On Sunday, Feb. 9, at the 92nd Academy Awards, Margot Robbie is looking to win her first Oscar. She’s nominated for best supporting actress for her role in the 2019 drama “Bombshell.”
Even the 29-year-old Australian actress, who’s one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, had to start somewhere: Before her acting career took off, she was making sandwiches at Subway.
“I’ve had every kind of job. Before ‘Neighbours,’ I was working at Subway,” Robbie said in a 2013 interview with the Australian Council of Trade Unions, referring to her first major acting role, in which she played a bisexual teen in the Australian soap opera “Neighbours.” Robbie, who was 17 at the time, landed the gig by cold-calling the casting agent.
“I’ve worked in restaurants — behind the bar, in the kitchen — I did retail for two years, I’ve done some secretary work,” she added.
After her third year on “Neighbours,” Robbie moved to Los Angeles and signed a contract with talent management company Management 360. She worked on another TV show, “Pan Am,” which opened the door for bigger opportunities, including a role in the 2013 drama “The Wolf of Wall Street.”
Robbie continued to land bigger roles. She co-starred with Will Smith in the 2015 thriller “Focus” and with Tina Fey in the 2016 drama “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” before playing figure skater Tonya Harding in 2018’s “I, Tonya.” Her performance as Harding earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress.
Robbie, who earned $23.5 million last year, making her the eighth highest-paid actress of 2019, according to Forbes, isn’t just an on-screen talent: In 2014, she and her now-husband Tom Ackerley co-founded LuckyChap Entertainment, a production company that focuses on telling women-driven stories. One such project is “Birds of Prey,” a female-led superhero movie released on Feb. 7, 2020, which Robbie stars in.
Robbie isn’t the only Hollywood star who started out with a less-than-glamorous gig. Before Kevin Bacon got his first big break, he bussed tables in New York City to make ends meet. Melissa McCarthy worked at Starbucks and the YMCA when she first moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting.
While Robbie has established herself as one of the most successful actors of her generation, her family wasn’t always on board with her career path: “My family has no connection to the entertainment industry whatsoever, so when I started acting, everyone was like, that’s fun, but when are you going to actually get a real job?” she told British Vogue in 2018. “And that went on for years.”
Hopefully by now they’ve accepted her work as a “real job.”
Don’t miss: Melissa McCarthy, one of the highest-paid actresses, once worked at Starbucks and the YMCA
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