Margot Robbie Has A Ritual For Every Character She Plays, And It Was Very Special For Sharon Tate

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Margot Robbie has become one of the biggest A-list stars in Hollywood. A great deal of that is owed to the blockbuster success of "Barbie," but she's been on the rise for years now. One of her biggest moments came in 2019 when she played the late Sharon Tate in Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood." Robbie's portrayal of Tate was even praised by the late actress' family. Tate's family also helped Robbie get into character in a pretty special way.

Tarantino teamed up with author Jay Glennie who will write books for three of his films beginning with "The Making of Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood." That one hits shelves on November 11 from Insight Editions, and Deadline recently published several excerpts from the book. One of them revealed Robbie's unique way of getting into a character, which resulted in a pretty wild moment. Robbie explained that she picks a specific perfume to wear for every character that she plays.

"Every character I play I pick a perfume. It just helps me associate a smell with my character, and then I never wear the perfume again. So, I was intrigued to find out Sharon's favored perfume. [She said], Debra [Tate, Sharon Tate's sister], I know that this is a kinda random question, but did Sharon have a particular perfume she liked to wear?"

Debra Tate responded with, "Yes, yes she did. I was going to give it to you. Sharon wanted me to give it to you." Tate's sister later returned with a little glass bottle of perfume. The seal had been waxed shut since Sharon's passing, which preserved the scent. "Sharon told me to give it to you," Debra said. This might seem bizarre, given that Sharon Tate was murdered by members of Charles Manson's Manson Family in 1969.

There's a pretty fair amount to dissect three. For one, the fact that Debra Tate felt compelled to give Robbie Sharon Tate's actual perfume, which had been sealed for decades, is pretty remarkable. One can't help but wonder what Robbie did with the perfume after filming was complete, assuming there was any left. Then there's the elephant in the room, which is Debra saying Sharon "told" her to give it to Robbie. Was it Debra allegedly communicating with her sister from beyond the grave? Was it more metaphorical? Either way, it adds an extra layer to the whole thing.

Beyond that, it's a pretty interesting way for an actor to get into the mind of a given character. What perfume did Robbie wear as Harley Quinn in "Birds of Prey," for example? Did she use the same perfume every time she played Harley? What about her role in "Barbie"? How different were those perfumes? How did she choose them? It's a compelling factoid, to be certain.

Whatever the various scents, this has served Robbie well. She's become a wildly successful actress, both critically and commercially. Robbie was nominated for Best Actress at the Oscars for "I, Tonya" in 2018, ultimately losing to Frances McDormand for her work in "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri." Robbie was also nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her work in "Bombshell." Aside from the phenomenon that was "Barbie," some of her other notable hits include "The Wolf of Wall Street" and "Suicide Squad."

You can pre-order "The Making of Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" from Amazon.