Margot Robbie will star in the Tanya Harding biopic “I, Tonya,” about the disgraced figure skater. Question is, ask critics, can the Australian beauty de-glam herself that much?
The script, written by Steven Rogers, follows the life of Harding, who was expected to compete with Nancy Kerrigan for skating gold in the 1994 Olympics but fell from grace when her husband, Jeff Gillooly, and a couple of accomplices tried to break Kerrigan’s leg,
Deadline.com reported.
Harding grew up in Portland, Oregon, and rose to fame as the first American woman to complete a triple-axel jump in competition – before the U.S. Figure Skating Association stripped her of her 1994 national championship and banned her for life.
Known for her role in “The Wolf of Wall Street,” Robbie is taking it upon herself to find a director for the film, which is produced by Bryan Unkeless and Clubhouse Pictures, Deadline said.
“Depending on how it’s done, it has the potential to be another ‘To Die For,’ the Gus Van Sant-directed film that starred Nicole Kidman in a tale of naked ambition and the price for fame,” Deadline said.
The
Los Angeles Times noted that the role requires a “transformation” of the Australian beauty, who “bears only a passing resemblance” to the figure skater.
“The creative choice by Robbie to pursue the role smacks of the kind of de-glamming that Hollywood's most beautiful actors and actresses undertake in an attempt to prove themselves as "legitimate" actors. (Think Charlize Theron as Aileen Wuornos in “Monster” or Christian Bale as Dicky Eklund in “The Fighter.”),” The Times said.
Films that Robbie has worked on include "Suicide Squad," "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot" and "The Legend of Tarzan."
Twitter users shared mixed reactions to idea of Robbie playing Harding.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.