When it comes to Harley Quinn, people have opinions. When it comes to David Ayer's Suicide Squad-version of Harley Quinn, people seem to have even stronger opinions. Margot Robbie, the actor who actually gets to wear her character's costume as she attempts to inhabit the DC Comics antihero role in the film, should honestly have the last word as pertains to her own version of Harley Quinn. If it's cool with Robbie, it's cool with me.

The NY Times had a chance to sit down with Robbie to talk about her many projects over the last few years. Of course, talk turned to her role of crackpot psychologist and damaged romantic interest of the Joker, Harley Quinn. Rather than delve into the psychological trauma that makes the character endlessly interesting, Robbie spent much of her time defending the character's wardrobe, which seems to be a hot topic of conversation these days.

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Image via Warner Bros.

Before we get to Robbie's thoughts on Quinn, it's worth checking in with her recollection of her experience filming Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street, especially considering the full nudity that part called for:

“The sacrifice I have to make is that I have to do this nudity thing that I don’t really want to do. But I get to work with Scorsese, which I really want to do. O.K., what outweighs what?”

 

Though the director told her she could play the scene in a robe or underwear, Ms. Robbie said that once she got invested in the character: “I was like, she wouldn’t do that, no way. She would be fully naked.”

So with that in mind, wearing some skimpy shorts and a wet t-shirt should be a relative walk in the park. Robbie's take on Quinn's sense of fashion is that she's “wearing hot pants because they’re sparkly and fun,” she said, not because “she wanted guys to look at her ass.”

She continued:

“As Margot, no, I don’t like wearing that. I’m eating burgers at lunchtime, and then you go do a scene where you’re hosed down and soaking wet in a white T-shirt, it’s so clingy and you’re self-conscious about it.”

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Image via Warner Bros.

Director Ayer stated that he “didn’t think denim overalls would be appropriate for that character," which Robbie understood as “part of the iconography.”

After an initial Skype conversation, Ayer said of Robbie, “she was a very analytical and serious person, but once she feels comfortable, she really opens up.” Ayer needed Robbie to open up in order to play Quinn as someone with “gear shifts, the wild forays and [who] suddenly can be real and heartbreaking.”

So how does Robbie get past the controversy and the self-doubt regarding her outfit?

“You need to act like you think you’re really gorgeous, and you need to be completely convinced with that, because everyone else will believe it, too.”

But if you're thinking that she'll be back in short shorts for a potential Suicide Squad sequel, don't make any bets:

“I’m not wearing hot pants next time.”

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Image via Warner Bros.

It's worth noting that Robbie's talent and hard work as an actor can be lost in all of this chitchat, so it was refreshing to see her co-stars step up to the plate to praise her work ethic. Folks like Jai Courtney who plays Captain Boomerang in the picture:

“You might be fooled into thinking she’s such an easygoing person, but she’s very, very serious about what she does. Her pursuit for it has been carried out doggedly,” he said. “She deserves it. She’s worked for it. But she’s also not resting on any laurels or gifts or physical attributes.”

Be sure to head over to the NY Times interview for more from Robbie on Suicide Squad and her other projects. For more of our own coverage on Suicide Squad, take a look at the following links:

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Image via Warner Bros.
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Image via Warner Bros.

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