Will Smith and Margot Robbie star in the film “Focus.” (Photo credit: Frank Masi/Warner Bros./TNS)

By Rick Bentley
The Fresno Bee

Will Smith was convinced Margot Robbie wasn’t interested in playing the female lead in his new movie “Focus” when she arrived at the audition. She wasn’t wearing any makeup, her hair had not been done and she was dressed like a beach bum.

And yet, she got the role. The film opened Friday, Feb. 27.

The reason the stunning blonde, who was the subject of so much chatter on the red carpet at the Academy Awards because of how good she looked, was in such a state was because she had traveled halfway around the globe to tryout for the part of the female con artist.

She was on vacation in Croatia when the call came to get to New York. Her luggage was lost and all she had were the wet clothes on her back. She had been swimming just before the call came and only had 20 minutes to pack and get to the ferry off the island where she was staying.

And, she hadn’t slept in two days.

“I walked in in wet sneakers, denim shorts and a top I bought on the way to the audition. I had been wearing a pajama top and didn’t think I should meet Will Smith that way,” Robbie says.

Producers knew right away she was the person for the role. They saw what co-star Gerald McRaney saw in her. He describes Robbie as being a “smarter Marilyn Monroe” because of her beauty and comic timing.

Those looks came in handy playing a con artist. Apollo Robbins, the professional con artist who was the adviser on the film, explains that when someone looks like Robbie, they are a distraction and you trust them.

“There is an expectation of what you think she is and what you think she isn’t. That’s really the exploitation. That gives them a capacity to run a con,” Robbins says.

That held true on set. Robbie was the quickest to learn the tricks of the trade.

She also found chemistry with Smith, a good thing because they are both starring in the comic-book inspired film “Suicide Squad.” She landed the coveted role of Harley Quinn.

It’s another movie where Robbie will be surrounded by a mostly male cast.

“I seem to keep making movies that are real boys clubs and I’m the only girl,” she says. “It’s kind of fun working with the guys. They were really great. It was like I inherited a bunch of older brothers. They took me under their wings and were really wonderful.”