Margot Robbie to star as Tonya Harding in the biopic 'I, Tonya' - Los Angeles Times
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Margot Robbie to star as figure skater Tonya Harding in the biopic ‘I, Tonya’

Margot Robbie arrives on the red carpet at last month's Academy Awards. Robbie has signed on to play Tonya Harding in biopic "I, Tonya."

Margot Robbie arrives on the red carpet at last month’s Academy Awards. Robbie has signed on to play Tonya Harding in biopic “I, Tonya.”

(Valerie Macon / AFP/Getty Images)
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Margot Robbie is looking for gold in all the wrong places.

The bombshell Australian beauty, best known for her work as Naomi in Martin Scorsese’s “The Wolf of Wall Street” has been attached to “I, Tonya,” an upcoming biopic about infamous American figure skater Tonya Harding, according to Deadline.

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Harding came to prominence as a powerful performer in women’s figure skating, the first American woman to complete a triple-axel jump in competition in 1991, before forever marring her reputation with her involvement with an attack on competitor Nancy Kerrigan before the 1994 Olympics.

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Even before the conflict between Harding and Kerrigan became physical, the media had created tension around the two competitors. Kerrigan was heralded as the traditional ice princess, bringing artistry and beauty to the sport, where Harding brought power and raw ability.

Much was made of Harding’s skating costumes, often handmade by her mother, and her difficult upbringing on the mean streets of Portland, Ore. She seemed trapped by the media narrative that she was the ugly duckling to Kerrigan’s swan.

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.”) Robbie bears only a passing resemblance to Harding, in that both women are blond and blue-eyed.

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And while Robbie may find familiarity in Harding’s blue-collar roots, given a 2015 Harpar’s Bazaar UK interview detailing the actress’ teen years spent working three jobs trying to make ends meet, there’s a fundamental disconnect when imagining one of Hollywood’s most beautiful women portraying someone who was plagued their entire life by the idea that they were not pretty enough to be successful.

We eagerly await Robbie’s transformation.

Robbie will next be seen as Harley Quinn in DC Comics’ ”Suicide Squad” film and as Jane Porter in “The Legend of Tarzan.”

Follow Libby Hill on Twitter @midwestspitfire

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