Margot Robbie slapped Leonardo DiCaprio in bid to secure Wolf of Wall Street role

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By Nika Shakhnazarova

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Before Margot Robbie became one of the most famous actresses in the world, she had to prove herself in a room of directors and famous stars.

Starring only in Neighbours ahead of her big break alongside none other than Leonardo DiCaprio, it's safe to say Robbie's way to the top forced her to stand her ground.

Since becoming a household name, Robbie's credits include Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, The Legend of Tarzan, Suicide Squad, and I, Tonya.

And she's only got herself to thank.

It appears as though her landing the role of Naomi Lapaglia in Wolf Of Wall Street was far from the standard audition. In fact, Robbie had to think outside the box for her audition to be truly remembered.

And she did just that. According to the movie's director Martin Scorsese, to impress him the Aussie actress went completely off-script, to the point where she borderline assaulted Leo.

Writing in Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People issue, Scorsese recalled: "She clinched her part in The Wolf of Wall Street during our first meeting - by hauling off and giving Leonardo DiCaprio a thunderclap of a slap on the face.

"[It was] an improvisation that stunned us all."

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Credit: Pictorial Press Ltd / Alamy

The actress recalled her brave audition since finding global stardom, admitting that she knew she had only a small amount of time in which she had to impress Scorsese and DiCaprio.

She told Harper's Bazaar back in 2016: "In my head I was like, 'You have literally 30 seconds left in this room and if you don't do something impressive nothing will ever come of it. It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance, just take it'. And so I start screaming at him and he's yelling back at me.

"And he's really scary. I can barely keep up. And he ends it by saying, 'You should be happy to have a husband like me. Now get over here and kiss me'."

She went on: "So I walk up really close to his face and then I'm like, 'Maybe I should kiss him. When else am I ever going to get a chance to kiss Leo DiCaprio, ever?'.

"But another part of my brain clicks and I just go, whack! I hit him in the face. And then I scream, 'F**k you!'. And that's not in the script at all. The room just went dead silent and I froze."

After being taken aback by Robbie's improv audition, DiCaprio actually told her to hit him again. Not bad!

Featured image credit: UPI / Alamy