Margot Robbie only in I, Tonya because she produced it

16 February 2018

Margot Robbie didn't think she would have been offered the role of Tonya Harding in 'I, Tonya' if she hadn't produced the movie.

Margot Robbie

The 27-year-old actress stars as the Olympic figure skater in the new biopic - which she also produced - but admitted she couldn't wait "another 10 years" for someone to offer her the role.

Speaking to the MailOnline at the UK premiere of her new movie at the Curzon Mayfair Cinema, in London, on Thursday (15.02.18), she said: "I definitely don't think anybody would have given me this role if I hadn't gone after it and I just wasn't prepared to wait another 10 years for someone to happen to offer me a role like this."

But the blonde beauty admitted it wasn't an easy movie to make, or even secure funding for.

She added: "It was a difficult script to make from a producerial point of view, it had a lot of challenges and you were never going to get a tonne of money for something so unconventional.

"It's the Olympics, it spans over four decades an there's a lot of things that make it expensive, it was a period script.

"It was a huge undertaking as new producers. It was amazing and I think taking a gamble like that can pay off."

'I, Tonya' documents the life of notorious skater Tonya Harding, whose now-ex-husband Jeff Gilooly plotted with her self-appointed bodyguard Shawn Eckhardt to take out her rival Nancy Kerrigan to pave the way for her a spot on the US Olympic team.

Despite their efforts, Nancy recovered from her knee injury and competed against Tonya in the 1994 Winter Olympics.

Nancy remarkably won the silver medal in the Games and, after details of the crime - known as The Whack Heard Round the World due to the fact she was clubbed around the knee with a baton - came to light, Tonya was dished out a sporting lifetime ban for her knowledge of the attack.

Jeff, on the other hand, was handed a two-year prison sentence.

The film has received critical acclaim and both Robbie and her co-star Allison Janney have been nominated for an Academy Award for their roles.