Margot Robbie Says Directing Is An “Ambition” Of Hers

Margot Robbie has made her name as an Oscar-nominated actor and producer, but soon, she may set her sights on a new target: the director’s chair. In a new interview with Variety published on Jan. 3, the Barbie star and producer revealed that she would like to direct one day.

Robbie cites her experience working with directors as the reason why she’d want to do it herself — and also why she may wait. “As an actor, I get to work with so many brilliant directors and watch them do it — it’s like having a front-row seat to the best master class in the world,” she explained. “So it’s really tempting to keep doing that. But directing is a dear ambition of mine.”

As she pointed out, Robbie would fit right in with the female directors she collaborates with at her production company LuckyChap, which she founded in 2014, and runs alongside husband Tom Ackerley and co-founder Josey McNamara, as many of them started as actors first.

“We have a penchant for actress-turned-writer-directors, between Olivia [Wilde], Greta [Gerwig], Emerald [Fennell], and Megan [Park],” she noted. “It’s our sweet spot.”

“The Tricky Thing”

However, it may take a while for Robbie to start directing. She previously told Variety in 2022 that directing was “not something I’m in a rush to do,” as she was still fulfilled with acting. “I love so much that as an actor, I get to see how so many other directors work and how they do it,” she said. “And it’s so helpful.”

In the new interview, Robbie indicated that her plate was full of producing jobs. “The tricky thing is, as much as I say I’m strict about saying no as a producer, I also get so excited with all the things that I could produce that it ends up taking up all my time,” she said.

Those producing products include Wilde’s upcoming Christmas comedy Naughty and an Ocean’s Eleven prequel, for which she will reunite with her Barbie co-star Ryan Gosling onscreen.

However, don’t expect a Barbie sequel to join the roster yet, as Ackerley stated that “they haven’t planned a sequel.”

“I don’t know what more could even look like,” Robbie added. “We want to make more films that have the effect that Barbie has. I don’t know if it has to be Barbie 2. Why can’t it be another big, original, bold idea where we get an amazing filmmaker, a big budget to play with, and the trust of a huge conglomerate behind them to go and really play? I want to do that.”