Australian actress Margot Robbie is currently among the most promising and brilliant actresses in the industry, well-known for starring in both blockbusters and indie films, and for her outstanding versatility when it comes to acting. Although her career traces back to 2008, when she made her acting debut in the movie Vigilante and the TV series Neighbours, her breakthrough role arrived in 2013, when she played Naomi Lapaglia, Jordan Belfort's second wife in Martin Scorsese's film The Wolf of Wall Street. That was just the beginning of a very successful path that was eventually strengthened when she portrayed Harley Quinn in the 2016 film Suicide Squad, which remains one of her most iconic characters to this day. Some of her most notable films include About Time, Z for Zachariah, Babylon, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
Update August 6, 2023: Following the box office sensation that is Barbie, this list has been updated to reflect the most recent releases in Margot Robbie's producing credits.
Besides her well-known path as an actress, Robbie has also served as a producer of several films and TV shows, contributing to many productions' success. Indeed, she co-founded the production company LuckyChap Entertainment with her husband, Tom Ackerley. Her latest project is the film Barbie, in which Margot worked as an actress and producer and stars alongside Ryan Gosling under Greta Gerwig's direction. The movie has been a box office sensation. Gerwig's production company is also set to produce a new adaptation of Tank Girl and a big-screen adaptation of the Disney ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. As audiences wait for those, here are the best movies and television shows produced by Margot Robbie.
9 Boston Strangler
One of the latest releases from Robbie's production company, LuckyChap Entertainment, is Hulu's Boston Strangler. The film tells the true story of the 1960s Boston Strangler and features an all-star cast that includes Kiera Knightley, Carrie Coon, Alessandro Nivola, Chris Cooper, and David Dastmalchian. While the film may not have received the best reviews when it hit Hulu in March 2023, it was a nice throwback to true crime movies that used to dominate the multiplex in the mid-90s.
8 Dreamland
Dreamland is a 2019 film starring Robbie and Finn Cole, who is known for his role as Michael Gray in Peaky Blinders. This production, written by Nicolaas Zwart and directed by Miles Joris-Peyrafitte, follows Eugene Evans, a young teenager that discovers the whereabouts of Allison Wells, a criminal accused of bank robbery and murder and for whom a monetary reward was being offered. Eugene's intention was to turn her in for the money, but once he meets her, his intentions and both of their lives are turned upside down. Dreamland also features Travis Fimmel, Garrett Hedlund, Kerry Condon, Darby Camp, and Lola Kirke. While it got mixed reviews and some negative criticism of its script, Robbie's performance was widely acclaimed.
7 Mike
The miniseries Mike is another show, which was released on Hulu, and has Margot Robbie's touch as an executive producer. Focusing on Mike Tyson's life, the 2022 series takes a closer look at the heavyweight boxer's day-to-day beyond his career. Mike shines with stunning visuals and profound storytelling, which are an indicator of a thought-out production.
Even though the boxer himself did not participate in the production of the series and, even further than that, is not a part of it in any way, the writers and producers did the champion justice. The series includes the highs and lows of Tyson's career as well as personal life and highlights his development on an emotional level. While the production itself is terrific, it is also the actors who make Mike a series worth watching due to their electric performances. Trevante Rhodes as Mike Tyson is simply brilliant, and he clearly has the skills and versatility to step into a complex role.
6 Dollface
Hulu's TV series Dollface captures a scenario that may arise in the aftermath of a breakup. After Jules (Kat Dennings) is dumped by her boyfriend Jeremy (Connor Hines), she uncovers a bitter truth: during the years that their relationship lasted, her entire life, plans, and friendships revolved around him, to the point where she lost herself. Faced with her new reality, Jules attempts to reconnect with all her friends she missed out on due to prioritizing her romance, and with their help, she embarks on a journey to rediscover herself and reinsert into the world as a single woman.
Dollface was created by Jordan Weiss, and it ran for two seasons until its cancelation in May 2022. Joining Dennings in the cast are Brenda Song, Shay Mitchell, and Esther Povitsky. Dollface was sadly one of the many series removed from Hulu and is not a piece of lost media, which is a shame for how great it was.
5 Birds of Prey
Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) is a 2020 film that delves deeper into a well-known character: Harley Quinn, played by Robbie. This Cathy Yan-directed production serves as both a sequel and spin-off to Suicide Squad, and it is the first solo film for Robbie's character
. Birds of Prey features Harley Quinn after severing her relationship with the Joker, who, faced with threats and attacks from crime lord Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor), teams up with Helena Bertinelli (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Dinah Lance (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), and Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez), two vigilantes and a Gotham City detective, in order to stop him and rescue pickpocket Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco). Besides leading and producing this film, per Collider, Robbie was responsible for pitching the idea of the film to Warner Bros.
4 Maid
Margaret Qualley stars in this Netflix miniseries inspired by the story of Stephanie Land and her memoir Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive. Created by Molly Smith Metzler, Maid focuses on Alex, a young mother who escapes with her daughter Maddy from an abusive relationship and has to figure out how to survive and provide for her little girl. Alex lands a job as a maid cleaning houses and dreams of a brighter future for both of them and achieving her goal of becoming a writer.
Meanwhile, she has to keep her daughter safe from harm, deal with her dysfunctional family and cope with a lawsuit over the child's custody. This 10-episode miniseries garnered rave reviews from critics and audiences alike, and it was praised for both the way it dealt with its subject matter and the performance of the female lead.
3 Promising Young Woman
Promising Young Woman marked the feature directorial debut of Emerald Fennell, known for her work as showrunner of the series Killing Eve. Fennell also wrote the screenplay for this black comedy, winning her an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, among other accolades. Promising Young Woman features Cassie (Carey Mulligan), a bright young woman with a shining future ahead of her until an incident turns her life upside down. From then on, Cassie determines to use her wits and cunning to avenge her fate by taking it out on guilty men.
Rounding out the cast of this 2020 film are Bo Burnham, Alison Brie, Clancy Brown, Jennifer Coolidge, Laverne Cox, and Connie Britton. Promising Young Woman received critical acclaim and was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and won Best Original Screenplay.
2 I, Tonya
I, Tonya is a hauntingly tragic and hilarious tale of a woman at the center of one of the biggest scandals in the history of sport. This 2017 film, directed by Craig Gillespie, is inspired by the life of figure skater Tonya Harding and her connection to the attack that her rival Nancy Kerrigan suffered prior to the 1994 Winter Olympics, reframing how the events were told.
The cast is led by Robbie, joined by Sebastian Stan, Allison Janney, Julianne Nicholson, and Bobby Cannavale. I, Tonya, earned many accolades, including an Academy Award nomination for Robbie and a statuette for Janney in the Best Supporting Actress category.
1 Barbie
The highly anticipated and recently released movie Barbie has to be one of the actress' best and most influential projects to date. The two brilliant minds of Margot Robbie and director Greta Gerwig met for this masterpiece, and they created something magical, to say the least. While the expectations were high, they still managed to exceed them and deliver something unexpected.
The entire Barbie empire has left fans with a certain idea of who their favorite doll is and what she looks like. What comes to mind right away is her more-than-perfect appearance. Robbie and Gerwig, however, challenge this image, which is undoubtedly burned into people's memory. They embark on a more modern journey, away from toxic presupposition and toward a self-reflecting development. Barbie still picks up obsolete societal structures, but it makes it a point to show a more fulfilling and just system. Getting to know Barbie and Ken in this new movie is like jumping into strange waters, but, in this case, it is definitely worth it to give it a chance.
Barbie is already dominating the box office and now could be a major awards contender. Even if it is for some reason, snubbed at the Academy Awards, the movie's impact will be everlasting and will be felt for years to come.