand the technical side of how to do something.“

Robbie adds, “…I didn’t have the physical strength to allow myself to do those things. Even the gun training. If I’ve done gymnastics for an hour and a half and I go straight to the gun range and I’m holding a revolver in my left hand just in case I need to shoot with two hands, my hands are like shaking like this because my muscles are just so sore. And just not strong enough to deal with that, but you have to be able to do that because on set, you know, if you’ve got a close up shot of the gun in the foreground of the frame and it’s shaking like this, you think, ‘Harley doesn’t know that she’s doing. She doesn’t look scary right now. She’s definitely going to miss this shot.’ So ironically enough, it was the more simple things that I had trouble with.”

The Joker is the most famous villain in all of comics, and to have him share the big screen with Harley Quinn is a dream come true for fans. Robbie talks about the reason why Harley keeps going back to Joker – even if it’s not good for her. “I spent a lot of time trying to figure out their relationship because it’s so easy…it’s kinda like when your friend is in, like doing something stupid in a relationship, and you’re just so frustrated. You’re like, what are you doing? Why are you doing that? So it kinda feels like that when you watch it, when you’re reading comics and Harley goes back to him. And you’re just so frustrated, what are you doing? So I was like, this is really important that I understand, and I want to do the things that she does. I need to really feel like that’s how I would react in a situation. I ended up landing upon codependency as the tact to take with that. And it turns out it’s far more…It’s like a compulsion, I suppose. It’s kinda when you start looking at it the way an alcoholic is compelled, you know, needs to have a drink. When you think of it in those terms, like it’s an actual psychological problem, which codependency actually is, in really severe cases of codependency. So the more research I did, the more it made sense for me to behave the way she behaved.”

Robbie goes into more detail on the dynamic between Harley and Joker. They have moments where they’re having fun – even if no one else is. Their scenes are very unique, Robbie describes them as “…pretty wild. Crazy. I’ve never seen scenes like it before, personally. It’s next level. People better brace themselves. It’s weird, they’re a fascinating couple. Honestly, I find their stuff the most exciting out of everything. I’d watch a dialogue scene between them over, like, buildings blowing up and guns, which I love that stuff as well. But when they are just – or when they find someone that they wanna pick on, it’s scary. Yeah, they’re messed up.”

With Harley being so attached to her Puddin’, will that affect her relationship with her teammates? That might surprise you. “Yeah, fortunately, I mean I was kinda banking on the fact that when Harley isn’t around Joker she’s slightly less crazy than she is when she is with him. Only because there’s a lot of plot points you need to get across, and there’s a whole lot other list of characters that have their story lines and stuff. ” Robbie continued saying: “I find acting 1000 percent crazy all the time it’s just totally gonna distract from what we need to be focusing on in that particular scene. When it’s a Joker scene, she’s pretty nuts because he brings that out in her for sure. And when it’s the rest of the Squad’s scenes, yeah she has her moments for sure. But she’s a little, I wouldn’t say sensible, she’s never sensible. But she’s a little more focused, I suppose.“

So for the majority of the movie it seems we will get a toned down Harley Quinn. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing both sides of the character.

With news of a Harley Quinn (or Birds of Prey) movie being in development, along with Wonder Woman releasing next summer, women are taking over the DC films; even Suicide Squad has four female leads. Robbie talks about the expanding role of female superheroes/anti-heroes and how Harley fits in. “I don’t think it’s any secret that the industry is definitely gravitating towards female leads and giving the women a voice. And I think they’ve finally realized that women go to see movies as much as men do. Ticket sales are coming from them as well, so why not appeal to them? … I think the superhero platform gives the female character, you know, a relate-ability for the male audience as well. So, I think that’s why people are kinda gravitating towards female super hero characters, and also female characters in general as big parts of the film. So, that’s great for us, female actors who want to do roles like that, which is really great. But Harley in particular… she has an endearing quality even though she is technically one of the bad guys. I was kinda searching online trying to figure out why that was… how do you make someone likable when they’re doing horrible things?

Robbie adds, “Definitely her soft spot for Joker seems to be something people relate to and empathize with. And it makes her more real. And I think, also the fact – not just for Harley, but all the characters – because they are so flawed, I think it makes them very accessible for an audience, and I think the fact that they are super villains kind of makes them a little more exciting, and like I said, accessible. So yeah, I think you definitely don’t need to be a good guy to win the audience over.“

Personally, I always felt like the womdn of DC Comics were always a highlight, and seeing them get the spotlight in the films is fantastic. Hopefully Harley Quinn and Wonder Woman are just the first step to getting the more women in leading roles.

For more news on the Suicide Squad and all of the DC Films, stay tuned.

Suicide Squad hits theaters August 5th.