For The Legend of Tarzan star Margot Robbie, her first exposure to the jungle warrior was not the Christopher Lambert version from the 80s. Hers came a decade later, and was a bit more animated.
“I obviously kind of missed the earlier iterations of Tarzan. My version of Tarzan was the Disney animated version, which I loved. So, at no point was I like, ‘Oh, one day I’ll grow up and play Jane,’” Robbie said to TMM at a recent press day.
Yet, when she read the screenplay for the David Yates directed version (co-starring Alexander Skarsgard), she something special in not only the incarnation of Tarzan, but the characterization of Jane.
“When I read the script it just seemed very epic, flush, amazing and exciting and all these things but it is still a well-known story and one that involves a lot of elements that, in the wrong hands, could end up kind of cheesy,” Robbie added.
“When I heard that David Yates was going to be the one directing it, someone who took the Potter movies — which in the wrong hands could have ended up being cheesy or not relevant and gave it this cool — real but still such a magical feel, I thought this is exactly what this script needed. We needed that person to create this magical world with real relationships, real people and real scenarios in it. So, I was really confident to sign on.”
Jane can be painted as a soul who needs saving in other versions of the iconic literary tale. Not so in this one. In fact, Jane has a line where she says she doesn’t need saving. That too was a selling point for Robbie when agreeing to become Jane.
“I think it was important to make sure that a contemporary audience could relate to Jane. The book was written a very long time ago and I think ideologies have changed since then. David and I spoke right from the beginning about it. I agree that there is a love story at the core and I don’t think that being in love with your husband should be a weakness,” Robbie said.
“I think that actually makes her stronger so I wanted that definitely to be the focus and though they are so dependent on each other and can’t live without each other, when they are apart, which they are for a lot of the movie, they are incredibly capable when they are alone. It just would be kind of boring just watching her sitting there waiting to be rescued. It’s far more entertaining to watch her getting herself out of the predicament as well. So, it works on a character level and also on an entertainment level. I think it was important to make sure that she could be relatable to women watching.”
Robbie has a busy summer, what with The Legend of Tarzan landing in theaters July 1, and then Suicide Squad landing in August. The actress, who first gained fame in The Wolf of Wall Street, enjoyed the challenge of tackling two polar opposite women.
“They are on total different ends of the spectrum. It was kind of fun to go from one character to the other. I really can’t find any similarities between Harley Quinn and Jane at all but it was kind of interesting to play Jane who is so composed in the face of danger and very strong-willed and strong-spirited and emotionally strong and then play Harley who is a bit more of a basket case in most ways,” Robbie said.
“Every character I play makes me look at myself a little more so it’s interesting. But they are totally different. It was cool to explore one kind of person then the complete opposite.”