First Look at Margot Robbie in ‘I, Tonya’

Margot Robbie, the breakout of Martin Scorsese’s 2013 provocation The Wolf of Wall Street and inspiration for countless Harley Quinn costumes this past Halloween, is heading to altogether different terrain with the upcoming I, Tonya. The Aussie actress headlines the film – a biopic of disgraced former figure skater Tonya Harding – which is beginning to start production. First peeks of the actress as Harding have begun to surface through social media, offering a tease of Robbie’s transformation.

Directed by Craig Gillespie (Lars and the Real Girl, The Finest Hours) from a script credited to Steven Rogers (P.S. I Love You), the film takes a look back at the insane set of circumstances that would ultimately become Harding’s downfall from the competitive world of figure skating. Infamously, as the story went, Harding was heading to represent the United States at the 1994 Winter Olympics alongside chief American rival skater Nancy Kerrigan. In a colluded effort, Harding and her husband at the time, Jeff Gillooly planned an attack against Kerrigan. Harding was ultimately banned for life from the sport.

Starring alongside Robbie in the film are Sebastian Stan (Captain America: Civil War) as Gillooly, Paul Walter Hauser (Kingdom) as bodyguard Shawn Eckhart and Allison Janney (The Girl on the Train) as Harding’s mother. Robbie is also producing that title. Miramax Films recently acquired the film which is expected to hit theaters sometime in 2018.

The film could serve, perhaps solely, as a showcase for Robbie. This past year, she was seen on screen in a supporting part in the Tina Fey comedy Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, as Jane in The Legend of Tarzan and as the aforementioned Harley Quinn in the DC Comics adaptation Suicide Squad. She will soon be seen in the thriller Terminal and the as-of-yet untitled biopic of Winnie-the-Pooh creator A.A. Milne, appeared opposite Domhnall Gleeson (Robbie’s co-star in the comedy About Time). She is also slated to reprise her Quinn take in the planned Gotham City Sirens and will have voice part in the upcoming Peter Rabbit.