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Margot Robbie Partied For Two Weeks Straight To Stay In Character For Babylon

"Babylon," the upcoming period film satirizing the wild hedonism of old Hollywood, is shaping up to be one of the splashiest pictures of the winter season. Starring Margot Robbie as an actress named Nellie alongside the likes of Brad Pitt, Tobey Maguire, and Olivia Wilde, the movie promises to be a high-octane thrill ride of debauchery and comedy, as well as a cautionary tale about the limits of excess. It is written and directed by Damien Chazelle of "Whiplash" and "La La Land" fame.

Chazelle promises to bring the cacophonous decadence of the Roaring '20s to audiences 100 years later. With lavish party sequences that may give Baz Luhrmann a run for his money and ambitious cinematography to capture them, the film strives to convey the hazy energy of the time period. In keeping with that ethos, Robbie revealed in a recent interview that she gave herself over to the character of Nellie by partying non-stop for two entire weeks.

Robbie needed an ongoing party to ground herself in the character of Nellie

Sitting with Carey Mulligan for Variety's "Actors on Actors" series, Margot Robbie revealed that she continuously partied for two straight weeks to stay in character while filming "Babylon." When asked about one scene in the film depicting a gloriously extravagant party, Robbie explained that the extras in the scene were both professional dancers and some of her own friends, but that the party didn't stop with that scene. "It was important to have the party atmosphere throughout the whole film," she said. "I would always have friends, like, in the trailer. Base camp was like a little ongoing party. I was like, 'I kind of need it for Nellie. I need her to never have a minute of quiet. Never compose herself... I didn't ever want to go back to my trailer and settle."

Robbie didn't stop on weekends, either. "I was so tired," she said, grinning. "I was like, 'Alright, I'm having a party.' Or, like, 'We're going out.'" The goal, she said, was to create the reality of her character in every moment of her life, an endeavor that ended up totaling two full weeks.

It's an acting method that certainly sounds more fun than most, and the results of it can be seen in all their wild glory when "Babylon" hits theaters on December 23.