Margot Robbie has taken Hollywood by storm in recent years, with the staggering success of Barbie—which she produced in addition to starring in—solidifying her place as a major player in the industry both in front of and behind the camera. But her career trajectory almost had a different turn.
American Horror Story casting director Eric Dawson revealed to Backstage this week that Robbie had one of his “favorite auditions of all time” for season two of the long-running anthology show.
“It was right before she broke out. She was such a star,” he recalled. “It was crazy, her star appeal when she walked in the room. Even though she didn’t get that role, that was one of those things as a casting director where you go: This is a star, what do we do with her?”
Dawson didn’t reveal details as to what role Robbie was up for in that season, which centered around staff and patients at a mental institution called Briarcliff Manor (and also included a pivot to aliens at one point), but fans eagerly shared their theories online after word spread.
The people involved in casting decisions for films and television undoubtedly have endless stories like this about actors they just knew were going to be big, but who didn’t land a part in their project for whatever reason.
For AHS, we don’t know exactly what went down to prevent Robbie from getting whatever role she auditioned for—someone calling the shots not seeing it, deciding to go a different direction with the part, chemistry reads, the possibilities are endless. But Spartacus creator Steven DeKnight shared a similar story, indicating an executive who lacked vision was to blame for Robbie not getting a part in a project he worked on.
While all these projects undoubtedly missed out, it’s impossible to say how the Birds of Prey star’s career would have ultimately turned out if she had found herself in the AHS rotation for however many seasons. And where she is now, with both star power and producing power, seems like the best turn out for both her and her fans—even if it leaves the people who saw how great she could be and missed their opportunities to work with her with regrets.
“Margot has a lot of ‘it’ factors,” Dawson said. “Immediately, though, she was out of our realm of possibility of hiring. But that’s really the fun part of casting, is seeing the people whose careers are just rising.”
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